从十七世纪瑞典帝国流传下来的故事中，一艘盖伦帆船在1628年处女航出发之际便告沉没，这段史事必定是大海最为离奇的传说之一。
From the seventeenth-century empire of Sweden, the story of a galleon that sank at the start of her maiden voyage in 1628 must be one of the strangest tales of the sea.
将近三个半世纪以来，她沉卧于斯德哥尔摩港湾的水底，直至1956年才重见天日。
For nearly three and a half centuries she lay at the bottom of Stockholm harbour until her discovery in 1956.
这就是瓦萨号——那支强大帝国舰队的皇家旗舰。
This was the Vasa, royal flagship of the great imperial fleet.
国王古斯塔夫·阿道夫"北方飓风"——当时正处于"三十年战争"中军事成就的巅峰——曾亲自规定了她的船体尺寸与武装配置。
King Gustavus Adolphus 'The Northern Hurricane', then at the height of his military success in the 'Thirty Years' War, had dictated her measurements and armament.
三层炮甲板共装载了六十四门青铜大炮。
Triple gun-decks mounted sixty-four bronze cannon.
她本被期望在瑞典日益壮大的国力中扮演举足轻重的角色。
She was intended to play a leading role in the growing might of Sweden.
1628年8月10日，当她被准备启程踏上处女航时，整个斯德哥尔摩都处于沸腾之中。
As she was prepared for her maiden voyage on August 10, 1628, Stockholm was in a ferment.
人们从斯凯普斯布龙码头和四周岛屿上，望着这美丽的庞然大物开始展张船帆、乘风而行。
From the Skeppsbron and surrounding islands the people watched this thing of beauty begin to spread her sails and catch the wind.
他们为打造这件漂浮的艺术品辛劳了整整三年；她雕刻之精、装饰之华美，超越了此前任何一艘船只。
They had laboured for three years to produce this floating work of art; she was more richly carved and ornamented than any previous ship.
高耸的船尾楼堡是一片雕刻神祇、恶魔、骑士、国王、勇士、美人鱼与小天使的绚丽世界；各式各样的动物形态图案，熊熊燃烧着赤、金、蓝三色，以勇气、威权与残酷为象征，被刻画于其上，意在激发当日那些迷信水手的想象力。
The high stern castle was a riot of carved gods, demons, knights, kings, warriors, mermaids, cherubs; and zoomorphic animal shapes ablaze with red and gold and blue, symbols of courage, power, and cruelty, were portrayed to stir the imaginations of the superstitious sailors of the day.
随后，那些抛锚停泊的战舰鸣炮致敬，瓦萨号亦鸣炮回礼。
Then the cannons of the anchored warships thundered a salute to which the Vasa fired in reply.
当她从飘散的炮烟之中驶出，船首之下海浪激荡成泡沫，彩旗飞扬，三角旗招展，风帆充盈于微风之中，红金色的上层建筑色彩夺目，她所呈现的壮丽奇观，是斯德哥尔摩人从未亲眼目睹的。
As she emerged from her drifting cloud of gun smoke with the water churned to foam beneath her bow, her flags flying, pennants waving, sails filling in the breeze, and the red and gold of her superstructure ablaze with colour, she presented a more majestic spectacle than Stockholmers had ever seen before.
所有炮孔都敞开着，炮口从中险恶地探出头来。
All gun-ports were open and the muzzles peeped wickedly from them.
随着风势增强，一阵突来的狂风骤雨乍至，船体做出了一个奇异的动作——向左舷倾侧。
As the wind freshened there came a sudden squall and the ship made a strange movement, listing to port.
军械官命令将所有左舷大炮搬移至右舷，以抵消倾侧，但甲板的倾斜角度却越来越大。
The Ordnance officer ordered all the port cannon to be heaved to starboard to counteract the list but the steepening angle of the decks increased.
随后，隆隆雷鸣般的声响传到了岸边的目击者耳中，与此同时，货物、压舱石、弹药以及400名船员，全都向这艘急剧倾斜的船的左舷滑落、撞倒。
Then the sound of rumbling thunder reached the watchers on the shore, as cargo, ballast, ammunition and 400 people went sliding and crashing down to the port side of the steeply listing ship.
下层炮孔如今已在水面以下，大量涌入的海水彻底封定了这艘船的命运。
The lower gun-ports were now below water and the inrush sealed the ship's fate.
就在那荣耀的第一个小时之内，这艘本被期望称霸波罗的海的强大瓦萨号，旌旗招展，沉没于她出生地的港湾之中。
In that first glorious hour, the mighty Vasa, which was intended to rule the Baltic, sank with all flags flying--in the harbour of her birth.