There is very little information available about the original Mayflower; nonetheless, scholars and naval architects have developed this namesake vessel to be similar to a vessel that weighed 180 tons and was built in the early 17th century. The pessimists then began to fire their weapons at her. They argued that it was impossible to get the appropriate wood for her, and that shipwrights would never be able to work it. To add insult to injury, even if she were constructed, there would be no crew or master available to steer her. If you did not have engines, how would you be able to navigate a ship of such size across the ferocious North Atlantic? Get rid of it! The new Mayflower utilizes the same kinds of equipment that shipwrights of the 17th century used in their construction. Considering that these guys were from Devon, a region in which things change slowly, the very accents of the builders seemed to have been influenced by history. The new Mayflower was a modest, bark-based rig that was rustic in appearance but was completely unfailing. With the eyes of the world upon her, all she needed to do was sail once westward across the North Atlantic Ocean. She needed to sail, she needed to survive, and she needed to arrive. if not, why not? It had been accomplished without any difficulty by her predecessor. When the ship was ultimately floated out of dry dock, the pessimists were given another reason to be optimistic. Due to the fact that she was in shallow water, she was unable to be adequately ballasted; otherwise, she would have raced against the water. However, since there was not enough ballast, the ship sank hard to the starboard side. It was reported in the news that the Mayflower had sunk. There was no capsize of her. We stowed and secured her ballast of railway iron as soon as she approached the depths of the sea, and she came up in a really pleasant manner. Following a stop at Dartmouth, which occurred in the wake of the first Mayflower, she proceeded to Plymouth and set sail from there on a day in April. It had been unable to conduct any genuine sailing tests up to that point. The arrival of the ship to her destination in the United States was eagerly anticipated, and a date had been selected for her arrival that was quite optimistic. When we arrived at Plymouth Sound, the sea was perfectly calm. While the ship was under full sail, she swung as she pleased, and for a period of time, she traveled east toward the Strait of Dover rather than west into the United States of America. The next day, Plymouth was still on the horizon. A couple of days were required to bring the ship out of the canal, and during that time, the crew had the opportunity to get familiar with the ropes and learn how to utilize them. It was discovered that the spritsail, which was strung from a yard beneath the bow-sprit, was an excellent sail for moving. The turning power of the vehicle was very sufficient to compensate for the windage caused by the extremely tall poop since it was so far front. In order to ensure that all hands were able to leap to their jobs even during the darkest hours of the night, the crew established three watches and the mates performed sail drills, particularly during the night. On deck, the only source of illumination was an oil lamp located in the contemporary brass binnacle, and a candle lantern was used to illuminate the traditional compass that was located in the wooden binnacle. This antique compass was quite accurate, but the illumination that it used was inconsistent, which rendered it almost worthless throughout the night. When it came to the cross-staff, which was an old-fashioned navigational instrument, it was so close to the actual thing that it is not surprising that Captain Christopher Jones, who was in charge of the original Mayflower, had retrieved it from Cape Cod when he believed he was going to the Hudson River. It was a mystery to me that he had made it to the location at all. It is possible that our level of expertise in the use of the cross-staff was insufficient. In any case, this more recent vessel was outfitted with contemporary sextants of the highest quality, a chronometer of the highest calibre, and the most recent maps all of which were available for use. It was fortunate that the first couple of days were rather calm and that her staff picked up new skills really quickly. She ran dry and safe before the wind and sea, and she averaged great runs, which included 140, 150, and 155 miles each day, and she even went 164 miles in one day, which was approximately the best she had ever done. It might have been possible for her to tie at least one knot more successfully if she had not been so heavily loaded with British items for the display. Her sails were filled with the favorable wind both throughout the day and the night, and the ship tried all in her power to move as quickly as possible. Walter Godfrey, the chef, made bread three times a week and prepared hearty meals consisting of two or three courses three times a day. Following the eleventh day, lime juice was distributed on a regular basis in accordance with British legislation in order to maintain scurvy prevention. This is where the term “limeys” comes from. On the morning of the 52nd day, the ship was surrounded by swordfishermen and the new bedford draggers, who greeted it with a cheery welcome and offered some lobsters and fish. When the Mayflower arrived at the final circuit of the Nantucket lightship, it was 53 days away from Plymouth, England. This occurred the next morning. During the time when the sun was shining and the sea was flattening, the young mayflower put her best foot forward and sped along with the beam wind at an average speed of 7.7 knots. By that time, she was getting closer to Provincetown. Following a call at that location, the crew cruised on to Plymouth in order to anchor at a unique buoy located off of the well-known Plymouth Rock. The Vice President paid us a visit and greeted us. There were hundreds of pilgrim descendants from all across the United States, as well as cowboys from Cheyenne and indians who had traveled over from Oklahoma. “The weird small ship and her volunteer crew had done admirably,” the captain said. Once they returned to England, they did not hear from those pessimists again. Check out my website for additional information about tall ships and tall ship races, including biographies of the ships themselves.
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