JAMES CITY — The Godspeed at Jamestown Settlement has been rerigged and will set sail today to complete training for the new sailing season.
The ship is one of three — along with the Susan Constant and the Discovery — docked at the James City County museum to represent the original ships that brought English colonists to Jamestown in the 17th century.
The recreated ships “are designed and built based on the most current and accurate research and scholarship that we have available,” said Eric Speth, director of maritime operations for the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation and Jamestown Settlement.
The rerigging and today’s sail are among the last steps to get the Godspeed ready for Jamestown Day on May 18, which will commemorate the founding of America’s first permanent English settlement. Nearby Historic Jamestowne is commemorating the anniversary today.
Rerigging the ship, which began in December and was completed this week, is a process that happens for each ship every year or two. The point is to allow needed maintenance to be done in the interest of the longevity of the vessel.
Sailing and maintenance of the ships is largely assisted by a team of about 30 volunteers, who donate about 8,000 hours per year to the museum and “are key to the operation,” Speth said.
Today’s sail will serve as the fourth and final component of sail training for a new crew of volunteers.
The three ships, which built as closely as possible to the size of the original ships, play a key role in the interpretation program at the museum. In June, the Susan Constant will head to Mystic, Connecticut, for a mid service-life maintenance cycle, during which she’ll have some planking and framing replaced.
Rerigging a ship is an involved process.
“We down rig in the fall … when we remove the parts of the rigging that are needing regular service, like the upper top masts, the yards that the sails are attached to, the sails themselves, the running rigging which is the parts of the rigging that we use to control the sails,” Speth said.
The removed parts are then taken to the ships maintenance building for inspection, maintenance, repair and documentation. Once all of that work is done, they rerig the ship in the spring.
Rope is a major part of enabling sailing operations, and Speth said they use three-strand twisted rope made of modern synthetic polyester that is dyed to look like the hemp ropes used in the 17th century.
A rope walk, or a 600-foot building with a machine at one end, is used to make the ropes. The machine twists the individual strands of the rope to enable a kinking motion that twists the ropes into their final form.
Though it’s not a certainty, the three original ships were likely built in a shipyard in London in the early 17th century, Speth said. The two larger ships, the Susan Constant and the Godspeed, were chartered by the Virginia Company, which funded the journey to the Americas, and the smallest of the three, Discovery, was purchased for use by the colonists in the new colony.
Discovery was used for trade, transportation and fishing in the colony, and there are records of it being used for fishing just off-shore as well as in the bay, Speth said.
The Godspeed has three masts and is square-rigged, according to the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation, which runs the museum. Around 40,000 board feet of wood was used to build the ship.
The ship has a main deck, a cabin for crew and officers, and a cargo hold in addition to other areas. It has a tiller for steering, because steering wheels were not used until the early 18th century, according to the foundation.
Next Saturday, visitors to Jamestown Day can watch the Godspeed leave for sailing maneuvers in the James River as well as board the Susan Constant and Discovery to learn how sailors navigated the seas in the 17th century.
Throughout the day, there will be activities at Jamestown Settlement’s re-creations of James Fort and Paspahegh Town, including programs on English and Powhatan weaponry and military tactics, including a pike drill and the firing of a 17th-century falcon.
Jamestown Day activities are included with admission, $18 for adults and $9 for ages 6-12. Residents of James City County, York County and Williamsburg, including William & Mary students, receive free admission with proof of residency. In honor of Jamestown Day, members of the military will receive free admission to the settlement and the American Revolution Museum at Yorktown with military ID.
For more about Jamestown Day, visit jyfmuseums.org/events/programs-activities/jamestown-day. For more about the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation’s volunteer program, including opportunities for youth to volunteer during the summer, visit jyfmuseums.org/support-jyf/volunteer.
Sam Schaffer, samuel.schaffer@virginiamedia.com
