She was built in 1868 according to the plans of KC Agerskov on the Stora Varvet in Stockholm as a racing yacht for the schnapps manufacturer Edvard Cederlund and launched under the name Vanadis . The name is both a female given name and one of the five known Kenningar for the Nordic goddess Freya .
The design was inspired by the Newfoundland schooners and racing yachts, which have been sailing for the America's Cup off the Isle of Wight since 1851 . The Vanadis was used as a private racing yacht for almost 30 years until Cederlund gave her to the Royal Swedish Navy in 1897 at an old age . It was then used as a courier and pilot schooner and, due to its speed, as a smuggler hunter. Until 1914, the Vanadis was initially only available to officers of the Navy, before it was also allowed to be sailed by NCOs from 1915. In 1920 it was then based on the plans of the "Igenjördepartementet Kungl. Flottansvarv Stockholm ”before it was handed over to the Royal Swedish Yacht Club together with the schooner Albatros in 1925 .
In the winter of 1939/40 the ship was sold into private hands. L. Lenmor was studying shipbuilding at the time and earned his living on guest trips during the semester break. The Vanadis experienced four other changes of ownership before it was sold to Germany in 1956 and given the name Valdivia . The first auxiliary machine was installed in the same year. From 1978 to 1981 it was restored true to the original in painstaking detail. In the following years it belonged to the Museumshafen Flensburg until it was sold in 2003 to a shipyard owner from Rendsburg , who overhauled it professionally by 2006 and renamed it Vanadis . In 2006 both masts were professionally renewed by Mondholz .
