Anyone walking along the Riverfront at Woldenberg Park in recent weeks likely noticed the HMS Gladan, a 131-foot, white, steel-hull ship with two masts flying under a Swedish flag. It’s a training ship for the Swedish navy, where cadets learn everything from tying knots to navigating.
“Cadets need to know the basics before sailing electronic ships,” says Jacob Nelander Fagerberg, commanding officer of the Gladan. “They need to learn how to manage the seas and the weather.”
Swedish sailors raised and lowered sails by hand and navigated by the stars when the Gladan sailed from Sweden to Martinique in the fall. Now it’s in the middle of a summer tour, having come from Houston and Key West and later going on to Miami for Sweden’s National Day on June 6…