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Little is known of the original Mayflower, but researchers and naval architects had designed this namesake along the lines of an early 17th-century vessel of 180 tons. Then the pessimists opened fire on her. The right wood for her could never be found, they said, nor the shipwrights to work it. And if she were built, no master could be found to sail her nor crew to man her. How could you sail a ship like that across the fierce North Atlantic without engines? Forget it! The new Mayflower was built with the same sort of tools 17th-century shipwrights used. The very accents of the builders seemed to come from history, for these men were from Devon where things change slowly. The new Mayflower was a small, bark, primitive in rig but thoroughly sound. All she had to do was sail once westward across the North Atlantic with the eyes of the world upon her-to sail, to survive, to arrive. Why not? Her predecessor had made it with no fuss at all. The pessimists were encouraged when the ship was finally floated out of dry dock. She was in shallow water and hence could not be properly ballasted or she would have run aground. But without enough ballast, the ship fell heavily to starboard. "Mayflower Capsizes!" shrieked the headlines. She did not capsize. As soon as she was in deep water we stowed and secured her ballast of railway iron and she came up nicely. After a call at Dartmouth, in the wake of the first Mayflower, she went on to Plymouth and sailed from there on an April day. There had been no chance to make any real sailing trials. The ship was eagerly awaited at her American destination, and a date had been somewhat optimistically set for her arrival. The sea was completely calm in Plymouth Sound. Under all sail the ship swung as she willed, and for a while headed east toward the Strait of Dover instead of west toward America. Next day Plymouth was still in sight. It took a couple of days to get the ship out of the channel, and that gave a chance to learn the ropes and how to use them. The spritsail, rigged from a yard under the bow-sprit, proved to be a fine maneuvering sail. It was so far forward that its turning power was quite enough to offset the windage of the very lofty poop. The crew set three watches, and the mates held sail drill, especially at night so that all hands could jump to their tasks in the blackest hours. There was no light on deck save an oil lamp in the modern brass binnacle and a candle lantern for the old-fashioned compass in the wooden binnacle. That old compass was pretty good, but its fitful candlelight made it practically useless at night. As for the cross-staff, an old-time navigating instrument, it was so approximate it's no wonder that Capt. Christopher Jones, in the original Mayflower, had fetched up off Cape Cod when he thought he was going to the Hudson River. I wondered that he had managed to arrive at all. Perhaps we were not sufficiently expert in the use of the cross-staff. At any rate, this newer vessel was equipped with excellent modern sextants and a first-rate chronometer to rely on, as well as the latest charts. It was just as well the first couple of days were quiet and that her crew learned fast. she ran dry and safe before wind and sea and averaged with fine runs-140, 150, 155 miles a day, even 164 one day, about the best she ever did. She could have done at least a knot better if she had not been so deeply laden with British goods for exhibition. By night and day the good wind filled her sails, and the ship did her best to hurry. Cook Walter Godfrey baked bread three times a week and turned out nourishing two and three-course meals three times a day. After the 11th day lime juice was served out daily as required under British law to prevent scurvy. Hence the expression "limeys." On the morning of the 52nd day the ship was among the swordfishermen and the New Bedford draggers, who gave a cheering welcome and some lobsters and fish. On the following morning Mayflower came at last round Nantucket Lightship - 53 days out from Plymouth, England. The sun shone and the sea flattened, and the little new Mayflower put her best foot forward, bounding along with the beam wind at an average of 7.7 knots. Soon she was approaching Provincetown. After a call there the crew sailed on to Plymouth to moor at a special buoy off famous Plymouth Rock. The Vice President came to greet us. Indians flew in from Oklahoma, cowboys from Cheyenne, and Pilgrim descendants by the thousands from all over America. The odd little ship and her volunteer crew had done well. They heard no more of those pessimists back in England. Read more about the tall ships and tall ship races including ship profiles at my site.
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