WASA TRIUMPHANT The Sinking, Search and Salvage of a 17th Century Warship by Thomas Hale It was a beautiful spring morning , and as one looked down into the blue water between the two pontoons, one could see just a shimmering shadow of the great ship below . Jacking commenced at 9 o'clock and a few minutes later the tip of a blackened oak timber broke the surface. It was part of the ruined stern castle, and then slowly and inexorably it was joined by two lines of bulwark stanchions, and by 11 o'clock the whole fore part of the ship had broken clear. At about this time two carved wooden heads rose like ghosts out of the water. They were atop the foremast bitts , at deck level , through which the sheets and tacks for fore topsail and foresail had passed. She was coming up at the rate of 18 inches per hour , and by 2 PM her main deck beams were above the surface. A little ceremony took place and Anders Franzen and diver Falting rowed over, clambered aboard, and took possession of the ship. They shook hands, and pitched a coin overboard as a token to the spirit of Wasa . This was it, April 24, 1961, the day they had all worked so hard to reach-the day the 64-gun warship again saw light of day for the first time since she rolled over and sank at the outset of her maiden voyage, on a fine Sunday afternoon, August 10, 1628 .
*
*
*
*
*
Scandinavia in 1628 was in the midst of the Thirty Years War. Sweden at that time was at the height of her greatness, her realm extending over much of what is now Finland , Norwary , Denmark, East Germany and Poland . Her king, Gustav Adolf II , of the house of Wasa, was Protestant, but in Poland his Catholic cousin Sigismund was allied with Wallenstein , one of the greatest generals of the Hapsburg emperors. Wallenstein had reached the shores of the Baltic with his troops , and looked northwards to extend his victories . The sea barred his way . Since he was totally without vessels, his title of" Admiral of the Baltic" was a hollow one, but by whistling up the Spanish fleet he hoped to
provide the naval force for his projected Baltic operations. Sweden, already allied on land with Stralsund and other citystates who were heroically resisting Wallenstein, had long realized that her navy was her prime defense, and for several years King Gustav had been frantically expanding his naval forces. In 1625 , he had ordered a new flagship for his fleet. She was to be a magnificent vessel-165 feet long, 42 feet in the beam, with her mainmast, a yard in diameter at deck level, towering 170 feet above her keel. She was to be decorated and ornamented as befitted a king's flagship , and no expense was spared in her building despite the economic drain caused by the prolonged war. She was armed with 64 guns: 48 24-pounders , 8 3-pounders, 2 I-pounders and 6 mortars. They were bronze and taken altogether weighed about 80 tons . She carried them on three decks and was a powerful vessel for her era , even for Sweden at the height of her importance. In later years, of course, larger vessels were built-Nelson 's Victory, built a century and a quarter later, carried 102 guns-but the King 's new ship was certainly the largest, most expensive, and most awe-inspiring unit of the Swedish Navy when she was launched in late 1627 or early 1628 . She was christened Ny Wassan , but was called Wasa after the ruling family. By August 10, 1628 she was ready to join the fleet at sea. On board were her officers and men-about 130 naval personnelwith all the armament, supplies and ship's stores necessary for a four months ' voyage . In addition to the crew, many wives and children were aboard, to be put ashore only when the vessel had reached the open sea. A gentle wind from the south-southwest blew across Stockholm harbor as the ship got underway that afternoon. She was warped to windward-hauling herself along on long lines put ashore-until she could lay the course out of the harbor , and between 4 and 5 PM she made sail: foresail, fore topsail , main top-
The Wasa comes to rest in the drydock on May 4, 1961, 333 years after her sinking.