On October 27, Götheborg of Sweden arrived to Barcelona and moored at one of the top locations in the city harbour: Port Vell/Rambla de Mar. The first weekend in Barcelona was the official stopover, with full crew, and the ship fully rigged. The stopover started with a very well attended welcome ceremony, and was followed by busy days with thousands of visitors. We want to thank Barcelona for the very warm welcome!
Barcelona is our winter stopover, and we will stay until March 2023. During this stopover we will focus a lot on preparations for the Asia Expedition, and it is possible to join us as a volunteer on board to work with the maintenance of the ship. We will also be open to visitors on weekends. Welcome on board!
We had an early arrival to Barcelona, with gun salute outside the city at 09:00 am and arrival at 10:00 am. After arrival we were proud to host a welcome ceremony of more than a hundred guests. We were very honoured to have Swedish Ambassador to Spain Teppo Tauriainen, Honorary Consulate General of Sweden in Barcelona Sofia Geli Stenhammar and Sr. Don Albert Batlle, Sr. Quinto Teniente de Alcaldía de Prevención y Seguridad del Ayuntamiento de Barcelona, among the guests. Thank you to everyone who came on board!
The first six days after arrival were official stopover in Barcelona, and what a great start it was! We had a lot of media interest, keeping the Spanish speaking members of our crew very busy. Thousands of visitors also came on board to see the ship and hear about the history of the ship and the expedition this year.
Barcelona is our winter stopover, which means we will stay in Barcelona until March 2023. During this period we will do a lot of maintenance work in preparation for the voyage to Asia next year. Work is being done on the hull, sails and rig, and as always our thousands of tonnes of hemp need to be tarred.
During this period we will also be open to visitors most weekends. Opening hours and dates, at the moment four hours on both Saturdays and Sundays, will be posted continuously on our website and on social media. We are extremely happy to be able to stay in this great location, and are looking forward to greeting many visitors to the ship in the coming months.
During our winter stopover, we are also welcoming volunteers on board, to work with the maintenance of the ship. The main job will be caulking outside of the hull, above the water line. We will also be re-tightening the wooldings of the bowsprit and other jobs will also be taking place. And of course, a lot of taring of the standing rigging to preserve it from rain and sun is necessary.
Ticket sales for the Gibraltar stopover in April is now open. Götheborg will be moored at Mid Harbour Marina 6–10 April. Book your tickets online now to save your space on board! Subject to availability tickets are also sold on site at the ship.
This weekend (18–19 March) will be our last in Barcelona. Monday 20 March at 10:00 we head out after nearly five months in this beautiful city. As this is the last chance to visit the ship in Barcelona, don't miss out! We're open Saturday and Sunday, and the ship will have full crew and of course look her best.
Are you 18–25 and want to sail with us? This is a great opportunity to get part of the payment payed by a grant! STAS (Sail Training Association of Sweden) has decided to give a grant of 2500 SEK each to four people 18–25 years of age. With only four grants to hand out, don't hesitate to apply!