Wreck diver Ernst Jongejan from Breezand tells today in Schagen about the exciting adventures he experiences underwater. Each dive is a possible start of a quest that leads to a historical treasure. The amateur underwater archaeologist has already found several special wrecks, including the British warship HMS Apollo that sank in 1799 at the Razende Bol.
Jongejan has been diving in the waters around North Holland for about 30 years. From the IJsselmeer to the North Sea: when the water is calm, he goes out with his boat. First to make scans and then to dive. “It’s a hobby that got out of hand, it’s more of a passion,” he says. “It just gives you a huge kick when you come to a shipwreck that’s a few hundred years old and you’re actually the first one there after all this time. That’s just very special.”
In and around his house are a number of finds from the past. Underwater archeology rules have become much stricter over the years. Just taking finds from the seabed is hardly an option anymore, most of it has to remain and everything is registered. “You must be really crazy to do this,” he says with a laugh. “You run into a lot of rules and it costs a lot of money. But I would like to find out the history, those are often long searches. Sometimes everything is only clear a few years after the discovery and we come out with it.”
It gives a huge kick when you come to a shipwreck that is a few hundred years old and you are actually the first there after all this time.
The wreck diver comes across all sorts of things. From wooden sailing ships that are almost falling apart due to shipworm to airplane wrecks from the Second World War. With one of the largest finds, the British warship HMS Apollo, that went relatively quickly. “We found the ship in 2017 after a report from a fisherman and we were able to bring it out in 2020. On the first dive we felt one gun after another and all copper pins from the construction. Yes, then we knew we did what we had in our hands.”
At the moment, Jongejan has various wrecks in sight in the IJsselmeer and the North Sea. “I always have healthy tension when I dive. I’ve been doing it for over 25 years now, but I’m still a little nervous. I especially like old wooden ships.” His greatest wish is to find another large Admiralty ship from the 17th century. “In 1653, the navigator Witte de With lay here with a fleet for Petten. Then a storm arose and at least eight Admiralty ships sank. Thirty years later this was repeated. A fleet was lost at the Noorderhaaks. would be wonderful to discover such a Dutch ship.”
Archeology Day
Today the diver, who is affiliated with the National Working Group on Archeology Under Water, can be found in the church on the Markt in Schagen. Several participants will be there from 10 a.m. to talk about archaeology, heritage and history. Several presentations will also be given and a re-enactment will be performed outside of an encampment of the Batavian Armed Civil Forces from 1799. Jongejan will talk about the archeology at the bottom of the sea and the IJsselmeer: ”Under water, looking for a wreck, it is a separate world, a world predestined to few people.”
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