The Götheborg of Sweden is a replica of a merchant ship of the same name that sank of the coast of Gothenborg in 1745. She's the largest fully operational wooden sailing ship!
And almost exactly 3 years ago today, she made headlines for coming to the aide of the sailboat Corto that had become adrift after losing its rudder off the coast of France. Here are some of the surreal images that came from the rescue.
[photos by David Moeneclaey]
We repeatedly emphasized that we were aboard a small 8-meter sailboat, but the response was the same each time: "We are a 50-meter three-masted sailboat, and we offer our assistance in towing you to Paimpol." We were perplexed by the size difference between our two boats, as we feared being towed by a boat that was too large and at too fast a speed that could damage our boat.
The arrival of the Götheborg on the scene was rapid and surprising, as we did not expect to see a merchant ship from the East India Company of the XVIII century. This moment was very strange, and we wondered if we were dreaming. Where were we? What time period was it?
