luzula: a Luzula pilosa, or hairy wood-rush (Default)
[personal profile] luzula
This summer I went on a guided tour of the Götheborg III, which is by its own claim the world's largest ocean-going wooden ship! I've meant to write it up for months, and here you go. It is a modern-day replica of the Götheborg I, belonging to the Swedish East India Company, which foundered just outside Gothenburg harbour in 1745 on its return from China. Nobody died and a lot of the cargo could be salvaged. Apparently it's still quite a mystery why it foundered, since it had an experienced pilot on board.

The wooden parts, cordage, etc, were made with as close to 18th century techniques they could get, but there's a lot of modern stuff inside it as well, such as engines etc, for safety reasons. Some photos:








The flag she's flying is the two-tailed flag of the Swedish East India Company, by design very similar to the three-tailed flag of the Swedish navy, to discourage privateers. Wikipedia tells me that this was against the rules at the time, and in 1751 a royal decree told them to stop, but apparently they kept doing it anyway.
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