There's a hive of activity on board the ship. Seamen climb up to the mastheads and from the maintop, set the maintopsail. Even though many of the crew are new recruits, they are not spared the climb to the top, 17 meters over the deck.
The sails fill with wind and water foams at the stem.
The captain stands on the quarterdeck with an overview of the ship and crew, as they make their way out into the Archipelago.
It required 90 seamen and about 20 officers to sail Vasa.
They needed to keep watch for other ships, storm clouds and dangerous rocks, so cooperation was important.
When underway, the seamen were divided into port and starboard watch rotations. When one group was asleep, the other was on duty. Each watch was 4 hours long, so nobody slept more than three and a half hours at a time.
At night, when the spars creaked, when the rigging strained and the wind shrieked around the masts; when the water was cold, black and deep and the waves were high enough to make the ship heel over, the seamen would pray to God that the ship wouldn't come too close to land or rocks. They would promise to mend their ways.
Vasa is exhibited today as if it was laid up for the winter in port, with only the lower masts rigged and without sails. Vasa's fore and mainmasts were initially made of three parts each. In this way, it was possible to achieve a tall mast with the available trees and also provided the ability to reduce windage and dangerous weight high above the deck in a storm.
On Vasa's maiden voyage, 4 of the 10 sails were set. The other 6 have survived. The smallest of them, the fore topgallant sail, is on display just behind the ship's stern.