| Zawisza Czarny I |
ex „Petrea”, „Harcerz” 
Photo by: www.zawiszaczarny.pl
Specifications: Gaff schooner Launched: 1901, Sweden Owner: Polish Scouting Association LOA with bowsprit: 37.6 m Beam: 8.1 m Draught: 3.1 m Sail surface: 432 m2 Gross tonnage: 165 RT Engine: 80 HP Crew: 52 A three-masted wooden gaff schooner, bought for the Polish Scouting Association in 1934. However, it had all started a long time before. When Kashubian Antoni Abraham was about to go on foot to the Versailles conference to fight for Poland's access to the sea, Polish scouts were learning how to sail in the distant city of Vladivostok. No wonder, that when Gdynia became Poland's gateway to the world, sea scouting developed here as well. Dreams about sailing across seas and oceans came true when the wooden Swedish schooner Petrea was bought. Built in 1901, she received a temporary name of Harcerz (“The Scout”). The ship had to be adapted to training purposes, but for lack of money, all the works had to be done at the lowest possible cost, which meant hiring non-professionals, e.g. Polish highlanders-carpenters. To fulfil General Mariusz Zaruski's wish, the ship was named after Zawisza Czarny (Zawisza the Black), King Jogaila's knight, famous for his reliability. The Polish saying "As reliable as Zawisza" was to become a synonym for the reliability of the ship and her crew. The ensign with the fleur-de-lis on it was hoisted on Zawisza Czarny for the first time in 1935. Her godmother was First Lady Maria Mościcka, and General Mariusz Zaruski became her first captain. However, her "guardian spirit" was the General's wife, Izabella, who not only acted as the main supplies officer, saw her off and welcomed at the quay, but also, using methods known only to herself, managed to get practically unavailable supplies: jib netting, lanterns, chains, life belts or charts. Between 1935 and 1939, under General Zaruski's command, Zawisza Czarny made 17 cruises to 10 countries, covering a distance of ca. 14,000 nautical miles. In those years, 700 scouts, students and teachers, members of the Maritime and Colonial League, as well as university students, officers of the Polish armed forces and Maritime School applicants got their training on board. When World War II broke out, the ship was requisitioned by the Germans, who re-named her Schwartzer Husar and used to train Kriegsmarine cadets. After the war, she returned to her homeport in 1947. Damaged beyond repair, she was towed to the Bay of Puck and sunk. In July 1982, divers working for the Gdańsk Maritime Museum positioned the wreck: 54o40'04"N and 18o34'04"E.
Dar Pomorza | Dar Młodzieży | Pogoria | Iskra I | Iskra II | Zawisza Czarny I | Zawisza Czarny II | Lwów | Elemka |
