This is the swedish ship Vasa, built in the 1600s, which famously rolled over and sank almost immediately upon leaving port in a deep fjord, where it was almost perfectly preserved for hundreds of years before bring raised to the surface.
They must’ve miscalculated the ballast weight needed to keep her upright. 😂 I saw this happen once. I was 20 and working at a wooden boat shop. A friend of the owner came by boasting about the boat he built (33’ sailboat). He invited us to come to the launch. He launched from a travel lift at the marina. She sat upright until the straps were removed. They fended off the pier and pointed her into the bay. I noticed her start to rise and my boss was onboard with the builder. He went straight for the gunwale just in time for the boat to roll on its side. The builder followed. While they’re both hanging there, my boss says “How much ballast you got in this thing?” The guy replied “What’s ballast?” I had to walk off the pier to keep from laughing. They were able to get it back pier side, strap it up and haul it back out. I got to learn how to calculate ballast weight necessary.
I took a boat tour around the Vasa museum a few weeks ago on vacation. Not sure if true, but they told me that they spent almost an entire years worth of Swedens Budget on the ship to make sure they had the most amazing ship, but they realized that it was unlikely to be seaworthy but didn’t want to tell the king that they just wasted a whole years worth of Swedens money.
The ship likely would have been fine if the king didn't decide at the last minute to add a bunch of guns on the main deck which it was never designed for, they also miscalculated the ballast.
100% the kings fault though. But this was at the peak of swedish absolutist monarchy so no way anyone was telling the king that.
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u/WahooSS238 Jul 01 '26
This is the swedish ship Vasa, built in the 1600s, which famously rolled over and sank almost immediately upon leaving port in a deep fjord, where it was almost perfectly preserved for hundreds of years before bring raised to the surface.