Mary Ann

Mary Ann, launched in July 1838, measured 22 metres long and 7 metres wide. Its maiden voyage was to Stockholm in August of the same year, with a cargo of tar and planks.

In July 1839, the ship was equipped for a long journey. The hold was filled with iron goods and planks as well as canvas, tar and pitch. Despite his young age, Commander Nils Werngren was a seasoned deep-sea sailor. The crew consisted of eight men, several of them inexperienced sailors.

On 29 August, Mary Ann departed Stockholm. Following stormy weather in the English Channel, the ship’s course was set for Sydney, Australia, where they arrived on 1 May 1840. Captain Werngren managed to sell the ship’s cargo and was tipped off to go to Newcastle a bit north to load coal on board. Mary Ann was loaded with 120 tons of coal, and after a calm sail across the Pacific Ocean arrived in Valparaiso, Chile, on 30 August.

The cargo of coal was sold, and the hold was instead filled with copper ore that was headed for Swansea in Wales. Mary Ann rounded Cape Horn in tempestuous weather – quite a feat for a small crew in a small ship.

After passing the equator, the ship arrived in Swansea on 12 March, where the copper cargo was sold. 1,050 barrels of salt were loaded, bound for Stockholm, where Mary Ann at last returned on 3 May 1841.

In 1856, Mary Ann was sold to Roslagen and continued to sail until the late 1870s. But then the ship was sunk by its owner to become a breakwater – perhaps an unworthy end for a round-the-world sailor.