VASA – WRECKED ON 10 AUGUST 1628
Vasa was brand new: the pride of the Royal Swedish Navy, with more and heavier bronze cannons than ever.
In 1628, fresh from the shipyard, it set off down Stockholm harbour, with gleaming paint and pristine sails, cheered on by crowds from the shore. It travelled about 1,300 metres (less than three times the distance around a footy oval), was hit by a light gust of wind, tipped over, and sank.
The ship settled on the sea bed at a depth of 32 metres. Its masts stuck up above the surface, and many survivors clung to them until they could be rescued. Thirty people died, most trapped inside the ship and unable to escape.
Vasa stayed where it sank, mostly forgotten once the enquires and arguments about the sinking were over. Then, 333 years later, the mighty warship was raised from the depths. Today, the world's best-preserved 17th-century ship draws the crowds again, at the Vasa Museum.
Well-preserved Vasa in the Vasa Museum looks ready to sail again. Photo from Anneli Karlsson, the Vasa Museum/SMTM.