Another Sinking that Was Caused by Getting the Math Wrong

Well, by getting the math and the engineering wrong.

A ship built by a king - a wealthy guy - to basically show off how wealthy he was. Where have I heard that before? From MEEP we get the following cautionary tale. Sunday at Sea: the Vasa, the Far Side of the World, and Alexander in a Bathysphere

This sinking took place in 1628, about 20 minutes after the ship set sail.

“The warship survived the first blast of wind it encountered on its maiden voyage in Stockholm Harbor,” writes Lucas Laursen for Archaeology. “But the second gust did it in. The sinking of Vasa took place nowhere near an enemy. In fact, it sank in full view of a horrified public, assembled to see off their navy’s–and Europe’s–most ambitious warship to date.” Engineering problems sank the ship–but this PR disaster for the Swedish navy has become a boon for archaeologists. Here’s how it happened and how Vasa's influence is felt today.

It is worth noting that dozens of people were trapped below decks and drowned.

The management world has a name for human problems of communication and management that cause projects to founder and fail–Vasa syndrome. The events of August 10, 1628 had such a big impact that the sinking is a case study business experts still read about.

“An organization’s goals must be appropriately matched to its capabilities,” write Kessler, Bierly and Gopalakrishnan. In the case of the Vasa, “there was an overemphasis on the ship’s elegance and firepower and reduced importance on its seaworthiness and stability,” they write, “which are more critical issues.” Although it was originally designed to carry 36 guns, it was sent to sea with twice that number. At the same time, the beautiful ornamentation contributed to its heaviness and instability, they write. These and a host of other factors contributed to Vasa’s sinking and provide a cautionary tale for those designing and testing new technologies.

Proving that there is nothing new under the sun.

Mary Pat has a whole other part of her post, as you can tell by the title to her post, but this is the part I was interested in. And I suppose that it is worth nothing, how she came to write about this topic.

I was reminded about this particular disaster due to my recent visit to the Museum of Failure.