The “Mayflower”, a hand-built ship, leaves Plymouth, England in the year 1620 for a voyage to the “New World” and lands in what is now Cape Cod, Massachusetts. In sixty-six days the pilgrims traveled 2,750 miles. The ship was only 5.5 feet high, 80 feet long and 25 feet wide. It was a four-mast ship with only three decks. The top deck contained the cooking and lookout area. The middle deck was for the people who rarely left that area. The bottom deck was used for steering the ship, and it carried food and all supplies needed to use once they landed. The ship was not designed for the comfort of the passengers but rather to carry supplies of food and drink along with building materials to construct homes once they landed. The ship consisted of fifty-one men, twenty-one boys, twenty women, and ten girls. One baby was born on the ship.
Their destination was the Hudson River but strong winds blew them off course. Landing in the winter, they were forced to spend it on the ship. Only fifty-three people survived the winter. As spring approached they began to construct the city of Plymouth, Mass. On April 5, 1621, the ship returned to England.
May you cherish the history of the first Thanksgiving and remember the pilgrims who so bravely ventured out of their security in England to find the New World!