Maria Intxaustegi

Maria Intxaustegi is an internationally awarded maritime archaeologist, naval historian, commercial diver, professional offshore sailor, and expedition guide from the Basque Country.

An in fatigable researcher and passionate about knowledge, her specialty in history is the Modern Age with emphasis in shipwrecks from the 15th to the 19th century and the Age of Exploration. She has been diving and researching all over the world in different kinds of maritime history projects. In 2015, her master thesis about the Havana shipyard in the 18th century, was awarded with the Iberoamerican "Cortes de Cadiz" prize.

When she is not diving in a shipwreck, researching, or writing a book she will probably be outdoors in nature, sailing in the ocean or hiking in the mountains. Her love for wildlife and nature inspires her to go one step further and during her Ph.D. she became a professional skipper. She already sailed around the Southern Ocean and Antarctic waters several times and in 2020 she received the award "Expedition of the Year" by the oldest exploration society of Spain for her sailing trip from Ushuaia to the Netherlands during 82 days without stops.

Nowadays she combines her research with her other passion: Guiding expeditions, showing, and sharing all her knowledge and passion about the wonders of our blue planet.