Argo
Aligrundet Pietarsaari
The wreck is presumably a schooner called the Argo from Lillesand, Norway. The ship hit a rock in a north-west storm at Gammalgrundet on 19 October 1869 and sank in ten minutes near Högpaskarn. The wreck has thereafter drifted away from where it sank and broken up into parts. The ship was carrying tar and pitch from Oulu to Bremen in Germany. Tar and parts of tar barrels have been found in the area of the sinking. The Argo’s Captain Anders Kristensen and the entire crew were rescued and safely reached the Mässkär pilot station.
The diving club Bothnia Navalis organised a diving camp in the area in July 1989, aiming to explore and draw parts of the wreck. The list of their finds from the wreck includes parts of the wreck, a water pump, nails, a grindstone, parts of a telescope, a clay pipe, and fragments of glass and porcelain. There may still be some remnants of the sailing boat off the coast of Pietarsaari, near the island of Aligrundet.
Stories
“The pump of the ship was carved from aspen, and it has been preserved almost entirely. The structures of the ship could serve as a model for such ships as the Jakobstads Wapen, Museum Director Pekka Toivonen says.” (K.R.: newspaper Pietarsaaren Sanomat, 19 July 1989)
“Based on the finds, we can already say that the Argo has been about the size of the Jakobstads Wapen, which is currently being built in Pietarsaari. There are well-preserved parts such as a wooden pump that has been preserved almost entirely, including its piston and all.” (Salmi: newspaper Keskipohjanmaa, 18 July 1989)
Photos
A drawing of the Argo wreck (Pietarsaaren kaupunginmuseo)
A clay pipe (Pietarsaaren kaupunginmuseo)
Binocular parts (Pietarsaaren kaupunginmuseo)
A perfume jar (Pietarsaaren kaupunginmuseo)
