The Bellinghman (bellinghman) wrote,
The Bellinghman
bellinghman

England's Vasa

For the next three years, you won't be able to visit the Mary Rose in Portsmouth, because she's having a brand new museum built round her.

Once that is complete, she should be quite a sight.

The Mary Rose can be considered England's Vasa, since like that ship, she is a wonderfully preserved mediaeval warship raised from the mud. There are some differences:
  1. There's only one side of the Mary Rose available: the other got eaten by ship worm, something that wasn't a problem for the Vasa in the brackish waters in Stockholm.

  2. She's considerably older, having sunk over 80 years earlier

  3. She was considerably more successful - after launch, the Vasa sailed across the harbour, and made it part of the way back before sinking{*}. The Mary Rose, however, served for 35 years, taking part in battles and even getting upgraded twice.

But having seen the Vasa, I do intend to go see the Mary Rose once the museum's finished.

{*} IIRC, if you count the total distance the Vasa ever covered, including the post-raising movements, she went something like 2 km in total.
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