When the Vasa set sail on her maiden voyage in the summer of 1628
there were approximately 150 people on board. Most of them were
seamen. The ship was on it's way to Älvsnabben in the Stockholm
archipelago, where 300 soldiers were waiting to board the ship.

In those days the Swedish fleet was largely manned by conscription.
Professional seamen were scarce. One man in ten, between the ages
of 15 and 60, was usually taken on active service. Many of them never
returned home.



The seamen and the soldiers lived, ate and slept between the guns
on the gundecks. On the Vasa seven men had to share living quarters
between every two guns. It would have been extremely crowded. The
food was bad. Beans, porridge or salted fish. And lots of beer. Fresh
food was most unusual. As a result scurvy and other deficiency
diseases were common in the Navy. Many people died - but very few
in battle.

1628 was a bad year for the men in the Swedish Navy. Admiral Henrik
Fleming's squadron off the Polish coast is a good example. Two-thirds
of the men on the ships were sick, dying or dead - or "cast overboard"
as the Admiral writes. On Fleming's own ship there was only 19 men fit
for work, instead of 115.

Another nuisance was boredom. For long periods nothing happened
on board a man-of-war. The ships were anchored or on blockade duty.
When battles where scarce - the crew spent their time performing
drills, various maintenance work - and played board and dice games.
The officers preferred backgammon.

The officers slept in bunks - not on the decks as the seamen and
soldiers did. They also ate slightly better food. The Admiral's cabin on
board the Vasa is as decorated as a room in a castle. But not even
the officers lived a life of luxury on board.