Sailing On The Mayflower

Separatists, we now know them as Pilgrims, were part of the Puritan movement which was in conflict with the Anglican Church. These Separatists didn’t want to be just “in conflict” with the church - they simply wanted to “separate” themselves by leaving England altogether. 

This particular group wanted to sail to the northern coast of America (now New England) but was unable to get permission from the English Crown to do so.  Instead they planned to head out to the Virginia Colony with a map that had been supplied by Capt. John Smith. Their preferred destination was the mouth of the Hudson River, where New York City now exists. The Virginia Colony boundary extended this far north at the time.

Their investors arranged for two ships to carry the passengers; the 60 ton “Speedwell” that was purchased; and the 180 ton “Mayflower” that was leased. The Mayflower was a merchant ship and quite large for its day.

The Mayflower’s Master was Captain Christopher Jones. He was an experienced seaman who owned and piloted the ship on many voyages between France and England transporting wine. It carried three upright masts and a spirit mast on the bow. She was 90’ long and 26’ wide (the beam).

THE DEPARTURE

The expedition first left Southampton on August 5, 1620, aboard these two ships - the “Mayflower” and the “Speedwell.” The Speedwell was less than seaworthy and began to leak almost immediately. Both ships returned to port. A second attempt to embark was met with the same problem. They abandoned the Speedwell and consolidated almost everyone onto the Mayflower making conditions very cramped. Because of these delays, they were running a month behind schedule, and anxiety grew knowing that the Atlantic would be increasingly rougher as winter approached.

In order to finance their journey and repay their investors in England, the Separatists agreed to take non-Separatists with them. They referred to them as the “strangers” or “adventurers” but these strangers made up more than half of the passengers on board. Mayflower left Plymouth, England on September 6, 1620, with 40 Separatists, 62 non-Separatists, and a crew of about 30.

William Bradford, later governor of the Plymouth Colony, recorded in his journal, “They put out to sea again with a prosperous word, which continued several days together, which was some encouragement unto them; yet according to the usual manner, many were afflicted with seasickness.”

ATLANTIC STORMS

After a week of clear weather, the ship ran into the violent Autumn storms expected by the crew. The storms lasted on and off for the next six weeks. The Mayflower struggled against the force of the Gulf Stream and westerly winds moving at a slow rate of two miles per hour.

“After they had enjoyed fair winds and weather, they encountered many times, crosswinds, and met many fierce storms, with which the ship was thoroughly shaken, and her upper works made very leaky; and one of the main beams amidships was downed and cracked, which put them in some fear that the ship could not be able to perform the voyage. . . They entered into serious consultation with the master and officers of the ship, to consider whether to return, rather than to cast themselves into desperate and inevitable peril.” (Bradford)

As the raging sea continued, the mainmast had buckled leaving the Mayflower in desperate peril. “and for the buckling of the main beam, there was a great iron screw that passengers brought out of Holland, which would raise the beam into its place; which was done.” (Bradford)

Returning the mainmast to its normal position and anchoring it into the lower deck was sufficient to keep the ship moving, as long as the sails were not raised so as to put too much pressure on the mast. Frequently during the storms the sails had to be drawn in (called “clewed up”) to keep the Mayflower from being blown off course - but it happened nonetheless.

Leaking on the main deck was another problem. Many of the passengers were given chisels and caulk and set to work patching leaks on the main deck. This was just above the deck on which the passengers were sleeping, so their motivation to repair the leaks was strong.

“So they committed themselves to the will of God, and resolved to proceed.” (Bradford)

LIFE ABOARD THE SHIP

When not working to patch the main deck, the passengers were confined below on the “tween deck” just below the main deck and above the cargo hold. One hundred of them packed in together along with two dogs. John Goodman, travelling without family, had brought his two dogs on board for the trip. One an English Mastif which was essentially a guard dog; the other an English Springer Spaniel, a hunting dog.

There was no privacy to speak of but occasionally a cloth or piece of canvas was raised between families. Chamber pots were used as toilets. If you were lucky enough to be assigned the duty of emptying these pots, at least you got to go up on deck for some fresh air.

The ship tossed and rocked in the heavy seas. Many passengers were thrown against the inside of the hull during the storms and injuries were considerable. They were treated by Samuel Fuller, the future colony’s doctor.

If the weather cleared a little, passengers were allowed to go up on the main deck for short periods, as long as they didn’t interfere with the crew. But for most, the time between storms was filled with boredom.

The ship’s “hold,” directly below the ‘tween deck where the passengers slept, stored all the food, tools, and furniture. The Mayflower was a fairly large merchant ship for its day. The hold could carry 180 large barrels for provisions. Passenger Christopher Martin had been responsible for purchasing all the provisions for the trip.

Meals were prepared in the “forecastle,” an area one deck above the sleeping quarters and toward the bow of the ship. Meals typically consisted of salted pork, beans, peas, and cheese. These were all foods that could be stored for the long journey in the barrels. The fresh water for drinking was carefully guarded. At night, the Ship’s Master Jones would go out on the Quarter Deck or Poop Deck, both located near the stern, to chart the position of the stars and the horizon to determine the ship’s position.

NEW PASSENGERS

Three of the passengers were pregnant. Elizabeth Hopkins and Susanna White were each in their seventh month and it was possible that they could deliver during the journey. Mary Norris Allerton was only in her third month so her baby would be born in the New World.

The pregnancies must have been torturous with the pitch of the ship in the storms. Elizabeth Hopkins was the first to give birth seven weeks into the voyage; a boy named Oceanus, named for his birthplace. Oceanus’ father, Stephen Hopkins was the only passenger who had been to America before. He had made a voyage to the Jamestown Colony in 1609 (after being shipwrecked in the Bermudas for 10 months).

Two weeks later, Susanna White also gave birth to a boy while the Mayflower was anchored off Cape Cod. He was called Peregrine (meaning seeker or pilgrim).

Sadly, Mary Norris Allerton died in childbirth the following Spring, the baby did not survive. Little Oceanus Hopkins also died at Plymouth during that first hard winter.

CHILDREN ABOARD THE MAYFLOWER

Many passengers believed that their daughters would be too weak to withstand the rigors of the trip and most were left behind in England. Still, eleven girls made the journey. Humility Cooper was the youngest girl at age one. She was an orphan who travelled with her aunt and uncle, the Tilley’s. The oldest girl was Priscilla Mullins who was 17 years old. Except for herself, her entire family died during the first winter. Two years later she married John Alden. One boy, William Button, who was a servant died just three days before land was sighted. Most of the children on the Mayflower became orphans after the first winter.

OVERBOARD

John Howland was a strong, young indentured servant whose passage was paid for by John Carver, later the first Governor of the Plymouth Colony. He was actually more a steward for Mr. Carver, with whom he was related. Midway across the Atlantic, in a violent storm, John Howland fell overboard. He managed to grab hold of a topsail halyard line that was in the water trailing behind the ship. Howland was still well under the waves but managed to hold on and work his way to the surface. Luckily others on the Mayflower hauled him back up on board safely. It was lucky for America too. The Howland families’ descendents included five United States Presidents, a British Prime Minister, and nearly two dozen other very famous Americans.  

LANDFALL IS SPOTTED

The last two weeks of the journey consisted of better weather. The Mayflower stopped at Newfoundland for supplies and fresh water.

On November 9^th, 63 days into the journey, the crew spotted land. They were 220 miles north of the Hudson River; but since they had no way to calibrate their latitude and not knowing how far off course they had been driven by the storms, they headed southward along the Cape Cod coast. They didn’t realize how close they were to the mouth of the Charles River just a short distance to the north.

“After long beating at sea they fell with that land which is called Cape Cod: they were not a little joyful! After some deliberation amongst themselves and with the master of the ship, they resolved to sail southward to find someplace about Hudson’s river for their habitation. But after they sailed that course, they fell amongst dangerous shoals and roaring breakers, and resolved to bear up again for the Cape, and thought themselves happy to get out of those dangers.” (Bradford)

When they realized that they would land in an area to which they had no permission, tensions began to rise between the Separatists and the “strangers.” Two days after first seeing land, the passengers created a governing document that 41 “principal men” signed. This was the Mayflower Compact.

The Mayflower anchored off Cape Cod on November 11^th. A small landing party, led by soldier Myles Standish, disembarked there to reconstruct the small boat carried on board the Mayflower called a “shallop” which had been transported in sections. This group of men sailed across the bay toward the mainland carrying John Smith’s 1614 map of the area. The map showed a smaller bay or inlet on the coast that he named Plimouth Bay. The party landed, explored a little, then gathered Juniper to be taken back to the ship and burned to “cleanse the air” on the Mayflower.

While anchored off the cape, two deaths occurred aboard ship. Dorothy, the wife of William Bradford, accidently fell overboard and drowned; and James Chilton, the oldest member of the party at age 64, died of seemingly of natural causes.

Two days later, Captain Jones brought the Mayflower over to Plymouth Bay. Other passengers were allowed ashore to refresh themselves, and women and teenage girls came ashore to do laundry.

The first months of the settlement at Plymouth were extremely difficult. Eight passengers died during the first 30 days, and only four of the adult women survived the first year. The first winter alone saw three-quarters of the women and half of the men perish, as well as one-third of the children. The legacy of these few passengers has had a monumental affect on the United States. Their descendants include eight U.S. Presidents and over four dozen of the most famous Americans in history. But that’s another story.

Sources:

Davis, William, T. (ed), “Bradford’s History of Plymouth Plantation, 1606-1646” (1908).

“Journal of the Beginnings and Proceedings of the English Plantation Settled at Plymouth in New England” (London, 1622)

Morrison, Samuel Eliot, “Builders of the Bay Colony” (1930).