Atalanta
Also known as: Äggharun hylky 2, Atlanta, SS Atalanta
Broken-up oak sailing-ship debris field at 9-22m off Äggharu islet in the Raasepori outer archipelago, a Hanko boat-day stop east of Hanko town.
Last updated May 2026
The dive
Atalanta is a wreck spread around an islet rather than stacked on a single bottom. Loose timbers run along the southeast shore of Äggharu from nine to twenty metres, two hull sections of frame ribs sit close together on the southwest side, and the northwest face carries another hull section with thirty-six frames at fifteen to twenty metres, planking trailing down to twenty-two at the deepest point. There is no recognisable ship profile to follow — the dive is a careful read of frames, planking, and scatter rather than a hull circumnavigation. Plan one face per dive and brief the skipper on which approach you intend.
What makes it special
Two things distinguish Atalanta from the other Raasepori outer-archipelago wrecks. First, a single broken-up scatter offering both a nine-metre shallow approach and a twenty-two-metre debris dive, depending on which face you take, is unusual. Second, its identity is officially uncertain: both hylyt.net and the Finnish Heritage Agency record the vessel as assumed to be Atalanta or Atlanta, an oak sailing ship with sheet-tin cargo lost in 1855 or the 1880s-1890s, and both flag that the source of the assumption is no longer traceable.
Know before you go
The boat does the navigation here. There is no buoy and no descent line; the skipper sets a GPS mark from the Heritage Agency or hylyt.net coordinates and the team plans a free descent and a controlled return. Drysuit is standard May through October; bottom temperatures sit at eight to fifteen degrees even in midsummer. The single verified dive at this site recorded fifteen degrees at twelve metres on a warm late-August day with five-metre visibility — the warm end of the area calibration. Compass and SMB stay standard kit on any open-archipelago dive from a free-floating boat. The Antiquities Act is categorical: a nineteenth-century wooden wreck is automatically protected, no touching, no lifting, no anchoring on the wreck. The viable Hanko-day rotation pairs Atalanta in the morning with Gloskär afternoon and Trelänningen evening.
Why Dive Atalanta
What makes this dive site stand out.
- Oak-built sailing ship
Wooden purjelaiva with sheet-tin cargo; identity Atalanta is the Heritage Agency's assumed reading.
- Frames-and-debris layout
Two main hull sections SW of Äggharu, scattered timbers SE at 9-20m, NW debris field 15-22m.
- 9-22 m on one site
Shallow approach on the SE face; deeper debris on the NW face accessed on the same outing.
- 19th-century date uncertain
hylyt.net records 1855 or the 1880s-1890s; Heritage Agency narrows but flags the source as unknown.
- Antiquities Act protected
Heritage Agency record 1472; no touching, no recovery, no anchoring on the wreck.
Depth & Profile
Location
59.8176°N, 23.3498°E
Conditions & difficulty
Summary
Depth on the shallow approach is undemanding; cold water, drysuit competence, and the unmarked outer-archipelago position carry the dive. Moderate at the 22 m face.
Safety considerations
What can go wrong here, and what divers do about it. Conditions change - take the briefing from the operator on the day.
- Cold and exposure: Bottom temperatures stay 8-15 °C even in midsummer at 9-22 m.Drysuit standard May-October with cold-water gloves and hood.
- Orientation: No buoy, no descent line, no interpretive infrastructure; reaching the wreck requires GPS positioning to the kyppi/hylyt coordinates and the wreck wraps around an islet at different depths on different faces.Boat skipper sets the GPS mark and the team briefs which face to dive; carry compass and SMB and plan a controlled return to the boat.
- Site rules: The wreck is statutorily protected under the Antiquities Act and the timbers are fragile.Hover, do not settle. No touching, no lifting, no anchoring on or close to the wreck.
- Surface and boat traffic: Open outer-archipelago position is exposed in any sustained SW or W wind.Plan a sheltered backup site (Hauensuoli, for example) on the way back to harbour.
Regulations
Wreck is automatically protected as a fixed underwater monument under the Finnish Antiquities Act (Muinaismuistolaki 295/1963), Heritage Agency ID 1472. Diving and photography are allowed; touching the wreck timbers, lifting or removing artefacts, attaching lines to the structure, and anchoring on or close to the wreck are forbidden. No general dive permit, fee, or quota applies.
Frequently Asked Questions
What kind of wreck is Atalanta?▾
An oak-built wooden sailing ship that carried sheet-tin cargo, broken up across the seabed around Äggharu islet rather than sitting as a recognisable hull. The Finnish Heritage Agency records the identity as assumed: the wreck is taken to be a vessel named Atalanta or Atlanta, but the source of that assumption is not recorded. The Agency dates the sinking to the 1880s-1890s; the hylyt.net wreck card gives 1855 or the 1880s. Either way the vessel is treated as a 19th-century working sailing ship.
How deep is Atalanta?▾
The site spans 9 to 22 metres around Äggharu islet. Loose timbers run along the southeast shore from 9 to 20 metres. The two main hull sections sit close together on the southwest side. The northwest side carries another hull section with 36 frames at 15 to 20 metres, with planking trailing down to 22 metres at the deepest point. A single dive can take in the shallow approach or the deeper face; covering everything in one visit is unrealistic.
Where exactly is Atalanta?▾
Southwest of Äggharu islet in the Raasepori outer archipelago, about 2.3 kilometres southeast of Hästö-Busö island. Coordinates are 59.8176° N, 23.3498° E (WGS84) per the Heritage Agency record. Operationally the site sits about 33 kilometres east of Hanko town centre and is reached on a Hanko-launched boat day, sharing the same outer-archipelago corridor as Eggo and Trelänningen. The municipality is Raasepori, formerly Tammisaari before the 2009 merger. It is not in the Hanko peninsula proper.
Do you need a permit to dive Atalanta?▾
No. Hanko-area waters are not a marine reserve and there is no general dive permit, fee, or quota system. The site sits well east of the Russarö Defence Forces firing sector and is not affected by it. The Antiquities Act applies — Atalanta is a statutorily protected underwater monument and cannot be touched, penetrated, or disturbed — but no application or fee is needed to dive.
How is Atalanta reached and is there a buoy?▾
Boat-only, no buoy, no descent line, no interpretive infrastructure. The skipper sets a GPS mark from the Heritage Agency or hylyt.net coordinates and the team plans a free descent and a controlled return. Practical departures are Hanko Itäsatama or a club-organised charter. No commercial operator advertises Atalanta as a named target on a public programme.
Is Atalanta worth a dedicated dive trip?▾
Honestly, no. The site fits naturally as one stop on a multi-dive Hanko boat day — the only verified day-pattern at this site put a diver here in the morning, on Gloskär in the afternoon, and Trelänningen in the evening, all out of one Hanko boat day. As a fragment-state wreck of officially uncertain identity, it is most useful to divers cataloguing the lesser-known wrecks of the Raasepori outer archipelago rather than to first-time Hanko visitors.
Is Atalanta the same vessel as the Hanko Diving boat m/s Atlanta?▾
No. The wreck is Atalanta, with two a's, and is a 19th-century oak sailing ship on the seabed off Äggharu islet. The m/s Atlanta is a Kulkuri 34 dive support vessel operated by Par Mare Oy out of Hanko Itäsatama. The names differ by one letter and Gemini grounded search has confused the two; the wreck and the boat are entirely separate things.
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