DUTCH WARSHIP OF 1656 DISCOVERED
A wreck discovered off the coast of Sussex, England, under 104ft (32m) of water, was identified as the Dutch warship Klein Hollandia, built in 1656, writes John Greaves.
The wreck’s identity was a mystery since its discovery by dive operator David Ronnan in 2019. He reported it to Historic England, which afforded it the highest level of protection under the Protection of Wrecks Act.
In late 2022 a UK-Dutch team of maritime archaeologists used dive evidence, archival research and dendrochronological (tree ring) analysis of the wood samples to narrow down its identity. The ship was owned by the Admiralty of Rotterdam and was involved in all the major battles in the second Anglo-Dutch war (1665-1667).
Mark Beattie Edwards, CEO of the Nautical Archaeology Society, said: “The impressive amount of wooden hull structure, the ship’s cannons, the beautiful cut-marble tiles, as well as the pottery finds, all point towards this being a Dutch ship from the late 17th century coming back from Italy. Now, after four years of investigations and research, we can confidently identify the vessel.”
OGA CELEBRATES 60TH BIRTHDAY
While what is generally known as the ‘classic boat revival’ got underway in the late 1980s, it’s easy to forget that the UK-based OGA, the Association for Gaff-Rig Sailing, was founded well before that, in 1963. Marking the OGA’s 60th birthday in 2023 has been a series of events, including a round-Britain voyage.
A fleet of 20 took on the round Britain challenge, with others joining for individual legs or parts of the coast. The fleet included several Dutch OGA members. As we went to press, the schedule