December 1984. Anders Wästfelt brings three diving friends to Hunnebådan in search of any remnants of the wreck of the original foundered East Indiaman Gotheborg. They are successful.
The Wästfelt excavation of the Gotheborg is commenced with its first diving season. Knowledge of the main proportions, the rig, the armaments, and other details of the ship is starting to be collected. Two first test trenches are dug. Large amounts of Chinese porcelain shards, remnants of broken tea crates, larger ship's construction parts are found.
The Friends of the East Indiaman Götheborg Organization is established in February to support the excavation project. Erik Wettergren becomes its first Chairman.
During the excavation the first complete and unbroken porcelain items are found. Different types of ammunition is also found together with personal belongings from the crew. Complete sides of tea crates are found.
Details from the ships stern are identified.
The first complete bundle of intact porcelain plates are found which gives a first clue about what the the bundles listed in the cargo list could have looked like. Two large sections of the ships aft are lifted up.
Findings from the excavation are pumped up to the diving platform and sorted into its main categories. The sift is fine enough to hold back pepper corns and remnants of large insects...
Photo: Jan-Erik Nilsson, 1990
The original location of the wreck is found and decided with certainty. The fact that the ship in its construction had been inspired by the British could be noticed by the fact that the ship had been equipped with an extra 'loose' keel, to improve its sailing ability.
One of the 6,056 bars of 'Tuttanego' the ship had originally carried from China was found. The total weight could be decided to 21.6 kg which with a high degree of certainty could confirm that the Bill of Lading was correctly listing c. 130 tons.
The East Indiaman Gothenburg is exhibited in Shanghai, organized by Anders Wästfelt and the Swedish Consul General Bengt Johansson, in Shanghai. The exhibition becomes much published in Chinese media and is visited by a large Swedish delegation mostly from Gothenburg and Swedish companies already established in Shanghai.
Last season of actual excavations. The area close to the ship is investigated. The entire excavation area is covered with gravel to indicate for future investigations which area has been disturbed. Finds that could not be preserved are put back and filled over. Remaining excavation equipment was taken up and put in storage at New Elfsborg Fortress.
In October the idea of building a replica is presented by Anders Wästfelt to the Friends Organization. The Friends fully embraces the vision. Money is advanced towards the funding of a feasibility plan for the new project. An Executive Management Committee is organized to make the project a reality. This most important key Executive Management Committee is originally staffed by Anders Wästfelt - the sole individual initiator - as (Information and Marketing) and his wife, Berit Wästfelt for (Recruitment and Staff Administration). In the committee is also Erik Wettergren (Chairman), Lena von Sydow (Economy), Joakim Severinsson (Ship's Construction). Jan-Erik Nilsson (Research and Information Technology), Erik Pipping (Historical Rigging), Eric Lincoln (Nautical Engineering) and several more are soon added to the committee.
Terra Nova Shipyard, autumn of 1993. Here we would build the shipyard. The project was still a vision and SOIC AB was not yet founded. We were firmly determined that on this muddy piece of industrial wasteland we would build a ship that would sail to China. But, first we needed a shipyard. To the left Anders Wästfelt describing his plan. |
November 5, 1993. The Executive Management Committee sets out to organize the East Indiaman Götheborg III Foundation to assume the overall responsibility for the project and to become the beneficiary of the donations that will be needed to fund the project. More than 40 friends and sponsors are invited to become Founding Fathers to resume the sole responsibility to oversee the activities of the foundation and to that end to have the right to select the members of the Board of Directors of the Foundation, at a yearly meeting.
December 28, 1993. The Executive Management Committee asks the Friends to donate the funds necessary for the Foundation to register the The Swedish East India Company AB as a fully owned company, to build the ship. The Friends donates 100 percent of the shares of the SOIC AB, to the Foundation.
In 1994 the members of the Friends Organization together with hundreds of voluntary workers and supporting companies starts the building of the new shipyard Terra Nova at Eriksberg. Later same year, the Chairman of the Chinese People's Congress, Mr. Li Ruihan inaugurates the Terra Nova shipyard area.
June 11, 1995 the official laying of the keel takes place in front of 3.000 spectators. The ceremony is performed by Sören Gyll, Volvo AB, Professor of History Jörgen Weibull and Alf Österström, Priest of the local congregation. Two coins are placed in each of the two joints of the 33 meters long oak keel. Three years later the Friends Organization, the Executive Organizing Committee and a huge numbers of volunteers, brilliant ships builders and carpenters can proudly show they had done the impossible.
Already in 1996 DAROS sponsored us with the canons needed for the future ship
They wanted to help, but would soon relocate to a new factory where this kind of castings would not be possible any more.
Photo: Jan-Erik Nilsson, September 1998
1996 The shipyard hall is built. Vice premier of China, Zou Jiahua visits the Shipyard. The Major of Shanghai, Xu Kuangdi visits the Shipyard. The 8th of December 1996 the first rib is officially raised.
Jan-Erik Nilsson (left) presents the rib manufacturing process to the Major of Shanghai, Xu Kuangdi with entourage. To the far right, Nils Olof Ericsson, official interpreter to the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
During the year the ships ribs are made and erected one by one.
David Nilsson, help programmer to the project, studies the "North Sea Destination" on one of the Virtual Tour monitors, connected to a state of the art network at Svenska Massans G-Hall, Gothenburg. This is pretty much as close as we got pioneering Trade Portals at the Internet.
On a 1500 square meter area at the annual Boats Show at the Swedish Trade Fair, Nils Boijart, Jan-Erik Nilsson and Anders Wästfelt creates a 'Virtual East India World Tour' focused on the trade route and the cultural and commercial purpose of the project. The whole world participates via Internet and interactive webcams. The Chinese Garden is inaugurated next to the Shipyards area.
 
In November 12th, 1998 the 66th and last rib was raised. Photo: Jan-Erik Nilsson, 1998. |
The 12th of November 1998 the 66th and last rib is raised. The ship's main inner structure is now finally complete. From now on the the organization changes focus onto the ship building only. The project initiators finds themselves not needed or actually not wanted any more. Since almost all sponsors are there to support the larger purpose of the project as originally visualized by the initiators, the project now gets delayed due to lack of funding.
On the 1st of January 1999, Jorgen Gabrielson was appointed Managing Director of the Swedish East India Company AB. With the ship the work inside the hull is started. Making and fitting of deck's beams are completed.
Adding planking to the hull is started. Work with making parts to the rig is started.
Work with sculpted wood decorations and the figurehead is started. Sail making is started.
Ship's hull in the main shipyard hall at Terra Nova, Gothenburg. Larboard (port) side of the ship, from Galleon and fore, looking aft. 8th of August, 2002. Photo: SOIC AB, 2002. |
May 7th, 2002. The two TAMD 165 A 386KW (525HK) Volvo engines promised to the project in 1995, was delivered. Entire hull's planking is complete. November 2002, two propellers especially made for the ship, arrives.
June 6, 2003 The East Indiaman Gotheborg III is launched in the presence of the Royal Family. One week later at June 13th the first mast was fitted, which were the 23 meter long foremast. Work continues at quay side.
This is the ticket I was awarded at the naming ceremony of the recently launched ship in 2004. I think I had not expected to swing the actual bottle but I think I had expected more than a "semi VIP" ticket from the currently managing organization.
September 3, 2004. Her Majesty the Queen Silvia performed the naming ceremony of the Swedish East Indiaman Götheborg.
February 2005, Volvo enters the project as an official partner.
April 18, 2005, The first trial voyage ever with the new built ship.
May, Saturday 21 - Sunday 22, 2005, First trial voyage ever under sail. At most eight sails were up giving the ship a top speed of 6 knots.
The 27th of May the Eastindiaman Gotheborg III is tried out under sail again. Photo: SOIC AB, 2005. |
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