"VASA 1628 THE PEOPLE, THE SHIP, THE ERA" "That the big Vasa ship sunk during her maiden voyage in 1628, is well known but knowledge about Stockholm in the early 17th century is more sketchy because there are hardly any pictures of the town, and few could write." "Fortunately, we have the Stockholm Annals where the town scribe each day made notes about local events." "About those who had been convicted of theft, adultery or murder had applied for building permits, been allowed to open shops or borrowed money." "Stockholm was a small, rural capital surrounded by forests and water with less than 15,000 inhabitants." "Around the royal castle, the cathedral and the main market the wealthy lived in stone houses while the many poor had to make do with simple wooden houses." "The ships lined the quays and several hundred seamen waited to board." "Some of them lived in small huts by the harbour." "Mårten was one of them." "His sister cared for his daughter because his wife, Karin, worked until late as a candle dipper at the navy yard." "There were no street lights so in autumn and winter the alleys were pitch dark." "According to the annals, there were robberies almost every night." "This time, the thieves took the candle dipper's only coat." "Most people had no more clothes than what they wore." "The navy yard that would build Vasa, lay a few hundred metres from Old Town on Blasieholmen, opposite the castle." "Different languages were heard, as more than ten nationalities worked there." "It was Stockholm's largest place of work with 400 employees." "And Sweden had a large immigration, as there was a lack of skilled people." "Candle dipper Karin was one of the many women so important to the yard when the men were away at war." "She worked for candlemaker Lambrecht's widow who made candles for the ships." "One of those would be Vasa." "Thousands of tallow candles were used in cabins, navigation lights and lanterns." "Planks and ship frames were made from large oak timbers." "Many of the carpenters were from Holland which had Europe's best shipwrights." "This is why king Gustavus II Adolphus let the Dutchman Henrik Hybertsson and his brother, the businessman Arendt de Groot, lease the navy yard." "It was a family enterprise where Henrik's Swedish wife, Margareta, was treasurer and shared the bookkeeping with their son." "They are promised 200,000 dalers if they build two smaller and two larger ships within four years, one of them being Vasa." "It will be the most expensive and extravagant ship ever built in Sweden." "In September 1625, ten Swedish warships founder during a storm in the Baltic Sea." "That's almost half of the Swedish navy, thus a major disaster." "So the king wants shipwright Henrik to start with the two smaller ships in order to lessen the loss." "Gustavus II Adolphus sees himself as the Nordic Lion, a Protestant messiah fighting the Catholics." "Lord High Admiral Karl Karlsson Gyllenhielm, the king's halfbrother is to oversee the ship building." "The king attempts to frighten Germans and Poles with pamphlets where he decapitates the Catholic dragon." "But the war was very costly and Sweden is a small country." "Timber and copper generated income, but not enough so the rest was taken from the people through taxes." "Vasa was to cost the equivalent of a quarter of Sweden's annual harvest." "The warships are worn and need constant repairs." "Lately, several have gone aground or have been damaged in battle." "Henrik Hybertsson was an experienced shipwright." "He had come to Sweden in the early 1600s and had built many ships for its navy." "At this time, ships were built with measurement tables instead of drawings." "All measurements of a ship were preserved in tables." "These were kept secret and used by a shipwright family for generations." "The shipwrights learned through experience, from ship to ship." "His wife, Margareta, provided important support and assumed much responsibility for the yard." "He has started with one of the smaller ships, and the king seems satisfied." "Women in business was not uncommon at this time." "Margareta bought timber from Brita Bååt on Ängsö as well as Anna Kyle in Nacka." "The ships were built in oak, so such trees were very valuable." "The Crown had the sole right to fell oaks." "An important skill was to pick the trees that would be most suited for each ship." "The carpenters brought along templates for ribs, knees and other bent parts." "They needed thick branches that nature had grown into the right shape." "The oaks were felled in winter and sledged down to Lake Mälaren." "Transporting the heavy timber wasn't easy." "Roads, if any, were poor and narrow." "Winters were extremely cold in the 17th century." "There were no sea battles in winter, due to the ice and lack of heating onboard." "Winter was difficult for everybody, but especially for the poor with the darkness, damp and cold." "Food was often a warm soup, made of dried peas and fish and the smoke left the room through a hole in the roof." "That was the life for many." "During winter, farm animals could be kept in town but after Easter they had to be moved to the countryside." "A thousand seamen could be lodging with the townspeople during winter." "The many new arrivals also contributed to a growing violence." "Reading the Stockholm Annals is like reading a crime novel." "In a small town like Stockholm, there were eighty murders per year." "I read in the annals that seaman Bengt, who stole candle dipper Karin's coat was sentenced to "the wheelbarrow" for one year." "This meant he should remove the townspeople's night soil each morning." "Worse than death, according to many." "It's 1626, and the king has changed his mind again." "Now he wants to display his power with a very impressive ship which is why Vasa is to be built." "The navy employs an experienced former Danish captain Söfring Hansson to oversee the construction." "But Master Henrik is tired of all changes." "The timber isn't suitable, as it had been selected for one of the smaller ships and he has made several complaints to the privy council that he is losing money." "Vasa is built in the Dutch fashion." "When bow, stem and bottom planks are in place, the frame is raised." "More than a thousand oak trees are needed for Vasa alone." "But the Crown wouldn't advance any money, so Vasa is financed with loans." "Henrik's brother, Arendt must constantly borrow more money from Dutch bankers." "The yard manager, Söfring Hansson, now has a huge responsibility because the 65-year-old Henrik is constantly ill and bedridden." "His wife, Margareta, has to take on more and more responsibilities." "In addition to the yard the family had copper interests and ran a large farm." "Vasa was something new for Henrik Hybertsson perhaps inspired by a Dutch ship." "The king wanted so many guns that Vasa would have two gun decks." "This was probably a first in Swedish shipbuilding." "Stockholm was growing very quickly, with new houses constantly being built." "The population had doubled in just a few years." "Foreign merchants, especially Dutch, moved here, hoping to do well like the Hybertssons." "Beautiful stone houses were being built and Arendt de Groot's family made their home on Västerlånggatan." "The lute was popular in better families." "Learning to play the lute was part of a good education." "Perhaps Arendt's wife took lessons from the Italian Giovanni Veraldi who taught the king and the queen." "Arendt was constantly travelling on behalf of the yard and Dutchmen like him introduced more luxurious habits in this comer of Europe:" "Beautiful lace-trimmed clothes, art, good food and drinks." "Perhaps the lamb-filled paté had been ordered from another Italian, Nicola who had his shop by the main market." "He made pasta and cakes, but also confectionery and marzipan which was expected at any good 17th century party." "But the gap between rich and poor was big and increased on the back of the war." "Hundreds of begging orphans roam the streets of Stockholm." "The town guard tries to catch the starving children and place them in the workhouse where they would have to live among thieves and murderers." "Alehouses were being established such as "The Sun", "The Swan" and "The Lion"." "Many seamen gathered there before going off to war." "They knew that their chances were slim." "Over 30,000 Swedes had already been killed on the other side of the Baltic Sea." "Women became war widows:" "Stockholm had three times as many women as men." "But finding work was difficult, so many sold their bodies for food and beer." "The seamen liked playing tables." "It was popular in all social classes." "In the annals, I read about two seamen who played table." "They both regarded themselves winner of the daler on the table." "According to a witnesses, the wound in Simon's head was two fingers deep." "Johan Brun confessed and was sentenced to death for manslaughter." "The annals also mention Malin, who had five illegitimate children." "She was found drunk by the town guard." "She was sentenced for whoredom and she had to carry the town stones;" "a common punishment for women." "She must carry the shame to the town limits." "If she returns, she'II lose her life." "Death was always present." "Being ill was life-threatening." "A common cold could end one's life." "Master Henrik was getting worse, so Margareta called for the barber whose job it was to both cut hair and treat the sick, on land and at sea." "Trained physicians were rare." "The barber placed cup glasses over the illness in a last attempt to improve the blood flow." "But Henrik grew weaker." "In May 1627 he died, when Vasa wasn't even half done." "In the yard's big smithy, they made all the iron tools needed for ship building:" "Saws, broad axes, hatchets, drills and planes." "But most of all the 8,000 iron bolts that would hold the big Vasa hull together." "Margareta now became the manager." "In the 17th century, a widow could inherit her husband's profession and Margareta was an experienced businesswoman." "She is now in charge of Sweden's largest company with carpenters, painters tanners, ropers and wood carvers." "It's urgent to get Vasa finished after all the delays." "The king is waiting for his ship." "In the sail shop, the ten sails are being made." "They are being made of the best French hemp canvas." "Most of the sailmakers were also Dutch." "Margareta had to finish the construction of Sweden's largest ship ever but Henrik's knowledge was hard to replace." "She is supposed to have said, "I must fulfil the contract my husband made."" "But there is unrest in the yard;" "many haven't been paid for months." "The money for Vasa is running out, as Crown income from copper is dropping." "The copper price is falling at the exchange in Amsterdam and the inflation lowers the value of Swedish copper coins." "The vital Dutch craftsmen threaten to go home unless they are paid in silver dalers." "But Margareta can't afford it." "When the Vasa contract was signed, a silver daler stood at six copper coins now it's at eleven." "So they strike." "One of the leaders may have been hanged." "Strikes were strictly forbidden." "King Gustavus II Adolphus needs Vasa in order to ship more soldiers to Germany." "He has decided to attack Stralsund, and the Vasa guns will then be needed." "Suddenly, the king decides to pay a visit." "He arrives on the morning of 16 January 1628 together with his Lord High Admiral Karl Gyllenhielm and an aide-de-camp." "Vasa has now been launched and work on masts and after castle has commenced." "The king is annoyed over the poor management and all the delays." "But Margareta has cash flow problems." "She is building another warship, Äpplet, at the same time as Vasa." "But she wasn't afraid to state her case although being the only woman among these fine gentlemen." "She tells the king that the delays aren't the fault of the Hybertssons but of the Crown, as it hasn't paid as agreed." "This annoys the king immensely, and he threatens to fire Margareta." "The cost had increased from 40,000 dalers to over 53,000 for the hull alone." "To this would be added rigging and sails." "Her brother-in-law must put the family in debt in order to keep the yard running." "He tries to borrow from Dutch bankers but his promissory notes are returned." "He has no more credit." "So he tries to smuggle out a large consignment of oak to sell to Dutch yards." "But it fails and the oak is confiscated, as the Crown has sole right to all oak." "Arrested at first, Arendt de Groot is released without any penalties." "It has taken two years but in the spring of 1628, Vasa is finally near completion and is moved from the navy yard to the quays beneath the royal castle." "The rigging ropes were made of hemp which Arendt had bought in Königsberg and Riga." "Some of the hemp went to the workhouse in the old monastery on Riddarholmen." "The street children were put to work making sail twine and lines for Vasa." "They had to work for their food and somewhere to sleep." "Anna is six and makes sacks." "Her mother left her here, after having been widowed for a second time." "According to the 1628 annal, "the wretched children starve and suffer."" "The navy paid the workhouse too little, so the children were given rotten food." "On the quays beneath the castle, the new harbour crane was ready to hoist the heavy guns aboard." "From dawn until late into the light summer nights the seaman walk the treadwheels in teams of four." "They run the hawsers that lift the guns and other items aboard Vasa." "The guns are placed on both the upper and lower gun decks." "She's becoming very heavy, and there is a rumour that Vasa is unstable." "Each piece weighs 1.5 tonnes, and Vasa will have 64 guns in total." "The seamen move aboard." "Several hundred will live on the gun decks." "Lots of food was needed." "More than 2,000 casks of bread, salted meat dried peas and salted fish were consumed during a two-month voyage." "Söfring Hansson had been appointed captain for Vasa and he ate dinner in the great cabin." "This was where the officers would live;" "the only place with proper bunks." "When in harbour, the seamen had to furnish their own food in order to save the stored food." "It was often simple and unvaried food." "Mainly pea soup and porridge." "The soup was shared by teams of seven." "The kitchen - the galley - was situated furthest down in the ship." "The salted meat was soaked in water for a few days before being cooked." "The salt food required lots of beer and beer was also believed to combat scurvy." "They drank no less than four litres per person each day." "The seamen made and repaired their own clothes." "Part of the salary was paid in cloth." "Bread was important in war." "The bakers were threatened with the death penalty if they didn't produce enough bread, because the soldiers were starving." "At least 20,000 casks of bread had to be delivered as a special tax." "According to the annals, baker Anders faced prison if he didn't deliver more." "Day and night, the sourdough was turned into ship's biscuits." "The king put as much pressure as he could on the bakers." "Finally, they can't cope anymore although Stockholm has a hundred bakeries." "Joined by butchers and beer brewers, they protest against all the taxes." "One of the protesters, butcher Erik Bengtsson was arrested for having urged people to ignore the king's order." "He was sentenced for rabble-rousing and was executed to set an example." "Vasa must have been awe-inspiring." "Nobody had ever seen such a grand ship." "All of Stockholm came to see her." "The main mast was almost 50 metres high and the transom was colourful and golden." "The king wanted to display his power with an impressive ship." "In spite of the urgency, much effort had been spent on hundreds of sculptures." "Captain Söfring Hansson ensured that the guns were properly lashed down." "Many of the seamen were young and had never been to sea before." "Every male aged between 15 and 60 could be conscripted for war service." "When recruitment was difficult, the navy raided the alehouses." "Sometimes thieves were sentenced to sea service." "The weather was very bad that summer, 1628." "Nobody could remember so much rain and wind." "Waiting for the right wind could take a long time." "Large ships couldn't tack or gybe well, especially during autumn storms." "The Lord High Admiral Karl Karlsson Gyllenhielm, head of the navy tries to calm the king by writing, "Vasa will depart, God and wind willing."" "While in harbour, seamen could keep their wives aboard, but not "trollops" which was a common term for prostitutes." "Seaman Tomas admits having been with the whore Jägarbritta on the king's ship." "He defends himself insolently:" ""If all her customers had been caught" "the king wouldn't have many warriors left."" "People were superstitious and looked to the stars for answers which showed some ominous signs." "Will it be the wrong day to set sail?" "It is so urgent, that Gyllenhielm decides to set sail on a Sunday when there should be no travel, except to church." "But this morning, 10th of August 1628, the wind has finally died down and the sun shines in the summer sky." "Many have gathered on the quays on this day which Margareta's husband, shipwright Henrik didn't live to see." "As it is the maiden voyage, wives and children are allowed to come along." "Some 40 will come along for the first leg, to Vaxholm." "It is uncertain if candle dipper Karin was one of them as nobody knows the names of those who came aboard." "The lists of crew members and family members have never been found." "Captain Hansson tries to judge the wind direction by watching the mast pennants." "He knows the ship is unsteady and he hasn't been able to do any trials to trim the sails." "The wind is so weak that they have to warp her out of the harbour." "An anchor is rowed further out, and the hawser is then hauled in moving the ship some hundred metres, and then it's done all over again." "The warping is so slow that they probably won't reach Vaxholm before dark." "They would be away for over six months, so longing for a loved one could be hard." "But a keepsake could easy the pain." "A keepsake." "And many never returned." "After a few weeks at sea, diseases killed them." "After several hundred metres of warping, they can finally set the first sails." "Everyone up!" "He dares only set four of the sails." "Vice Admiral Erik Jönsson Krämer lays the course with Master Jöran Mattsson." "After Vaxholm, they will continue to Älvsnabben, south of Stockholm." "More than 300 soldiers will embark there and be transported to Germany." "As they leave, they fire the two-gun Swedish salute." "It takes almost two hours before Vasa reaches more open water." "As it was Sunday, people were off work so many were watching from beaches and quays." "The helmsmen try to shift the rudder, making Vasa run before the wind." "She's not responding!" "A gust of wind makes her roll back and forth a couple of times." "Everyone up!" "Let loose the topsail!" "Are the pieces lashed?" "The most senior officer, 70-year-old Admiral Erik Jönsson Krämer tries to help the seamen pull in the guns in order to close the ports." "But it's too late." "It all happens so quickly." "Suddenly, there is a strong gust causing Vasa to heel over, so water starts gushing in through the gun ports." "The captain tries to save her by letting loose the sails but the wind is too weak to pull the lines out of the blocks." "The admiral and some of the seamen try to straighten Vasa by pulling some of the guns over to the other side." "Some people on board are saved by the smaller boats close to Vasa." "However, many under deck are helpless when the water rushes in." "It happens so quickly." "She sinks within a few minutes." "The water causes the stairs to the upper deck to come loose." "The admiral struggles to get up, and he succeeds." "Some 40 are believed to have drowned, of the 130 who were on board Vasa." "After five minutes, only the tops of the main masts are above water." "Some 15 seek rescue in the crow's nest." "VASA 1628 THE PEOPLE, THE SHIP, THE ERA" "The Baltic Sea has many shipwrecks, as it's free from shipworm." "One of these was Vasa, who sank during her maiden voyage 10 August 1628 in the middle of Stockholm harbour." "During the 19th and early 20th century there were several dives down to Vasa." "In the 1950s, amateur naval archaeologist Anders Franzén tried to locate her again." "After several unsuccessful attempts he was eventually helped by an experienced diver, Per Edvin Fälting." "In August 1956, they finally found something close to Beckholmen." "In the drive punch there was a piece of blackened oak." "Fälting was the first diver to go down to see what it could be." "He landed close to something that in the dark seemed to be a big wooden ship." "Could it be Vasa?" "Already three days after the disaster in 1628 divers went down to see if she could be salvaged, but it was too difficult." "However, most of the expensive guns were eventually salvaged by those divers." "It was an enormous feat at the time." "The news about the disaster quickly spread across Stockholm." "Many mourned friends and relatives who had drowned." "Lord High Admiral Karl Gyllenhielm has the unenviable task of writing the king Gustavus II Adolphus, who is off at war in Poland and Germany." "It can take a week before the letter reaches the king." ""We have imprisoned those in charge."" ""Captain Söfring Hansson is held here in the castle."" "He could be sentenced to death if found guilty." "Karl Gyllenhielm holds a first hearing with the captain already the day after the disaster in 1628." "The captain, who had been found alive after a long time under water claims that the ship was faulty." ""She didn't respond to the rudder and couldn't be sailed."" "He swears that the guns were lashed." "Or you may cut me in a thousand pieces." ""In a thousand pieces", was exactly what he said." "Did he mean the breaking wheel, where the convict's bones were crushed before he was beheaded and the body was quartered?" "Many women saw their loved ones drown when Vasa foundered." "Was candle dipper Karin one of them and now left with her little daughter?" "According to the annals, her husband was a helmsman in the navy." "If he was helmsman on Vasa, he died in the steerage on the lower gun deck." "When the king learns of the disaster, he writes from Germany that the crew must have been careless or drunk." ""If the gun ports had been shut, it would never have happened."" "The captain is released on bail and is appointed by the king to oversee the salvage of Vasa but they had to give up." "333 years later, Anders Franzén and Per Edvin Fälting made a new attempt." "In the five-metre deep mud layer they find a number of objects that have come loose from the ship." "More and more people realise that there is a treasure trove below." "The symbol of royal power, the three-metre lion figurehead is raised from the deep." "It still has traces of colour, and of shimmering gold in the mane." "At the same time, parts of the transcript from the 1628 hearing is found in an archive." "On the 5th of September, parts of the privy council met at the castle." "It was chaired by Gyllenhielm a tough admiral who had spent 12 years in a Polish prison." "The hunt for the culprits is about to begin." "First called is Vice Admiral Erik Jönsson Krämer who has been close to death from water in his lungs and severe bruising." "You were appointed vice admiral..." "Gyllenhielm tells Krämer that he, as most senior officer on board should have been more in charge." "Krämer responds that he's no mariner." "He was just responsible for the guns." "The captain and the master know more about sailing and ballast than he does." "So Gyllenhielm calls Master Jöran Matsson for questions about the ballast." "Matsson says that Vasa was unstable." "Not enough stone could be loaded, as she was too narrow at the bottom." "Matsson then lets a "bomb" go off." "He reveals something that happened long before the guns came aboard." "Admiral Clas Fleming, close to the king had tested the stability by having 30 sailors run from side to side." "After their first lap, Vasa heeled over one plank width two after the second, and three plank widths after the the third lap." "Fleming shouted that they should stop because a fourth lap would have caused Vasa to keel over." "Fleming was heard saying, "Wish the king was home."" "When Matsson said, "I hope to God that she will stay on her keel" Fleming got angry and snapped at him:" ""Hybertsson has built ships before, so don't you worry."" "This revelation saves Matsson and the other officers from blame." "So, Admiral Fleming knew that she wasn't seaworthy." "Finally, they hear the navy yard lessee, the Dutchman Arendt de Groot." "Gyllenhielm asks him why the ship was so poorly built." "He says that his brother had followed the king's instructions and had even made Vasa half a metre wider." "They probably had good reason to conceal much and blame others as they make their statements under threat of harsh punishments." "Arendt de Groot says he's done everything possible and has a clean conscience." "But perhaps his conscience isn't so clean after all?" "He seems to realise that his time is up because he renounces his right to live in Stockholm." "One night he sets off into the Stockholm archipelago and flees with a Dutch ship." "With nobody to name as guilty, a game of power politics starts." "The two family members still in the country are Hybertsson's son and widow." "She's declared bankrupt and must leave the navy yard." "The financial records are confiscated and Margareta's son is arrested." "Nobody knows what happened to him." "Was he sentenced for something or not?" "Margareta remarried but the tragedy may have contributed to her death in 1630." "Candle dipper Karin and her daughter seem to have been lucky, after all because she kept her job at the yard." "Many widows had it worse." "They'd work as rower women, handle rubbish collection or work in a tavern." "Their children often ended up begging or in the workhouse." "Vasa's masts are cut down, and soon all traces are gone." "But 30 metres down the big ship remained." "One of the guns that the 17th century divers didn't manage to salvage was found by Per Edvin Fälting." "According to his diary, he thought about those brave divers when he struggled for hours with the heavy gun." "The gun has the House of Vasa coat of arms which is the ultimate proof that it is Vasa they've found." "Fälting heads the diving operations assisted by young navy divers under training." "Hundreds of finds surface." "Among the largest is one of the masts." "Would it be possible to raise the ship?" "The 1950 techniques were better than those in the 17th century but the basic method was the same:" "raising the ship with two lifting pontoons." "But the government didn't want to pay for it." "They, and some museum experts, felt that it wasn't worth raising and should remain where it was." "But with the help of a whip-round, the navy and some private companies Anders Franzén finally managed to realise the project." "With a special nozzle, the divers create six 20-metre long tunnels in the clay under the ship." "Avery dangerous job, done in complete darkness." "Everything goes well, however." "Very thick, 120-metre long cables are then pulled through the tunnels." "They are then attached to the lifting pontoons." "In August 1959, everything is ready for the first lift." "The pontoons are emptied of water in order to lift the 750-tonne ship." "Will the mud let her loose?" "Will the hull hold up?" "Yes, the mud lets her go and Vasa hangs in her cable cradle, 30 metres below." "Vasa is then moved in 18 stages, to more shallow water near Kastellholmen." "The first phase is over and everyone feels relieved." "The 17th century ship has coped with the strain." "It's a strange feeling for the divers to move around in a 17th century world." "They make drawings, as photography is very difficult in the murky water." "Lifting the heavy ship requires much knowledge and the salvage team has increased to 60 men." "The holes after thousands of dissolved iron bolts must be plugged." "The transom must be temporarily rebuilt as the original has been tom down over the years." "The divers check all wires and links to the jacks that will do the final lift." "Monday 24 April 1961, at 9am is the big day when Vasa will show herself for the first time since 1628." "The final lift was seen by many millions of TV viewers around the world." "Around a thousand spectators watched it from Kastellholmen." "I was one of them." "I had permission to be off from school and was very excited." "It took a long time, but suddenly a piece of wood became visible." "It was part of the gunwale." "Many were probably disappointed, having expected a more complete ship." "Earlier salvage attempts, and anchors that had caught the ship over the years had damaged the upper parts of Vasa." "Anders Franzén and Per Edvin Fälting are the first to go aboard." "The day they had dreamt about for five years, despite all the setbacks." "They must pump out as much water and mud as possible, to make her lighter." "Now the archeologists take over." "It was the largest marine excavation ever undertaken in Sweden so everybody was inexperienced." "One day, they find a whole orchestra of angels in the rubble." "It came from the big cabin, which had been decorated like a room in a castle." "They will end up with 16,000 finds." "Vasa is then towed past the point where she foundered, near Beckholmen." "This is where the maiden voyage for the pride of Sweden ended in disaster after having sailed only a kilometre." "A trip no longer than the ferry tour to Djurgården." "When reaching Beckholmen, she glides majestically, as in the 17th century by herself, with just a slight list, into the drydock." "There she was placed on a concrete bed which became the floor she still rests on." "Gustavus II Adolphus never saw his ship completed but king Gustav VI Adolf, who was an enthusiastic amateur archeologist had the opportunity to inspect this faded beauty." "The hull is now completely visible." "It's quite impressive." "The 17th century carpenters were skilful, and she's very well built." "The mud is full of smaller objects." "This is a copper coin, which probably belonged to one of the seamen." "It could have paid for a drink in the tavern." "Even without the after castle, Vasa is the size of a four-storey building." "Inside, a world is revealed that hitherto had been rather unknown for historians." "Vasa contains a complete 17th century society; something quite unique." "It's damp and cramped, with a thick layer of mud everywhere." "I still remember the smell of mud, because when I was 14 years old I was aboard Vasa a few times when my uncle shot this footage." "Everything can be perfectly dated, as all objects are of the same age." "A time capsule, where all life stopped when she sunk at 6pm on 10 August 1628." "Until they can be preserved the sculptures are placed in large water tanks in the cave rooms on Beckholmen." "A central question from Karl Karlsson Gyllenhielm during the hearing 1628 was if Vasa had sufficient ballast sufficient load of stones to keep the five-storey ship upright." "Master Jöran Matsson and Captain Söfring Hansson had been down in the hold, and tried to fit in as many stones as possible." "Actually 25 tonnes more than the king's man, admiral Clas Fleming, had wanted." "Now the archeologists are working in the same cramped space to remove all the stones." "Vasa needed lots of stone as ballast but it still wasn't enough to counterweigh the heavy guns the masts and high hull." "Every lorry load of ballast stones is weighed: a total of 120 tonnes which today is regarded as insufficient." "Another 100 tonnes had been needed, but wouldn't fit in which the 17th century builders also realised." "This despite the weight of 450 men and all their provisions." "It would have steadied her but also raised the waterline too close to the gun ports." "Shipwright Henrik Hybertsson knew this." "Vasa was something new for him, an experiment but he wasn't able to see it through, as he died before she was completed." "Nobody dared take the difficult decision to stop her maiden voyage." "This is the origin of the "Vasa syndrome"." "The disaster is used to describe why companies or banks may crash." "Nobody takes overall responsibility." "One builds the ship, another looks after the guns, and a third the rigging each according to his own ideas." "Also, the king wanted an impressive ship." "If it was a good ship was less important." "The finds that are made collaborate the witness statements from the hearing that Vasa sank within a few minutes." "The stairs came loose when Admiral Erik Krämer tried to reach the upper deck." "By those stairs on the gun deck, lay the only gold object found on Vasa:" "A ring." "Did Erik Krämer loose it when he tried to save himself?" "Most people below deck had no chance." "A gun on the loose had hit a seaman." "He was found crushed against the wall." "The brackish oxygen-starved water and the mud 30 metres below the surface has preserved his clothes and shoes, which are still on his feet." "Even his hair and brain has been preserved in the cold depth." "The skeletons can tell the osteologist what food and diseases the seamen had." "They confirm how hard life was in the 17th century." "Fifteen skeletons, from the around forty seamen who died have been found." "All except one, Captain Lars Johnsson, are unidentified." "However, circumstances of their lives have been revealed through the finds." "In casks and chests, remnants of their private food supplies can be found." "And the casks in the hold were once filled with salted beef, mutton, pork and poultry." "Next to a corpse in the steerage, several boxes made of birch bark were found." "Can one of them have belonged to the helmsman who probably died at his post?" "Perhaps one of them even contained a lock of hair from candle dipper Karin?" "A keepsake from a beloved." "Thanks to Vasa we now know how a seaman made his clothes." "A short jacket with standing collar, breeches, linen shirt and leather shoes." "This was found in a seaman's chest, together with spoons and coins." "After being freeze-dried, the shoes regain their original shape." "With this fire pot, an officer kept his food warm." "An expensive item, made in Germany." "Perhaps it belonged to Admiral Erik Jönsson Krämer who had German roots." "Some of the carpenters who built Vasa became part of the crew as the ships constantly needed repairs." "This chest belonged to one of them." "It contained tools, such as drill and plane." "During her maiden voyage, only four of her ten sails were set." "The remaining sails were found on the orlop deck probably the oldest surviving sails in the world." "Parts of the thick anchor cable could also be saved." "Cannon balls were also found on the cramped orlop deck." "On the dark lower gun deck, one can almost hear Captain Hansson say:" ""Are the pieces lashed?", meaning:" "Have the guns been secured?" "Yes, they were." "The captain told the truth during the hearing." "All the gun carriages were in their right positions on the gun decks." "So the guns had not caused the disaster." "The archeologist had only a window of six months before winter when Vasa would be housed in a protective temporary building." "This marks the start of the time-consuming work to preserve the actual ship." "The hull and thousands of wood objects are treated and sprayed with polyethylene glycol which will replace the water in the wood." "At first, the ship was sprayed every 20 minutes, day and night and then gradually less and less often for 17 years, until 1979." "Never before had such a large object been chemically preserved." "It would take many years to identify all the objects." "Vasa has sometimes been called the largest jigsaw puzzle in the world." "To find the right position for each loose piece the carpenters would test the old nail holes with a wire." "If there was a fit, another piece of the puzzle had found its place." "Shipbuilding in wood hasn't changed very much since the 17th century." "There were no drawings of Vasa, as she was built from measurement tables." "And her ribs required very large oak trees." "Down in the hold, it's like stepping back to an untouched 17th century." "The carpenters were immensely skilled in joining the huge ribs and the thick strakes." "One can still see the marks of their broad axes." "Vasa is a full timbered ship, with the sides being over half a metre thick in order to withstand enemy cannon balls." "An armour that increased the weight, which had disastrous consequences." "The thick anchor cable is once again secured to the bitts in the bow and the furniture is put back in the after castle." "Several of the original pulleys, deadeyes, crosstrees caps and other rigging details have been put back in use, together with 4,000 metres of new cordage for shroud and stays in the rigging." "Lots of knowledge and experience have contributed to a 95% restored Vasa." "One of the largest ships of its day, almost 70 metres from bow to stem." "Vasa is unique: it's the oldest large ship in the world." "On the gun decks, between the guns, the crew slept on the deck itself." "It almost feels as if time has stood still down here, since Vasa sailed." "But what will happen to Vasa in the future?" "Was the preservation technique of the 1960s sufficient?" "For how long will she be around?" "Not forever." "A few years ago, patches of discolouration were noticed." "The patches were salt precipitates." "The reason was partly that the dirty water which Vasa had been in for 300 years had contained large quantities of hydrogen sulphide." "But the main reason was that rust from the thousands of iron bolts in the hull had been absorbed by the wood." "Those iron bolts were replaced, but the new ones have also started to rust." "So they are being replaced with steel bolts; a job that will take several years." "The 20-metre high after castle is covered with sculptures; a unique art treasure." "The king wanted an impressive ship that would terrify the enemies." "Master shipwright Hybertsson engaged one of Europe's best wood carvers Martin Redtmer from Germany who, together with his assistants, created more than 700 sculptures." "They depict characters from Greek mythology, the Bible and the fanciful history books of the 17th century." "The lion was a symbol of power and strength; on Vasa there are 60 of them!" "This 17th century art treasure has surprised many as Sweden at that time was a cultural backwater." "People would see all this shine in gold and bright colours as Vasa approached." "During the 17th century, both ships and buildings became colourful." "Fragments of gold and the original paint have been found on the sculptures." "These fragments were preserved and copies of the sculptures show the colours." "One theory why Vasa sank, has been that she was built too high." "Is it possible that the after castle was made even higher after Hybertsson's death?" "The great cabin was intended to impress." "This is where the captain had his dinner before the departure that fateful day." "From the rudder, the long tiller reaches the steerage where the helmsman was." "At this time, big ships were steered with a feature known as "whipstaff"." "The helmsman had a very heavy job, with long watches." "The sinking could have meant the end for Vasa - but it wasn't." "One of the biggest failures in Swedish history has given us insight into a partly unknown 17th century and showed us the lives of a few characters in Stockholm 400 years ago." "Oddly enough, if this floating palace, with all its sculptures, had sailed well nobody would have seen Vasa today." "VASA 1628 A walk in the wake of the famous ship" "It's almost nine o'clock." "Fifty years ago, I sat on these cliffs and waited for Vasa to break the surface." "It was a strange day." "I had been given a day off from school in order to be here." "From up here, one could see the barges and the large pontoons and the taut cables." "But there was no sight of Vasa." "We sat here and waited, it was close to nine o'clock." "Suddenly people started to applaud and cheer... ..because a small, black piece of timber broke the surface." "It sent shivers down my spine, because we had waited for so long." "But at the same time I thought, "Is this all there is?"" ""Is Vasa so damaged?"" "I had somehow expected a complete ship to emerge almost like a pirate ship." "But that wasn't the case." "Vasa had been damaged through the centuries after 333 years at the bottom." "Times were so exciting in the 1950s and 1960s for teenagers like me." "Such as the satellites!" "The first sputnik had been launched in 195 7." "They had even sent up a dog..." "Vasa was one of these things, a bit of an adventure that such an old ship could be salvaged." "A hundred metres outside this drydock on Beckholmen  Vasa sank in 1628." "And it was this drydock that was used for some six months while the salvagers explored the ship and removed all loose items in the fantastic treasure chest called Vasa. .." "...after the salvage." "Vasa actually came in to the dock afloat." "She was hauled in and placed on a concrete pontoon." "Then the water was pumped out." "I visited several times while Vasa stood here in the summer of 1961." "It's a fantastic feeling to walk the decks of Vasa." "This is the lower gun deck." "I've been here often during the making of the film, and each time I'm so impressed by this fantastic construction." "All these deck planks, sawed by hand from oak timbers." "They whipsawed: one man above and one below, working a long two-man saw." "It was important to saw straight!" "The joining also shows the immense knowledge and skill they had." "It was done by Dutch carpenters who had moved to Stockholm." "Down here, in the lowest part of Vasa one can really see the work and the skill of those carpenters." "Here we see the large ribs, which have been sawed and then hewed." "What makes the 17th century so vivid down here is that you can even see the cuts of the broad axes." "Much of this was deep down in the silt, which has preserved it very well." "This timber is as new!" "This was one of the reasons I wanted to show this fantastic ship and the people who lived onboard." "It's a time machine: when the ship sank on 10 August 1628, everything stopped." "When I planned the Vasa film, one problem was portraying the Old Town as it has changed so much." "The current houses are 18th-19th century but the foundations are often medieval." "So much has changed through the years so no streets still look like they did in the 17th century, when Vasa was built." "So I contacted filmtecknarna which has done a lot of traditional animated film but also computer animation, where environments are created digitally." "It makes it possible to recreate some of these 17th century settings." "I searched in books and archives, to find out what Stockholm looked like." "There are very few pictures of Stockholm from that period:" "A few maps from 1626 and a few views from south and north, but those are late 16th century." "And then the odd picture from the 1630s." "So these have to be merged to create a plausible Stockholm of 1628." "filmtecknarna has spent 18 months building this 17th century town but also creating Vasa, which is a completely digital construction." "It's all done in computers, but it's still drawn by humans." "It has taken three people 18 months, just to create the ship." "These techniques have developed very much in recent years, making it possible." "In total, ten people have worked constantly with this project." "Many of them are students, doing it as part of their graduate work." "A few are more experienced, having worked in Hollywood and Canada." "They've created the illusion of the town." "It's a process that goes back and forth all the time." "To begin with, we only had Hogenberg's 1580 drawing, with the same viewpoint." "You make use of available historic references in this case it's only a few ink drawings that we've..." "Yes, I think it's an etching." "This is like a digital painting, which is logical, as I'm an illustrator." "When I do the sketches I try out different lights different layouts and compositions." "It's used at several levels one being a basis for discussions with you, to see what's correct." "This is called matte painting, and is a combination of several techniques." "Matte painting is a very old film production technique." "Before computers, they painted backgrounds that couldn't be filmed." " Disney, for example." " Yes." "A well done matte painting is invisible." "Today it's much more advanced as we combine different techniques." "Very few parts are painted: much of it consists of photographs that are..." "Yes, they are photographs of real trees while the background, like the palace, is a rendered 3D model." "As it doesn't exist, it's been created in the computer." "This shows what I mean with a 3D model." "You start with something very simple, basically boxes which are put in the right positions in order to get an initial idea of scale..." "It's used for all the planning." "I also have a sketch of it." "Here are some low log cabins." "This was the northern suburb, which was the poor part of Stockholm." "Many of the shipyard workers lived there." "And then we have the largest project so far: the whole of Old Town." "It's a totally separate and difficult job, as we have no references." "We have only those drawings." "And they are not very detailed." "Most houses are drawn in the same way." "We can see some fifty wood houses that all look the same, but they weren't." "At the Museum of Medieval Stockholm there is a recreated 15th century street." "But the Old Town streets still looked about the same in the 17th century." "Some of these houses would be two floors taller because during the 17th century many of the houses had floors added and many wooden houses would have been demolished as 16th century fire regulations stopped further building of such houses." "But it still provides a sense of what it must have looked like." "It was a small town with narrow streets and people weren't very tall, as they were much shorter in the 17th century." "You could also see chickens and ducks walking around and the occasional cow or pig as well." "They had to be moved out of town in spring, but enforcement wasn't too strict." "There were also shops." "Many were just market stalls on Stortorget but some were in houses, with a shutter facing the street from where the goods were sold." "And a door could lead to an alehouse." "Many new alehouses were established during the 1620s, following Sweden's war with Poland." "Many soldiers lived in Stockholm at the time, and many Navy seamen." "There should be lots of ships there..." " Should we add some people?" " Yes, I already have." " I've also added the dog." " Great!" "It's hard to see right now." "It's more visible when it moves." "This old church helped us when we created the digitised scenes showing Stockholm in the 17th century." "Some of the animators and I visited the Museum of Medieval Stockholm to look at the bricks of that time and get a feel for what Stockholm looked like in the 17th century." "Much of the bricklaying techniques were quite old, medieval techniques." "The first Swedish brick buildings were probably built in the 13th century." "Thereafter brick walls were the norm." "During most of the 17th century brick walls weren't covered with plaster." "Plaster started to be used during the latter half of the 17th century when bricks became regarded as ugly." "Copper roofs also came into fashion, with the Royal Palace leading the way." "The Medieval Museum served as a great source of inspiration for us." "We were often here, and I remember that many of the young animators were quite surprised that things were so small." "I wonder if Stortorget was as crowded then as it is today, with all the tourists?" "This was the centre of Old Town." "The Town Hall was here on the site which now houses the Swedish Academy." "The Town Hall had been there since the 14th century but was tom down in 1770." "Many shopkeepers and bakers lived near Stortorget." "There were almost a hundred bakeries in Stockholm." "This street, Trångsund, was the home of an Italian, Mr Nicola." "He was a pâté and pasta maker and must have been one of the first Italians who came here to make pasta." "But he also made the Swedish version of hot buns with marzipan." "Lent hot buns had become very popular in the 17th century... ..and the king, Gustavus Adolphus, was very fond of those." "There is a fantastic story about a baker's apprentice who was robbed of six hot buns on Stortorget." "One of the scenes in the film is from Stortorget showing one of several public protests by bakers against the special bread tax." "The war in Poland required food, so all bakers must deliver bread as a tax but many couldn't produce the required volume so there were public protests." "Stortorget was full of people in the same situation: butchers, brewers and bakers." "So we've tried to reconstruct such a protest on Stortorget, as it looked then." " It's when they're about to attack..." " I see, before the execution." "This is the latest render from that scene." "But we'll bring down the sunshine a bit..." "It should be a bit more cloudy." " This should be in the afternoon, right?" " Yes, at two pm in May." "That's while Vasa is in the harbour." "Here's an alehouse." "One guy with a tankard and one waiting to be served." "Very simple places." "This is what that environment looked like so we need this feeling of poverty and worn down - a bit of the Wild West." "It's interesting because there are few drawings showing the life of commoners." "Later, they'll add some people." "But this is the basis of it." "There's no sky yet..." "Now I've placed all the green screen shots of people together which makes it much easier to see where they should be and in what sizes." "It's very easy to place them here, compared to working in 2D." "Would you like to tell us a bit about your work with the Stortorget scene?" " Sure!" " We didn't have that many people." "No, this consists of a number of green screen shots." ""Green screen" means that we filmed people against a big green canvas which we did exactly a year ago." "So, then I just place these groups of people on different layers..." " You cut them out?" " Exactly." "I remove the green background, so it looks as if they are on Stortorget." "And the digital house background is used in several scenes." "Yes, the background is done in 3D." "We're testing without textures, which is why everything is grey but that will be colourised." "While other animators are creating those textures in 3D I can position all the people, as I've just done." "I've duplicated the recordings we have so there will be a few hundred persons instead of the twenty we filmed." " This is a common technique today." " Yes, it's done all the time." "You combine a number of different shots on a big area to create large crowds." "It looks fantastic!" "I couldn't visualise it when I directed these twenty." "I participated as well and we had to change clothes several times, in order to look different." "It's a good solution - and a lot less expensive than hiring 200 extras." "Definitely!" "And it would be difficult as the green screen size is limited." "And the lighting has to be added." "This is supposed to be afternoon." "We create the lighting in 3D, to make it match the light on people which makes it easier." "We can see existing light and shadows on people and apply the same light angles on the houses." "It makes it fairly easy." "We start with a frame of a person against the green background." "In order to replace the background the computer must first be told that green areas are to be removed." "When that's done, with some special tools a 3D background can be copied in." "In this case we need a harbour, as it's the day when Vasa is about to leave." "When that's done, we add a filmed sky...that looks nice and some green screen people, multiplied to create a crowd." "That's Margareta Hybertsson, waving goodbye to the ship..." "This is how we work:" "lots of live material, mixed with 3D backgrounds." " And this scene will be ten seconds?" " Yes." "This is where the well-situated lived." "Several German families lived in the area around the German Church." "This was the oldest part of Old Town and it became the posh area in the 17th century." "Many wealthy families had arrived from the Continent to make money in Sweden, by trading in copper and timber." "Especially oak, which was needed for the large ships - such as Vasa." "It was a Dutch family, Hybertsson, who built Vasa." "Henrik Hybertsson arrived in 1601 to build ships for the Swedish navy." "In 1624 his brother arrived, Arendt de Groote." "He brought many Dutch carpenters, who were involved in the building of Vasa." "The Netherlands was at that time the main maritime and shipbuilding nation." "In Amsterdam they built their big ocean-going ships transporting goods between their colonies and Europe, including Sweden." "So the foreign families came here to make money in a time when Sweden was underdeveloped and poor." "Many of the poor lived in simple cabins by the quays that preceded the Skeppsbron quays." "On the west side of Old Town large areas had burnt down in September 1625." "The cause was a brewery, which caught fire while brewing beer and the fire spread very quickly." "The man in charge of the fire defence should have run to the cathedral to ring the bell, but he was too late, so a quarter of Old Town burned down." "So that part was then redeveloped which is why two of the streets are called Big and Little New Street." "Before the fire, they were known as Big and Little King Street." "Here are some of the Stockholm Annals." "These are old town council records." "The town scribe made notes about trials and other things that happened." "A form of diary, with one page per day." "Among other things, there are notes about the street children." "There were a couple of hundred children who lived on the streets in the 1620s." "Some had no parents at all while some had a single parent who couldn't take care of the child." "So they roamed the streets and begged, which was a big problem." "There were attempts to take care of them, or at least to catch them." "Many died of starvation and diseases but some ended up on Gråmunkeholmen which today is called Riddarholmen." "On this island there had been a grey friary behind today's Riddarholmen Church which is actually the old friary church, that had the friary behind it." "The former friary had been turned into a workhouse, which was a form of prison." "So those poor children lived with murderers and violent people." "The annals also record several gruesome murders." "By Komhamnstorg there were a few terrible incidents in the 17th century." "In the autumn of 1627 a rowboat was found adrift here with a young dead woman." "She was one of Stockholm's many younger and older rower women whose profession was ferrying people between different places." "Stockholm consists of several islands, so there was a need for transports." "There were only a handful of bridges, so people were often ferried with a rowboat." "To get to the south side, one could take a rowboat from here, Komhamnstorg and be rowed to the other side, or also as in this case, the rower woman took a customer from Gråmunkeholmen who probably wanted to go here." "Somehow there was a fight and they also noted that she had been raped before being killed." "There was a lot of crime;" "Stockholm was rather dangerous." "There were 80 murders in 1627 alone and that was only the official murders, noted in the annals." "There were probably many more." "Another time, in 1626 I think a shoemaker was found one evening in Västerlånggatan, or one of the alleys leading to it." "Someone had slit his throat and he was found at dawn." "Down here, by Komhamnstorg, there were many arriving and leaving on boats." "The murderer in this case, had probably arrived from the island of Ekerö as a German gardener from Ekerö was later convicted of the murder." "There had been a fight, perhaps a robbery or perhaps some old animosity or unsolved business deals." "The reason wasn't noted in the annals." "He was sentenced to death and was probably executed on Stortorget." "There are many such human fates in the annals." "Reading the annals, has helped me to get a sense of how life was in Stockholm in the 17th century." "There were no letters written, as few could read and write so the annals is a source to find out how common people lived." "One also needs a bit of imagination walking in Old Town and pondering how life must have been here." "On Blasieholmen, behind Grand Hotel and the National Gallery, Vasa was built." "About here by these warehouses from around 1900 under the cobblestones, they've found segments of oak." "Oak that was used when building the old sailing warships." "Vasa was built on a large slipway and there were some 400 people working here." "The yard had sail shops, shops where the rigging was tarred and a ropery was situated a bit further away." "And there were other buildings, such as those for the sailmakers and for those who carved all the sculptures for Vasa." "This was where the royal dockyard was situated until the mid 17th century when it moved to Skeppsholmen." "This was where Vasa was built." "When the ships were ready, they were launched into Nybroviken which was then known as Katthavet." "In those days there were woods and small farms here." "Most people don't know that there's been a dockyard behind Grand Hotel." " You did that dockyard scene as well." " That's right." "Could you show it, or...?" "This is the dockyard in a rough state!" "The scene is when the captain and Hybertsson walk through it." " Yes, I could show that." " It's a great scene!" "It's an interesting combination with green screen shots and proper acting scenes." " The camera tracking was difficult here." " Yes, it was handheld." " Yes, it was definitely handheld!" " Please note, Gustav!" "I've complained a lot about it..." " ...but I managed in the end." " It's a very funny scene." "It makes it more alive." "The film should convey the feeling of being there." " There it is..." " Yes, that's the scene." "It's Master Shipwright Hybertsson walking with Söfring Hansson who later became the Vasa captain." " It's rolling now..." " It's the final shot in this scene." " I'll do it once again." " Sure!" "We can add that scene later, Gustav, in the editing..." "Here it is..." "You've added the blocks that the ship rests on." "We missed those earlier." "And you've added more of these, with several rows now." "The cranes must have been enormous." "Yes, I thought that as well." " Almost taller than the ship..." " Yes, to get things to the top deck." "Parts of the aftercastle were probably built after the launch." "It would have been easier." "This is just a test." "There are still lots of things to do." "It looks as if the rowboat is moving, because of the waves around it." " I almost thought you had animated it." " Yes, it does look like it." " It's very short." " "Go and get those planks!"" " This is the whole scene?" " No, it's a bit longer." "Where are they going with that plank?" "They stop here and put down the plank." " You've removed that now, right?" " That's right." "Yesterday we talked about camera angles." "That the camera should be north of the ship's direction, as much as possible." " Yes, and that would mean that side?" " No, from north." " So it'll be filmed from there, I see." " We'll try to stay on the port side." "There will be scenes where starboard is shown, of course but switching back and forth too much makes it confusing." " We have many scenes here." " Yes, there are lots of them." " But we're getting closer." " That side is better." "Exactly..." "It's been two years since we first stood here talking about this project." " That's right!" "Hard to believe!" " Time flies!" "But we've done a lot since then." "Opposite the Royal Palace we find Blasieholmen." "It was there, behind the current Grand Hotel that Vasa was built between 1626 and 1628." "In the spring of 1628, probably in May they hauled Vasa, using anchors and cables to the quay by the palace." "She was moored here a couple of months while they filled her with stores and took aboard the big guns that had been cast near today's Brunkebergstorg." "On Sunday 10 August 1628, it was time for Vasa's maiden voyage." "It was about three in the afternoon, and Vasa was moored below the palace." "The wind was very light, and the harbour was too cramped for sailing anyway so she was warped out." "An anchor was rowed out and dropped, and the anchor cable was winched in causing the ship to slowly move." "There is probably a cable somewhere behind it, in order to control the tum." " Don't you think?" " Yes, probably." "This is from the other angle." " It was a bit too short." " So you've extended it?" "Yes, but it isn't finished yet." "This is the script for every single shot that is to be digitally manipulated." "It contains green screen shots, where digital backgrounds are added as well as totally digital shots, where everything is computer generated." "Right now, Maria is working on the departure scene before the first and last voyage." " Can't we reuse that shot?" " We already are." "It's in the next scene, for the gun salute." "It's so nice, with the town behind." " And we use it several more times." " Great!" "It's important to get the right feeling, and we've spent so much time on the town." "This one works great, right?" "It took an hour to reach open water." "Once there, they set the sails and shot the gun salute." "They then moved on under sail but Captain Söfring Hansson was very careful because he knew that the ship was very unstable so there were only four sails set." " The sky should be darker and reddish." " We'll do that in the grading." "Right, it's done in the grading, when all lighting and colours are adjusted." "There we can compare the different..." " So it's better to keep it light now." " Great." "The backgrounds are a mix of Nacka and Lidingö." "I see - and it looks correct!" " This is what we had." " Exactly." "There is that one, the real boat, and then there is the background with the sinking ship in between." "I've tracked the movement from the background and then matched it with a 2D picture of Vasa." "It's moving forward." "I took it when we sailed." " We have the boat, shadow layers..." " Yes, there are so many layers!" "What's most difficult is the water, to get the right illusion of how the water touches the ship." "The eye is very sensitive to such things." "It mustn't seem added on." "So we have three who jump?" "Good, because are three in the water." "Those who couldn't swim were probably quite frightened: "What should I do?"" "But they hadn't much choice." "That's me jumping!" "There!" "The little jumping man!" "We jumped on foam rubber in green screen shots." " Is it done in slow motion?" " Yes." "Captain Söfring Hansson was careful but the ship was very unsteady and he became nervous." "He took down some sails but it didn't help." "A hundred metres outside Beckholmen, Vasa foundered." "It was a disaster."