
Kedge Anchor
Batavia (1629)
This anchor was used in a desperate attempt to winch Batavia off the reef on which it had struck. The illustration from the Ongeluckige Voyagie by Jan Jansz in 1647 shows Batavia with an anchor run out from the stern gun port.
The Ongeluckige Voyagie is taken from Pelsaert's original handwritten journal.
The anchor was recovered in 1971 from a location some distance out to sea from the main Batavia wreck site.
The 'kedge' anchor was used to manoeuvre the vessel in restricted areas where sail could not be used. It was the smallest of Batavia's eight anchors and would have been fitted with a wooden stock.
The pitted appearance of the metal is due impurities in the wrought iron and the method of manufacture.