It is a fascinating story of an ordinary ship
transporting an extraordinary treasure of art and other
valuables. From the ship's protest we find information
about Vrouw Maria's last voyage. She left Amsterdam 5th
of September in 1771. Vrouw Maria passed the customs in
Denmark on September 23rd.
After drifting north apart from its route to St.
Petersburg, she struck a rock once and then an other
which damaged her rudder. The crew tried for several days
to pump her floating again and with the help of
islanders to salvage the cargo. Four days later, on
October 8th, she was mysteriously lost during the
night.
This is an exact model of the ship as she now rests at
the sea floor. The model is made by one of the divers in the
official team of divers who found the ship in 1999.
