The Elizabeth Tilley has completed her maiden voyage. On July 28, she sailed from Plymouth Harbor to reenact the voyage taken by the Pilgrims in 1628 to establish a trading post at Cushnoc (now Augusta), Maine. With the assistance of our escort boat, we arrived at Old Fort Western on August 7, 2003.

The Elizabeth Tilley is a reproduction of a shallop, which was used in shallow waters in the 17th century. The vessel is 38 feet in length and is fitted with both oars and sails. The Elizabeth Tilley was commissioned by The Pilgrim John Howland Society and built at Plimoth Plantation under the direction of Peter Arenstam, the Plantation master boat builder.

In 1628, Plimoth Colony was granted a patent of 1.5 million acres along the Kennebec River. The Pilgrims traded corn for beaver pelts, which were then sent back to England. The Pilgrims had incurred a ten thousand-pound debt for the financing of their trip to establish the Colony of Northern Virginia. Most of this debt was paid off in 20 years as a result of the fur trade.

Peter Arenstam was the Captain of the Elizabeth Tilley, and 22 members of The John Howland Society joined him—four members doing the complete route and others joining for some part of the trip. (There was a crew of 12 each day.) In Maine, Bud Warren joined the crew. He is on a committee to build a replica of the Virginia, the first ship built in America [in 1607] at Popham, Maine.

The voyage exceeded any previous expectations that I had, and it was a privilege to be a member of the crew. We found the winds were generally light before 11:00 am, so were towed so as to meet our planned stops. The first day, Plymouth to Cohasset, we did sail for a short time and attempted to do some rowing. The weather was warm and sunny, and the crew enjoyed the day. Barbara Dillon provided dinner for us and made sleeping arrangements for those who needed quarters.

The next day we sailed from Cohasset to Rockport, Mass. We had light winds in the morning and were able to get in a good sail in the afternoon when the winds picked up. Just outside of Rockport Harbor, we were met by The Appledor, which is a replica of an old sailing ship. She fired a welcoming shot across our bow. The shot was repeated in the inner harbor, and the sound echoed around the ledges lining the water. Members of the Sandy Bay Yacht Club served us a delicious home-cooked turkey dinner with all the fixings, and in the morning served us breakfast. The highlight was the warm jelly donuts! Richard Boulter provided beds for the crew.

The third day we went from Rockport to the Isle o’Shoals, near Portsmouth, New Hampshire. We had nice weather and a good afternoon sail. The original plan was for us to tie up to a mooring in the cove for the night. The hotel on the island offered us supper and later, after their guests inquired about the shallop, allowed us to tie up at the dock. From 7:30 to 9:30 pm, people came down to view the shallop. The next morning, people started showing up as early as 5:30 am and continued until we left. There were at least 100 people who came to see the Elizabeth Tilley, and the best thing was that many of them were children who were interested in the story of our trip. Some of us slept at the Marine Research Lab on the next island, while the rest of the crew slept on the boat.

The fourth day was from Isle o’Shoals to Kennebunkport, Maine. We had light winds in the morning. We did get some sailing in the afternoon. A Minkie whale was seen today. We sailed into the harbor; but since the river is too narrow for sailing, we were towed to the Kennebunk River Club. There were a number of people from the John Howland Society and Maine Mayflower Society on the breakwater to welcome us to Kennebunkport. The Plimoth Plantation is hoping to take the Mayflower II from Plymouth to Portland, Maine next year (2004). They hosted a reception to help raise funds for that voyage, as it will be an expensive endeavor. After the reception was over, the Elizabeth Tilley was towed up river to berth at Chick’s Marina.

The fifth day was a layover day built in should we have had the need to make any repairs to the vessel, which fortunately we did not. As it turned out, it was lucky that we did not have to sail, since it rained all day. The day was spent being a tourist in Kennebunkport. I was able to purchase a shirt that said “If there is no wind, then blow.”

Day six was Kennebunkport to Portland. We got a little later start today, as we had to wait for the tide to come in for the escort to float before we could leave We were towed all the way to Portland Harbor, but then were able to sail around the harbor for an hour or so before landing. We saw two Minkie whales and a number of seals today. We docked at the Portland Yacht Services. Since there was another layover day tomorrow, most of the people did not stay with the vessel. I stayed with the shallop and went to the nearby railroad museum and learned about the narrow gauge railroad and trains. There were 8-railroad lines in use in Maine at one time. They could be built with a lighter rail, and therefore were less costly to build and maintain.

Day seven was the layover day, and Plimoth Plantation sponsored another reception. Another day of being a tourist.

The eighth day was scheduled to be Portland to Popham Beach, Maine. The fog has rolled in so thick that we could hardly see ahead 50 feet. The range of visibility was much less than the two hundred feet that was the length of the tow line. Portland Harbor is such that the wind blows the fog in, and then the surrounding structures in the harbor hold it in. The chase boat went out to see what the situation was and came back to report that it did look as if we would be able to travel safely. Around 10am, the chase boat went out to check again when it started to rain. This light rain knocked down the fog just enough to give us enough visibility to travel. We went back to the dock, assembled the crew and left Portland. The light rain remained for most of the morning, and the fog for the whole remaining trip. Due to the lack of wind, we were towed all the way to Popham Beach. As a native of Maine, Bud Warren gave a good history lesson of the area.

That evening there was a reception put on by members of the Popham Colony. There was a nice cake and refreshments. The local church had purchased a house to be used if a family had an emergency and needed a place to stay. The family that had been using the home had just moved out and it was made available for the crew to use as sleeping quarters for the night. I went into the local store to see if they had deli meats we could use for lunches. The owner said no but he would give me the keys to his truck so I could go to Bath if I needed to.

The next day we were not scheduled to leave until 1:00pm which was the time of the incoming tide. We had time to explore the site of the Popham Colony. They are doing an archeological dig and have found evidence of structures as drawn on the original plan used when constructing the site.

The ninth day was from Popham Beach to Bath on the Kennebec River. After a short distance the first of many eagle sightings was made. We also had sturgeon and bluefish jumping all around the boat all the way up the river. We were able to sail all the way up to Bath where we docked at the Maine Maritime Museum. A cannon being fired from shore saluted us. Again we were offered a building to use as a sleeping place for the evening.

Day ten Bath to Richmond. That morning was spent touring the museum, as we did not leave until the incoming tide in the afternoon. We passed the Bath Iron Works and were saluted by the workers there. We passed under the new bridge and set sail for Richmond thru Merrymeeting Bay. This was another wonderful day of sailing with the pretty landscape. The shore is lined with wild rice, which the migratory fowl feed on their journey south. The solitude of being under sail on a beautiful boat was so enjoyable. We passed by Swan Island where some of us stayed in Adirondack shelters. The island is a deer refuge and those who stayed there saw many! We went around the top of the island and docked at town dock at Richmond. We went to dinner at the Railroad Café, which is housed, in a former funeral home. At dinner we sang “Happy Birthday” to our Quarterly editor Gail Adams.

There was a concert held at the bandstand, which was adjacent to the boat dock. The town has a strong Russian heritage but is a depressed area at this time. When we arrived at Richmond Eldon Gay and Jon Daley [who were with us on the first part of the trip] met us. They wanted to sail again if there was space available. At eight-thirty the park ranger picked up those who were sleeping on the island. We were then taken on the back of a truck to the camping site. The next morning we were picked up by the truck to be taken back to the Elizabeth Tilley.

Day eleven was the last day and we traveled from Richmond to Augusta. We had towed for a short distance when the Public Service Station out of Lewiston, Maine met us. They are doing a documentary of the early trade of the Colonies. We spent a half an hour rowing the shallop up the river. To be authentic all modern items had to be hidden. Glasses, watches and hats were all put away.

The trickiest part of the trip was here as the river has a narrow channel and can be shallow. We needed to be in Augusta by1:00pm because of the tide. There is a swing bridge at Richmond and we had made arrangements the night before to have it opened at 8:00am. We were towed for this portion of the trip. The mast of the Elizabeth Tilley is thirty-two feet. The main concern was the bridge at Gardiner has only a thirty-five foot clearance at the center of the span. We cleared the bridge with room to spare. It was only 10:30am when we were coming into Hallowell with less than a half-hour to travel. We stopped at the public dock as we were ahead of schedule. We were docked for an hour and a half and had many visitors. At 11:45am we made the last part of the trip. As we came under the bridge to the dock at Old Fort Western we were greeted by a large crowd and an honor guard, which fired a greeting round. The corn was unloaded and carried up to the site of the original fort. There was a nice ceremony where corn was exchanged for a beaver pelt.

This was a very memorable trip, which was an honor to be a part of. The beauty and the grace of the Elizabeth Tilley are to be admired. The warmth and enthusiasm encountered will be long remembered by those fortunate enough to be part of the voyage.

This article appeared in the September 2003 issue of The Howland Quarterly.