Around 4:00 PM on August 10th, 1628 the warship Vasa set sail in Stockholm harbour on
its maiden voyage as the newest ship in the Royal Swedish Navy. After sailing about
1300 meters, a light gust of wind caused the Vasa to heel over on its side. Water poured
in through the gun portals and the ship sank with a loss of 53 lives. The Vasa lay in
shallow waters of Stockholm harbor (at 32 meters depth) and after initial attempts to
salvage it failed, was largely forgotten until it was located by Anders Franzen in 1956.
In 1961, 333 years after it sank, the Vasa was raised and was so well preserved that it
could float after the gun portals were sealed and water and mud were pumped from it.
Today it is housed in a museum specially built for it, near the site where it foundered.
We had a great couple of hours in the museum. Sandvik have provided new, non-rusting bolts, for the Vasa restoration.... Here are a few photos.
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