World’s largest ocean-going sailing ship in Barcelona

The ‘Götheborg of Sweden,’ the largest ocean-going sailing ship in the world, is currently docked in Barcelona where it will spend the upcoming winter. The ship will stay in the Catalan capital for maintenance and is open to the public most weekends before leaving for Asia next year.

“I think the special thing about this ship is that it was built like they did it in the 1700s. The rig was built with the same material and we use the same technique as they did at that time,” said ‘Götheborg’ Captain Torben Hildemar to Catalan News.

The ship is a replica of the ‘Götheborg I’ that was used for trades in East India and sunk in 1745. The constuction of the current version started in 1995 and was first tested in 2005, resulting in the largest operation sailing ship.

The crew consists of around 70 people of which a good 20 are permanent members. The rest of the hammocks are filled with volunteers from all over the world who join for a couple of weeks, gaining experience and helping with the maintenance of the three-masted ship.

“It is really interesting to learn all the ancient sailing methods on board. This is knowledge you cannot read about, you need to be taught person to person. This way, the methods do not get forgotten,” explained Swedish volunteer Carolina Boltenstern to this media outlet.

After its previous stop in Malta, the ship will now stay in Barcelona for the next five months before sailing all the way to China as part of the East Asia tour. A part of the crew returns home for the winter, but volunteers keep joining to maintain the good conditions of the ship.

Up for visits on weekends

The ‘Götheborg of Sweden’ was open to the public the first days after arrival in Barcelona in late October, and visits are still possible on most of the upcoming weekends. Visitors can take a tour which shows the different sides an authentic ship has to offer. In addition to the historical knowledge and artifacts around the boat, the crew spreads out to answer questions.

The tour passes through the different decks and includes a look into the crew’s dining and sleeping area. “Being on the ship feels like time traveling. It seems like we live in a different, really small world but we have everything we need here,” Boltenstern added.

In general, visitors are mostly surprised by how realistically the replica of the ship is built. “They are still performing the same duties as they did hundreds of years ago. They are still sailing and doing the trips as they did in the old days,” Swedish tourist Carsten Holm points out. His wife Maria agreed and noticed “the authenticity of it all, how it feels like the original”.

The ship will be docked at Rambla de Mar for the next five months. Tickets can be purchased on the ‘Götheborg’ website.