''Godspeed'' was one of the three ships on the 1606–1607 voyage to the New World for the English Virginia Company of London which resulted in the founding of Jamestown in the new

Colony of Virginia The Colony of Virginia was a British Empire, British colonial settlement in North America from 1606 to 1776. The first effort to create an English settlement in the area was chartered in 1584 and established in 1585; the resulting Roanoke Colo ...

. Captained by Bartholomew Gosnold, she was joined by the '' Susan Constant'' and ''

Discovery Discovery may refer to: * Discovery (observation), observing or finding something unknown * Discovery (fiction), a character's learning something unknown * Discovery (law), a process in courts of law relating to evidence Discovery, The Discovery ...

'' on the journey.

History

The ''Godspeed'' was a 40-ton fully rigged ship estimated to have had a hull in length. As part of the original fleet to Virginia, leaving on December 20, 1606, she carried 39 passengers, all male, and 13 sailors. The route included stops in the

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; ) or Canaries are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean and the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, Autonomous Community of Spain. They are located in the northwest of Africa, with the closest point to the cont ...

and

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

and, with better wind, would have taken about two months to traverse; instead, the voyage lasted 144 days. On June 22, 1607, Newport sailed back for London with '' Susan Constant'' and ''Godspeed'' carrying a load of supposedly precious minerals, leaving behind the 104 colonists and ''

'' (to be used in exploring the area).

Replicas

In 1985, a replica of ''Godspeed'' (rigged as a barque, only 48 feet on deck) sailed from London back to Virginia. She had a crew of 14 and stopped at many places that the original ''Godspeed'' visited, including the

and various places in the

Windward Islands The Windward Islands are the southern, generally larger islands of the Lesser Antilles of the Caribbean islands or the West Indies. Located approximately between latitudes 10° and 16° N and longitudes 60° and 62° W, they extend from D ...

, before sailing to Jamestown. The most recent replica was built at Rockport Marine in Rockport,

Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...

, and completed in early 2006. Its length overall is , with the deck long, and the main mast tall, carrying of sail. Replicas of ''Godspeed'' and her sisters in the 1607 voyage, the larger '' Susan Constant'' and the smaller ''

'', are docked in the

James River The James River is a river in Virginia that begins in the Appalachian Mountains and flows from the confluence of the Cowpasture and Jackson Rivers in Botetourt County U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowli ...

at Jamestown Settlement (formerly Jamestown Festival Park), adjacent to the Jamestown National Historic Site.

Modern depictions

In May 2007, the

United States Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or simply the Postal Service, is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the executive branch of the federal governmen ...

issued the first 41 cent denomination first class stamp. The stamp had an image of ''Susan Constant'', ''Godspeed'', and ''Discovery''. ''Godspeed'' was also depicted on Virginia's coin of the 50 State Quarters, in celebration of the quadricentennial of Jamestown.

References

External links

*
Susan Constant, Godspeed & Discovery
{{Jamestown Colony English colonization of the Americas Exploration ships of England History of the Thirteen Colonies Replica ships 1600s ships

History

Replicas

Modern depictions

See also

References

Further reading

External links