The Mayflower II

Wow here we are in December already and I still want to tell you about the Mayflower II before we get into the stuff to do in December.

When I posted last I was in Pilgrim Memorial State Park in downtown Plymouth. I’d checked out Plymouth Rock and explored some of the audio trail and the history of Massasoit in Plymouth. All that was left for this visit was to board the Mayflower II.

The Mayflower II is a reproduction of the original Mayflower.

The Mayflower II is a 240 ton barque-rigged ship. 240 tons sounds so big to me but it’s so tiny compared to today’s huge ocean going ships. It was built in Devonshire , England. The keel was laid on July 27, 1955. Not quite 2 years later the completed Mayflower II began her voyage across the Atlantic in April 1957.
The Captain of the Mayflower II took a different route across the Atlantic than the original Mayflower. He chose to take a more southerly path to avoid the worst of the North Atlantic storms that had plagued the first Mayflower. The crossing took only 55 days with the ship arriving in Provincetown on June 12, 1957.
I found it interesting to note that both the Mayflower and the Mayflower II made landfall at Provincetown, Ma at the tip of Cape Cod before continuing on to Plymouth, MA.

The original Mayflower was supposed to be going to the mouth of the Hudson River in what is now New York but they were blown off course during the crossing. Their permission for a settlement in The New World was granted by The Virginia Company of London but since they were not in the right location, that became null and void. In order to create a legal entity and avoid further strife among the passengers who were becoming increasingly disgruntled, the settlers wrote and signed the Mayflower Compact.

The Mayflower was supposed to be one of 2 ships that were bringing settlers and supplies to the New World. The 2^nd ship, the Speedwell, developed a leak and was sent on to Dartmouth, England to be refitted. On the 2^nd attempt, the Speedwell again had to be returned because of leaks so the Mayflower continued on alone. Subsequent investigation revealed that there was nothing wrong with the Speedwell. It is surmised that the problems were due to sabotage because the crew wanted to escape the year long commitment. The Mayflower was only supposed to drop of the colonists and turn around and return to England. Because of the defection of the Speedwell the Mayflower had to stay on until the spring of 1621 to allow the colonists time to build shelters and get settled.

No one knows what happened to the original Mayflower. What is known is that she did return to England and her value was last assessed in 1624.

I followed a family onto the ship. Immediately one of the children started trying to ring the ship’s bell. A role playing sailor came over and stopped the child but he did it in a really nice way. He went on to explain the bell and then he assigned each child in the family a chance to ring it with the mallet he was holding. But before he would let them ring it he had them line up and call out to the passengers on the lower deck “Mind your ears!” It was very cute. The he passed the mallet around while each child took a turn. One of the smaller children was grinning ear to ear. He turned to the sailor and said clearly and loudly “Thank you, Sir”. I think every adult on board wanted to give him a hug it was just so cute! Tiny Tim had nothing on this little guy. I am sure it did his mother’s heart proud.

On the lower deck I entered the forward cabin which I was told was the captain’s quarters. I commented on the short bunks and the staff member said that they actually slept sitting up. The belief at that time was it “eased breathing”. There is certainly something to that as anyone who has had bronchitis can attest to.
It was getting late and starting to sprinkle so I wrapped up my visit with a quick walk through of the remaining exhibits. It was a really enjoyable day and as I said to one of the staffers, I learned something today.

I am guilty of relying on the fairy tale stories taught in grade school. The truth is so much more detailed and often “white washed” for little ears. I never thought about what happened to the Mayflower. The Pilgrims landed in Plymouth in 1620 and stepped on Plymouth Rock. They came over on the Mayflower. That was the extent of my “knowledge”.

I am glad that I explored this attraction in my back yard because my eyes were opened to a whole new reality in the story of the First Thanksgiving.

There is also a walking tour offered by a Native American Guide. I missed it this year but hope to have a chance to take it next year. The only information I have on at the moment is : Native Plymouth Tours774-454-7792
Daily at 5:30 pm through November
　
http://www.nativeplymouthtours.com/