The Voyage

Just sit right back an you’ll hear a tale,
A tale of a fateful trip.
That started from this tropic port,
Aboard this tiny ship.

The weather started getting rough,
The tiny ship was tossed.
If not for the courage of the fearless crew,
The Mayflower would be lost.

The Mayflower would be lost.

It’s amazing how well the lyrics to Gilligan’s Island apply to the voyage of the Mayflower (especially when I substitute Mayflower for Minnow).

On September 16, 1620, the Mayflower set sail, for America. The ship made landfall on November 11 at the tip of Cape Cod (present-day Provincetown). After exploring the Cape Cod area for several weeks, the colonists finally decided to settle at present-day Plymouth.

Originally, there had been a second ship called the Speedwell that was set to sail for America but it kept leaking water and was eventually left behind. There were 102 passengers plus the crew on the 100 foot cargo ship. “Two people died during the voyage. The first was a sailor whose name was not recorded. The second was a passenger, a young servant named William Butten. Three babies were born on the Mayflower. While at sea, a boy aptly named Oceanus was born to the Hopkins family. After the ship had arrived at Cape Cod, Susanna White gave birth to a son, Peregrine. Shortly thereafter, Mary Allerton gave birth to a stillborn son” (info. taken from the Plimoth Plantation website).

Above are shots of the Mayflower II, built from 1955-57 in the town of Brixham, in Devon, England. The last record of the original Mayflower was listed as 1624. After that, she disappeared from maritime records.