Crew

Time stopped on Vasa at five o’clock in the afternoon on August 28th, 1628. When the ship was salvaged 333 years later, the crew’s seachests were still packed with provisions, clothing and personal mementoes.

Over 450 men should have shared the space inside Vasa if she had sailed on. Crowding on the warship was extreme. Several men shared the space between each pair of cannon, where they would live, eat and sleep. The officers had somewhat better conditions. The great cabin was decorated with sculptures on the walls and they could sleep in fold-out beds instead of directly on the deck.

Disease

For an ordinary seaman at this time, pay was low and danger great, but battles were not the greatest threat. The risk of dying of disease was much higher than the risk of dying in combat. Poor hygiene and overcrowding breed disease. A few chamberpots were found, but the toilets for the crew consisted of just two “seats of ease” in the ship’s head, all the way forward.

Food

In the bottom of the ship, the cook prepared meals for the large crew over an open fire. Six to eight men ate from common wooden bowls between the cannon, where they also slept and fought for their lives. Contemporary records report that each man received a little over three litres of beer each day. The food was monotonous, but possibly better than what they would have had at home. When ships were on blockade duty on the Polish coast, the men might go for months without fresh food. Then there was only porridge, dried peas and salted meat, which was steeped and boiled in a stew. Scurvy and other deficiency diseases became common.

Harsh punishments

Discipline on board was very strict. Those who could not follow the rules were threatened with harsh punishments. A man who started a fight could find himself pinned to the mainmast by a knife through his hand. Those who complained about the food were banished to the ship’s boats and fed on bread and water for several days. Anyone who caused a fire would himself be thrown into the fire. If a sailor was simply disrespectful to the admiral, he could be keelhauled.

Pastimes

Boredom was another challenge. Many ships lay in harbour or cruised back and forth on blockade duty, so there was little to do. Life as a soldier on board ship was mostly about waiting. A backgammon set found in the hold when the ship was raised would have been used by the officers to pass the time.