En tidning från Breakwater Publishing
och Svenska Ostindiska Compagniet
om Ostindiefararen Götheborg

the Götheborg Courier | June 2008

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The East India Adventure

The great, modern East India adventure started in December 1984 when members of the Swedish Marine Archeological Society were diving by the harbour at Gothenburg. On 12 September 1745, 239 years earlier, the East India ship Götheborg sank here after a long journey to China when she only had an hour or so to sail back to her anchorage.
The divers found fragments of porcelain and wood which could be traced back to the wreckage of the Götheborg.

Many years later the idea was conceived of building a sailing vessel as they were built in the 18th century and sailing her to China, the destination of the ships in the Swedish East India Company.
A long voyage had started, a voyage which experienced both fair winds and headwind. A collection of enthusiasts started the extraordinary work involved in lobbying authorities, companies and private people. They researched and sought answers to thousands of questions. How should the hull be built, and what form should it be given? How should the rigging be designed and how large strains would it be subjected to? Where could they source suitable materials such as wood and hemp rope?

At the same time as the vessel would reflect the art of shipbuilding in the 18th century, this contemporary 18th century ship would be equipped with modern machines, electricity, and comforts such as showers and toilets, a laundry room and a proper kitchen.
A smithy, a sail loft and workshops were set up, and in June 1995 the keel was laid and the fine ship began to take form and colour. After eight years in construction, the Götheborg was launched in the summer of 2003. Before her sailing trials many doubted whether she really could sail. There was no need for anxiety. With her sails set, she literally glided across the sea.
On 2 October 2005 the Götheborg left home and started the adventurous and successful voyage to China and back again.

The Götheborg has crossed the great oceans, survived storms and visited harbours on five continents. Everywhere she went, the ship and her crew received exceptional welcomes and millions of people have seen the fantastic Swedish vessel.
Many dreams have been realised and the Götheborg is very much a living proof that if you really want something and are prepared to struggle for it, your dreams will come true.
Now, when the Götheborg is sailing in the Baltic during the summer of 2008, we are sure that the ship and her crew will be welcomed in the same enthusiastic way as they have been in the rest of the world. We are both happy and proud to present glimpses of the construction of the ship and the voyage to China and back home.

Welcome on board one of the most famous ships that has sailed the seven seas.

Robert Hermansson, Editor-in-chief

4 Baltic Sea Tour 2008

5 New SOIC director plans new voyages

6 The passage to China

10 A royal arrival in China

14 Navigating, as in the 18th century

17 Providing food on board requires new solutions

20 The Swedish East India Company
– the most profitable firm in Sweden

23 An historic retrospective

26 The Götheborg is rigged in the old-fashioned way

28 Several thousand square metres of sail
are sewn by hand in the sail loft

29 Hidden technology in a wooden hull

31 Mythological decorations with much symbolism

34 The art of building and sailing an East-Indiaman