Previous expeditions

Year 2005–2006

The expedition to China

On October 2, 2005, it was finally time for the ship to leave the homeport of Gothenburg and sail its virgin voyage to China. Wherever in the world Götheborg would lay, it attracted attention. The success became bigger than anyone had ever dared to hope for.

The journey

Sunday, October 2 was a lovely warm day, ideal for a historic departure. At 1:47 pm, the ship that could not be built began her long voyage that could not be completed. More than 33,000 nautical miles lay ahead. Construction hardships and tremendous obstacles lay astern.

Götheborg majestically headed along the river, escorted by a crowd of accompanying boats and watched by tens of thousands of people along the shores and quaysides. The big adventure could begin.

This is a brief summary of Götheborg’s voyage to China 2005–2007. The ship followed the same route the East Indiamen took during the glory days of the 18th century. The same winds that blew then, blow also today.

Cadiz

After 48 days at sea, Götheborg of Sweden arrived at her first stopover, the historic port of Cadiz. She was the starting ship for the Volvo Ocean Race. She also hosted many official receptions and sponsor events at her stopovers. In Cadiz, like everywhere else, the ship attracted great interest and extensive media attention, just as planned.

Recife & Cape Town

After nine days, Götheborg of Sweden took a southwest course to Recife in Brazil, a journey that took 32 days. After a week filled with official commitments and stocking up with provisions, the ship set sail for Cape Town. With the help of the west winds, the voyage took 41 days across the Atlantic. On February 19, Götheborg arrived in one of the world’s most beautiful harbours for ship maintenance, sponsor activities, and official commitments. There was also a change of ship crew here.

Port Elizabeth, Fremantle & Jakarta

Between March 9 and 25, Götheborg made a very high-profile stopover in Port Elizabeth and then set sail for Fremantle. This was the longest leg of the expedition that, with the help of strong west winds, took 49 days.

After Fremantle, the voyage continued northward towards the Sunda Strait between Java and Sumatra. After passing both the equator and Christmas Island, the ship moored at Jakarta on June 18. Ten days later she sailed the South China Sea towards Guangzhou (Canton). In mid-July, the ship finally reached the mouth of the Pearl River, the Tiger’s Mouth.

Guangzhou (Canton)

After folding the masts for power cables and bridges, the ship reached its historic destination of Guangzhou (Canton) with great pomp and ceremony. The dream had come true, a complete success. The subsequent reception ceremonies on July 21 – attended by senior Chinese dignitaries, the King and Queen of Sweden, main sponsors and partners – were grandiose, to say the least.

Shanghai

After a few weeks of official receptions, press viewings, exhibitions, and sponsor activities, Götheborg of Sweden continued northward through the Formosa Strait to Shanghai. The long, adventurous home voyage to Gothenburg began on October 28, 2006.

Hong Kong & Singapore

Before the voyage home, maintenance was carried out on the ship at a shipyard outside of Shanghai. On October 28 she was ready and set sail. One month later she reached Hong Kong for a high-profile two-week stopover. On December 30 she reached Singapore, one of the world’s largest ports. After two weeks, a crew change and New Year’s celebrations it was time to continue the voyage home, which was now taking a slightly different route than the original.

Chennai

On January 31, 2007, Götheborg of Sweden reached Chennai, and hosted the largest trade event Sweden has ever held in India. 300 top Indian politicians along with crowds of people showed an interest in the ship and the little Scandinavian country. 25,000 delighted Indians were lucky enough to get a closer look at the ship on board.

Djibouti

On February 10, Captain Gunnar Silfverberg Utgaard had his crew set sail for the adventurous journey across the Indian Ocean, to the lowest profile stopover of the expedition in the desert town of Djibouti. It was time to stock up on provisions and change crew. The departure was logged for March 17.

Alexandria, Nice & London

The voyage went through the Red Sea and in convoy through the Suez Canal. The ship arrived in Alexandria on the morning of Saturday, March 31 for a visit on behalf of the Västra Götaland County. Three days later Götheborg set sail for Europe and Nice on the French Riviera. The ship arrived in Nice on April 17 for an eight-day stopover before heading for the tenth stop, London.

Götheborg of Sweden reached the British capital on May 19. After two intensive weeks of official visits, sponsor activities, exhibitions, and viewings, the course was finally set for the North Sea and the homeport of Gothenburg.

Gothenburg

The final leg took 7 days and on Saturday, June 9, the now world-famous vessel was sighted off Vinga. It had been over 250 years since a Swedish Ship had saluted her homecoming. Needless to say, the reception by the city and the people of Gothenburg was worthy of a global star.

After 615 days at sea, 14 towns on 5 continents and 300,000 visitors aboard, the mission was complete. The project fulfilled an ambassadorial role for Swedish culture and trade, as well as opening up opportunities and doors for sponsors and partners. The ship that could not be built nor sailed was back with star status.

Stop overs

November 19th–November 28th 2005

Cadiz

December 30th 2005–January 10th 2006

Recife

February 19th–February 28th 2006

Cape Town

March 9th–March 25th 2006

Port Elizabeth

May 13th–May 25th 2006

Fremantle

June 8th–June 28th 2006

Jakarta

July 18th–August 19th 2006

Guangzhou (Canton)

August 29th–October 28th 2006

Shanghai

November 29th – December 12th 2006

Hong Kong

December 30th – January 14th 2007

Singapore

January 31st–February 10th 2007

Chennai

March 14th–March 17th 2007

Djibouti

April 1st–April 3rd 2007

Alexandria

April 17th–April 24th 2007

Nice​

May 19th–June 2nd 2007

London

Year 2007

Swedish west coast tour

Shortly after the homecoming from China, Götheborg of Sweden went on a successful tour along the Swedish west coast. Many wanted to see the ship in real life and the journey became a triumph.

Highlights

After her homecoming from China, there was great interest Götheborg in Sweden. From July 1 to August 3, the ship went on a successful tour along the coast of Bohuslän and Halland. The west coast tour began in Marstrand, where the ship was a popular platform for partners during the Match Cup Sweden sailing race.

Thousands of people flocked to Uddevalla for the welcome ceremony, and for several days there were long queues to board the ship. The arrival in Grebbestad was during the ongoing Grebbestad Carnival. The planned three days turned into four due to strong winds. The most southerly stopover of the tour was Halmstad Marinfestival, where there were maritime activities and performances by artists. 5,400 visitors on board in one day was a new record.

In Skärhamn located on the west Tjörn Island, Frenchman Daniel Coppin became the lucky 50,000th visitor, and he got to sail with his family to Lysekil. There, Götheborg hosted the opening ceremony of the Lysekil Women’s Match sailing race.

Newspapers ran headlines along the lines of “Götheborg – a loving adventure that goes on”, “Thousands waited on the shore and in boats” and “Götheborg’s triumphal voyage”. With a total of 64,000 visitors aboard during the six stops, there was no doubt who the queen of the West Coast was that summer.

Stop overs

July 1st–July 9th 2007

Marstrand

July 9th–July 14th 2007

Uddevalla

July 15th–July 19th 2007

Grebbestad

July 20st–Jult 24th 2007

Halmstad

July 25th–July 30th 2007

Skärhamn

July 30th–August 3rd 2007

Lysekil

Year 2008

The Baltic Sea tour

The summer after the homecoming from China, Götheborg of Sweden went on a Baltic Sea Tour, with several stopovers along the Swedish South and East Coast. A total of 164,000 persons boarded the ship during this tour.

Highlights

On May 16, 2008, Götheborg of Sweden set sail for the Baltic Sea. The Baltic Sea Tour was comprised of four official stopovers – Stockholm, Helsinki, Tallinn and Visby – as well as a number of public stops along the Baltic coast. During the visits, public events and festivities were combined with trade-focused export activities.

Götheborg’s visit to Stockholm was a joint arrangement with the Vasa Museum and the Brig Tre Kronor under the theme of ‘Three Centuries of Flagships’.

On the evening of June 8, Götheborg of Sweden arrived at the South Harbour in Helsinki and was a starting point for a week packed with historic events, seminars and festivities linked to Helsinki Week.

On June 17-22 the ship visited the Estonian capital of Tallinn. The visit coincided with Tallinn’s Ocean Days, which were packed with maritime activities, music, and children’s activities. Just over six days later, on June 28, Götheborg of Sweden was the starting ship at Nynäshamn harbour for the Jubilee regatta, when classic yachts sail from Nynäshamn to Visby and back again.

Stop overs

May 22nd–May 25th 2008

Norrköping

May 29th–June 6th 2008

Stockholm

June 8th–June 16th 2008

Helsinki

June 17th–June 22nd 2008

Tallinn

June 24th–June 26th 2008

Åbo

June 28th–July 1st 2008

Nynäshamn

July 4th–July 13th 2008

Visby

July 16th–July 17th 2008

Norrtälje

July 18th–July 21st 2008

Gävle​

July 23rd–July 25th 2008

Sundsvall

July 27th–July 29th 2008

Örnsköldsvik

July 31st–August 3rd 2008

Luleå

August 15th–August 17th 2008

Kalmar

August 22nd–August 24th 2008

Karlskrona​

August 29th–August 31st 2008

Ystad

Year 2009

Scandinavian tour

During the summer of 2009, Götheborg of Sweden visited a number of harbours in Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. Several of the stopovers were characterized by historical features.

Highlights

Arendal in Norway and the historic Kjaempestaden Public Festival marked the first Norwegian stopover. Götheborg of Sweden has links to Arendal and the Sørland coast through the East Indiaman “Drottningen”, which ran aground in 1803 at Hombursund on the Norwegian Sørland coast.

The ship arrived in Fredrikshamn for the 18th century ‘Tordenskiöld Days’ festival on June 26. Götheborg was the main attraction in the historical re-enactment of the Swedes’ attack on Fredrikshamn and Tordenskiöld’s ship, Vite Örn.

During the summer tour, Götheborg visited two towns in the province of Vestfold on the western side of the Oslo Fjord: the maritime town Sandefjord and Stavern with its re-enactment of the battle of Dynekil in 1716. Götheborg took part along with other sailing ships, and Tordenskiöld’s soldiers from Stavern and Fladstrand in Denmark.

On July 10, Götheborg of Sweden arrived for the Ålesund Boat Festival. Two days later the ship set course south again for Stavanger, to later stop in Lysekil, where the ship was the starter boat for the Lysekil Women’s Match and then stayed in port for three days.

The Scandinavian Tour finished off in Risör at the large annual Wooden Boat Festival.

Stop overs

June 13th–June 14th 2009

Marstrand

June 19th–June 21st 2009

Arendal

June 26th–June 28th 2009

Fredrikshamn

July 1st–July 3rd 2009

Sandefjord

July 4th–July 5th 2009

Stavern

July 10th–July 12th 2009

Ålesund

July 15th–July 17th 2009

Stavanger

July 19th–July 21st 2009

Farsund​

July 23rd–July 25th 2009

Halden

July 27th–July 30th 2009

Lysekil

August 2nd–August 3rd 2009

Halmstad

August 6th–August 9th 2009

Risör

Year 2010

Summer tour

The summer of 2010 offered a number of unforgettable moments. The greatest of these, however, was when all the Swedish governors and their guests celebrated the wedding of Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel’s wedding aboard Götheborg of Sweden together with the Royal family.

Highlights

Götheborg of Sweden was in Stockholm to take part in the celebrations for the Royal wedding between Sweden’s Crown Princess Victoria and Mr Daniel Westling. The ship was also part of the Love Stockholm 2010 event.

‘Tordenskiöld Days’ in Fredrikshavn is a unique national festival held each year in memory of Scandinavia’s great maritime hero Peter Jansen Wessel Tordensköld. Frederikshavn is where the Great Northern War ended between Sweden and Denmark in 1717, and since then war has never been a threat between the two sister nations.

The next mission was to take part in Sail Amsterdam 2010. Almost 200 tall ships took part in the event, attended by some two million visitors. Together with the Dutch clipper Stad Amsterdam, Götheborg of Sweden took the lead in a long line of 6,000 boats headed for central Amsterdam.

The Summer Tour finished with the Sail Bremerhaven Boat Festival. It is one of the largest maritime festivals in Europe and takes place every five years. Over a million people stood along the waterside to watch the ships sail past.

Stop overs

June 14th - June 20th 2010

Stockholm

June 26th–June 28th 2010

Fredrikshamn

August 19th–August 23rd 2010

Amsterdam

August 25th–August 29th 2010

Bremerhaven

Year 2012

European tour

In the summer of 2012, Götheborg of Sweden visited three ports in the Netherlands, France and Germany. During the tour, the ship was the main attraction at several large maritime festivals and about 40,000 people visited the ship during the stopovers.

Highlights

On June 30, Götheborg of Sweden set sail towards Europe and the three stopovers of the tour – Den Helder, Brest and Bremerhaven.

Götheborg arrived at Brest on Friday, July 13, and with an eight-shot salute, she inaugurated the 20th edition of one of the largest maritime festivals in the world, Les Tonnerres de Brest. The festival is organized every fourth year and attracts almost one million visitors.

The ship got a great deal of attention all over Europe with nationwide television broadcasting from the ship in both France and Germany.

On August 3, Götheborg of Sweden arrived at the home port of Gothenburg after a very successful European Tour.

Stop overs

July 5th–July 7th 2012

Den Helder

July 13th–July 19th 2012

Brest

July 25th–July 29th 2012

Bremerhaven

Year 2013

European tour

For the second summer in a row, Götheborg of Sweden headed out on a European Tour. During the four-month-long tour, the ship visited nine countries and fifteen cities around Europe. Among other events, the ship took part in the Tall Ships Race 2013 and the French maritime festival Lármada De Rouen, one of the largest maritime festivals in the world that are visited by over ten million people.

Highlights

On Monday, May 6, Götheborg of Sweden cast off and head out on the four-month-long adventure, European Tour 2013. During the summer the ship participated in everything from small festivals to royal celebrations.

During the tour, Götheborg attended several events including the National Day celebrations in Oslo and the 600-year anniversary celebration of the city of Landskrona.

On July 7, the Tall Ships Race started, the world’s largest international race for sail training ships. Over one hundred ships from all over the world gathered in Århus in Denmark for a joint departure to Falsterbo, where the start of the first race leg took place. Together with the Russian ship Shtandart the East Indiaman Götheborg conducted a unique naval battle that also was the inauguration of the Tall Ships Race festival in Århus. The entire race lasted a month and the finish line was in Szczecin in Poland.

Götheborg of Sweden arrived at her homeport of Gothenburg on September 7, after a very successful tour in Europe. Over 100,000 people visited the ship during the summer and the ship was the main attraction at several major maritime festivals throughout the four-month-long tour.

Stop overs

May 8th–May 9th 2013

Tönsberg

May 11th–May 13th 2013

Moss

May 13th–May 19th 2013

Oslo

May 24th–May 26th 2013

Landskrona

June 6th–June 16th 2013

Rouen

June 20th–June 23rd 2013

Den Helder

June 27th–June 30th 2013

Kiel

July 4th–July 7th 2013

Århus

July 17th–July 20th 2013

Helsinki

July 25th–July 28th 2013

Riga

August 3rd–August 6th 2013

Szczecin

August 9th–August 11th 2013

Visby

August 16th–August 18th 2013

Örnsköldsvik

August 22nd–August 25th 2013

Luleå​

August 30th–September 1st 2013

Norrtälje

Year 2015

European tour

In the summer of 2015, Götheborg of Sweden headed out on a three-and-a-half-months long tour, European Tour 2015. The tour lasted from early June to late September and included the completely unique Vänern Tour 2015. The ship visited a total of fourteen cities in five countries and had over 200,000 visitors on board.

Highlights

On June 4, Götheborg of Sweden cast off from the homeport of Gothenburg and headed for the first stopover of European Tour 2015, the Swedish National Day celebrations in Oslo.

In August, the ship was the main attraction at the major maritime festivals SAIL Amsterdam and SAIL Bremerhaven. In Amsterdam, Götheborg of Sweden had the honour to inaugurate the whole event with a traditional salute. During the festival, the ship had over 7,000 visitors onboard per day, which broke the old visitors' record from China.

During the ships’ stay in Amsterdam the Dutch national TV channel NPO 1 carried out live broadcasts on board during the evenings.

In June 2015, Götheborg of Sweden participated in the Volvo Ocean Race event in Gothenburg. The ship took part in the opening ceremony; it was belayed in the event area during the whole week and was the starting ship with cannon salute for the In-Port Race, which was the final race of Volvo Ocean Race 2015.

Götheborg became the ambassador for the Non-Violence Project Foundation during the tour, an international organisation with the goal to inspire, motivate, and engage young people to understand how to resolve conflicts without violence. A ceremony was held in conjunction with the ship’s arrival to Varberg. There, the Non-Violence Sculpture of Carl Fredrik Reuterswärd was presented to the ship by his wife, Tonie Lewenhaupt.

Saturday, September 12, Götheborg of Sweden arrived at her homeport of Gothenburg after a very successful tour. The interest in the ship was huge at the ports she visited and over 200,000 people visited the ship during the tour.

Stop overs

June 6th–June 8th 2015

Oslo

June 11th–June 14th 2015

Grebbestad

June 21st–June 28th 2015

Göteborg

July 3rd–July 21st 2015

Vänern Tour

July 26th–July 28th 2015

Kungshamn

July 30th–August 2nd 2015

Varberg

August 12th–August 16th 2015

Bremerhaven

August 19th–August 23rd 2015

Amsterdam​

August 28th–August 31st 2015

Dover

September 4th–September 6th 2015

Greath Yarmouth

Year 2015

Vänern tour

In the summer of 2015, Götheborg of Sweden became the largest sailing ship that ever sailed in Lake Vänern during the three-week tour Vänern Tour. The tour was a huge success with an amazing reception in the five cities that the ship visited. In total, 46,000 people got on board to visit the ship and the quayside was transformed into a festival.

Highlights

Götheborg started the unique tour Vänern Tour on June 30, with the passage up the Göta River. Crowds gathered among the river and in the locks to get a look at the ship's passage. To get through the locks and under bridges and power lines the ship needed to withstand a maximum height and a maximum width. The topmasts were lowered and the yards were topped before the passage through the Göta River could begin. To rig up and down the ship is usually something that would take two weeks, but during the Vänern Tour we broke the record, and the work was carried out in one and a half days.

The ship visited five cities in Lake Vänern during the tour – Vänersborg, Kristinehamn, Lidköping, Karlstad and Åmal. In Karlstad, we set the record for visitors on board during the Vänern Tour, where 5,019 visitors boarded on one day.

Vänern Tour was a success. The quays turned into a festival with exhibitions, concerts and activities for both adults and children. Kristinehamn’s Director of Tourism, Mats Öhman pronounced at the ship’s arrival that the event was the biggest thing that had happened in Kristinehamn in modern times.

After the departure from Åmal, the last stopover on the Vänern Tour, Götheborg anchored in Vassbotten outside of Vänersborg to be rigged down before passage down the Göta River. During the day on July 23, the passage took place and the ship arrived at Gothenburg in the evening the same day. There she was anchored and rigged up again before continuing with the European Tour 2015.

Stop overs

July 3rd–July 5th 2015

Vänersborg

July 7th–July 9th 2015

Kristinehamn

July 11th–July 13th 2015

Lidköping

July 14th–July 17th 2015

Karlstad

July 19th–July 21st 2015

Åmål

Latest news

Götheborg is arriving to Gothenburg

01 June 2023

Tomorrow, 2 June at 15:00, we will arrive in Gothenburg to officially open the 400-year jubilee with gun salute. Come and welcome us home!! We would of course love to have some company on the water coming into Gothenburg, and welcome boats to join us! Already today, the 1st of June, you will be able to see us in the Gothenburg archipelago. 

Meet the owner of Götheborg of Sweden

29 May 2023

Meet the owner and a big heart behind Götheborg of Sweden, the world’s largest ocean-going wooden sailing ship. It was a purchase decision that came from the heart, rather than from rational business thinking, says Stefan Björk, founder and owner of Greencarrier Group and Götheborg of Sweden.

Hamburg – an important portstop for Greencarrier

24 May 2023

Hamburg was specifically chosen as a key stopover for Götheborg as Greencarrier (our owner) opened new offices in Hamburg in April. On Monday, we were very pleased to welcome especially invited customers, partners and friends of Greencarrier Group on board.