The 'Vasa'

From the seventeenth - century empire of Sweden, the story of a galleon that sank at the start of her maiden voyage in 1628 must be one of the strangest tales of the sea. For nearly three and a half centuries she lay at the bottom of Stockholm harbour until her discovery in 1956. This was the Vasa, royal flagship of the great imperial fleet.

King Gustavus Adolphus, 'The Northern Hurricane', then at the height of his military success in the Thirty Years' War, had dictated her measurements and armament. Triple gun - decks mounted sixty - four bronze cannon. She was intended to play a leading role in the growing might of Sweden.

As she was prepared for her maiden voyage on August 10, 1628, Stockholm was in a ferment. From the Skeppsbron and surrounding islands the people watched this thing of beauty begin to spread her sails and catch the wind. They had laboured for three years to produce this floating work of art; she was more richly carved and ornamented than any previous ship. The high sterncastle was a riot of carved gods, demons, knights, kings, warriors, mermaids, cherubs; and zoomorphic animal shapes ablaze with red and gold and blue, symbols of courage, power, and cruelty, were portrayed to stir the imaginations of the superstitious sailors of the day.

Then the cannons of the anchored warships thundered a salute as the Vasa moved slowly out to sea. She was a moving sight indeed as the morning sun shone on her sails, turning them to gold. As she gained speed, the wind became too strong for her sails, and the mast snapped. Then she lurched sideways and sank in less than a minute.

More than a thousand people lost their lives in the accident; most of them were women and children, who had been on board to enjoy the voyage. The Vasa was the first modern warship built from the keel up with a triple - gun - deck, and she was also the last of her kind. Her sinking was not the result of her being rammed by another vessel, or of her being caught in a storm. It was the result of her own structural weaknesses. The Vasa was built too tall for her length, and she was too top - heavy. Her builders had violated several of the rules of shipbuilding. They had made her too wide for her length, and they had made her sterncastle too high. They had also made her gun - decks too heavy, and her keel too light. All these factors combined to make her unstable in the water. In 1961, the Vasa was salvaged from the harbour bottom, and she is now on display in a museum in Stockholm.

1628年，一艘大帆船在其处女航开始时就沉没了，这个从17世纪瑞典帝国流传下来的故事一定是航海史上最离奇的事件之一。这艘大船在斯德哥尔摩港口的水底躺了将近3个半世纪之后，直到1956年才被发现。这就是“瓦萨”号，帝国大舰队的皇家旗舰。

当时号称“北方飓风”的古斯塔夫斯·阿道弗斯国王正处在“三十年战争”的军事鼎盛阶段，他亲自规定了这艘船的规模和武器装备。3层的火炮甲板上装着64门青铜加农炮。它本要在日益强大的瑞典发挥主导作用。

1628年8月10日，当“瓦萨”号准备处女航时，斯德哥尔摩一片欢腾。人们从斯开波斯布朗和周围的岛屿前来观看这艘美丽的战船扬帆起航，乘风前进。他们花了3年的时间才建成这件水上艺术品；它比以往任何船只雕刻得都更加精美，装饰得都更加华丽。高耸的船尾楼雕刻着众多的神像、妖魔、骑士、国王、武士、美人鱼和小天使；形态各异的兽形图案被涂得红红火火、金黄金黄、蓝蓝湛湛，这些图案象征着勇敢、力量和残暴，用来激发当时迷信的水手们的想象力。

当“瓦萨”号缓缓驶向大海时，驻泊的战舰鸣炮向它致敬。当早晨的阳光洒在它的风帆上，并把它们染成金色时，它确实是一道亮丽的风景。随着船速的加快，风势变得对风帆来说过于猛烈，桅杆折断了。然后它突然侧向一边，不到一分钟就沉没了。

超过1000人在这次事故中丧生；大多数是妇女和儿童，他们当时正在船上准备享受这次航行。“瓦萨”号是第一艘从龙骨开始建造的3层火炮甲板的现代战舰，也是最后一艘。它的沉没不是因为被另一艘船撞击，也不是因为遭遇风暴。而是由于它自身结构上的缺陷。“瓦萨”号相对于它的长度来说建造得过高了，而且它的重心过于靠上。它的建造者违反了好几条造船规则。他们把船身造得相对于船的长度来说过宽了，而且船尾楼也造得过高了。他们还使火炮甲板过重，而龙骨过轻。所有这些因素加在一起使它在水中不稳定。1961年，“瓦萨”号从港口水底被打捞出来，现在陈列在斯德哥尔摩的一家博物馆里。