Seahorse at 100m
The origin and correct name of the vessel is unknown , but it is known to us as Sjöhästen .
As we approached this wreck at a depth of 103 metres , the first thing we could make out was the bowsprit . When we got a bit closer a creature seemed to be looking at us . Scowling . A horse ’ s head . Small arms and a long fish-like tail curling along both sides of the hull . Gnarled fingers with sharp claws . They seemed to be clutching something . Up close it appeared to be a book ... could it be a bible ?
This seahorse can look very different from different angles . Sometimes she seems friendly , sometimes nasty . She seems to be both guarding the ship and guiding it onward through the water .
This unusual figurehead appears to be of a type known as a ‘ hippocamp ’, defined by the OED as a ‘ mythical creature with the head , neck , shoulders and forelegs of a horse , and a body ending in the tail of a fish or dolphin ’.
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