Das Schmugglerschiff "Catharina Maria" - eine d nische Jacht aus dem 19. Jahrhundert (The smuggling vessel "Catharina Maria" – a Danish yacht from the 19th century).

Between 2008 and 2012 a wooden shipwreck from the 19th century was located and recorded at the eastern entrance of the Kiel Firth at a depth of 18 metres. As a result of the investigation conducted by the Study Group for Maritime and Limnic Archaeology (AMLA) based at the Institute of Prehistoric and Protohistoric Archaeology, University of Kiel, the wreck can presumably be identified as the historically known yacht Catharina Maria“, the owner of which was the Danish merchant and smuggler Christian Pedersen Norsk from Langeland. He was well-known for trading gunpowder to Lübeck and smuggling coffee in the western Baltic Sea region. According to the accident report, the 15 metre vessel sank in June 1893 during good weather without any information about the possible causes. At the time of sinking, the ship carried Faxechalk from the Danish Island Zealand. Although yachts were typical coastal vessels in the 18th and 19th centuries, little is known about the structural development, the rigging and the spread of this type of vessel and its importance for shipping in the western Baltic Sea region. The infestation of the shipwreck with the shipworm Teredo navalis and the ongoing destruction of the ship′s stock anchor clearly show that modern shipwrecks are endangered. Besides the Swedish warship “Hedwig Sophia” and the Danish warship “Lindormen”, the Danish yacht “Catharina Maria” is the third wreck, which could recently be investigated and identified on the coast of Schleswig-Holstein.