From the seventeenth-century empire of Sweden, the story of a galleon that sank at the start of her maiden voyage in 1628 must be one of the strangest tales of the sea. For nearly three and a half centuries she lay at the bottom of Stockholm harbour until her discovery in 1956. This was the Vasa, royal flagship of the great imperial fleet. 1628年,一艘大帆船在处女航时就沉没了,这个从容不迫7世纪瑞典帝国流传至今的故事无疑是航海史上最离奇的事件之一。这艘大船在斯德哥尔摩港口的海底躺了将近几年来个世纪之后,直到1956年才被发现。这就是“瓦萨”号,帝国大舰的皇家旗舰。 � 'The Northern Hurricane', then at the height of his military success in the Thirty Years' War, had dictated her measurements and armament. Triple gun-decks mounted sixty-four bronze cannon. She was intended to play a leading role in the growing might of Sweden. 当时号称“北方飓风”的国王古斯夫斯.阿道尔弗正处在“三十年战争”的军事鼎盛阶段,他亲自规定了这艘船的规模和武器配备。3层的火炮甲板上装着眼点4门青铜加农炮,目的就是要在不断增长的瑞典势力中起主导作用。 � As she was prepared of her maiden voyage on August 10, 1628, Stockholm was in a ferment. From the Skeppsbron and surrounding islands the people watched this thing of beauty begin to spread her sails and catch the wind. 1628年8月10日,“瓦萨”号准备首航时,斯德哥尔摩一片欢腾。人们从斯开波斯布朗和周围的岛屿前来观着这艘美丽的战船扬帆起航,乘风前进。 �