Virginia (pinnace)

The Virginia of Sagadahoc (also known as Virginia) was a pinnace which was built in the years 1607 and 1608 by colonists in the Popham Colony. It was the first built by the British ship in present-day Maine and possibly also in all the English colonies in North America.

Little is known about the architecture, but leave records of the colony and similar vessels suggest that the Virginia could transport about 30 tons of load. The ship was about the extent of slightly less than 15 meters in length and 4.42 meters in width. She had a continuous main deck, a draft of about 2 meters with a full load and 0.6 m freeboard.

The construction of the ship was a demonstration of skills in the young colony. Virginia, was built at the mouth of the Kennebec River, now Phippsburg (Maine). She was a project of the Virginia Company of Plymouth, a company of the Virginia Company.

Travels

In August 1608, the pinnace went to England and crossed the Atlantic with some of the surviving members of the Popham Colony on board.

1609 the ship was part of the mission to colonize Jamestown. The Virginia was one of the two pinnaces, which was in tow of the other seven large ships of the mission. The fleet started in Plymouth, England. On the route of the fleet crossed three days a storm is believed that he was a hurricane. The storm caused the ships were separated. The flagship of the fleet, the Sea Venture, suffered on an uninhabited archipelago shipwreck. Later, this archipelago was named Bermuda. The Virginia survived the storm unscathed and reached the colony in October. She was commanded by Captain James Davis, who later had command of Fort Algernon.

It is not known what happened to Virginia after arriving in Jamestown. She dives in 1610 for the last time in recorded.

Reconstruction of Virginia: Maine 's First Ship

A nonprofit organization, Maine 's First Ship, was founded in order to reconstruct the Virginia. The work will take place on the grounds of the Maine Maritime Museum in Bath (Maine). The organization shows people the role of Maine in early American and European history with a 400 -year tradition in shipbuilding and archeology.