Thanksgiving: The Ocean Crossing (Day 2 of 5)

Narrator: After 65 days at sea from Plymouth, a total of 97 days from the first launch at Southampton, the pilgrims caught a glimpse of their destination – the new land where God would be worshipped freely and, in time, where freedom would flourish. Shouting for joy and falling to their knees to pray, they celebrated by reading Psalm 100 – "Shout joyfully to the Lord all the earth, serve the Lord with gladness, come before Him with joyful singing, know that the Lord Himself is God, it is He who has made us and not we ourselves. We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him, bless His name, for the Lord is good. His lovingkindness is everlasting, and His faithfulness to all generations."

Narrator: The pilgrim band of approximately 46 people first had to sail from Holland to England on a ship named the "Speedwell." After sad farewells on July the 22nd, 1620, the small ship headed across the English Channel to the seaport of Southampton. The Speedwell docked at the slip next to a ship painted brown and gold. It was the Mayflower.

Already on board this ship were Captain Jones, his crew, and 60 to 70 volunteers who had been recruited in England to give the new colony a larger population. Some of these volunteers desired religious freedom but most were more interested in finding success and fortune in the new land. Also on board were some servants hired to help the pilgrims from Leiden. One of the hired helpers was Captain Miles Standish, an ex-soldier who would play an important role in the months ahead.

Both the smaller Speedwell and the Mayflower sailed from Southampton on August the 5th, 1620. This was late in the summer to launch such a voyage. Even with a normal ocean crossing and no bad weather, the ships would not arrive until October – quite late to start building a settlement from the ground up.

The first days of the journey hinted at difficulties to come. The winds were unfavorable, and the ships could not make it out of the English Channel. The passengers, bounced to and fro by the rough waters, became seasick. Then the Speedwell began to leak. Seawater seeped through the hull and filled the belly of the ship. Both ships were forced to return to land, this time to the port of Dartmouth. After a week, repairs were completed on the Speedwell, and both ships sailed west.

After traveling about 300 miles into the Atlantic, the Speedwell again developed leaks. With great disappointment to everyone, the ships returned a second time to yet another port, Plymouth. More days of work and testing by shipbuilders passed before the Speedwell was labeled unseaworthy. The smaller Speedwell had been purchased by the colony to remain in America and be a means of transporting supplies, goods for sale, and passengers back and forth to Europe. But because the ship couldn't be repaired, the pilgrim leaders were forced to sell it.

This necessitated another decision. Since there wasn't enough room on the Mayflower for the combined passengers of both ships, 20 volunteers would have to stay behind. The passengers said the choice was not too difficult since by now they had spent much of the last month on board ship and had experienced considerable seasickness. The volunteers came forward.

William Bradford commented …

William Bradford: And thus, like Gideon's army, this small number was divided as if the Lord, by this work of His Providence, thought these few too many for the great work He had to do.

Narrator: When the Mayflower finally left England on the 6th of September, crowded on board were 102 passengers including 33 children. Most of the pilgrims on the ship were in their 20s and 30s. Surprisingly, at least 15 passengers were over 40 including William and Mary Brewster, who were both in their 50s.

Because of the delays the passengers and crew had already used much of the food and drink set aside for the voyage. This meant supplies intended for use after landing in America would be needed for the sea journey.

The food was terrible – brine-soaked beef, pork, and fish, and stale, hard biscuits, which often were full of insects. The rats living on board helped themselves to the same food supplies. The rooms for passengers were crowded and mainly below deck.

Conditions were miserable – cramped quarters, seasick people vomiting into pails, if they were able to find one in time; no sanitary toilets; the hatches were sealed off because of constant storms, and so the passengers were unable to get fresh air. A foul mixture of odors grew in such an environment.

Another problem was the attitude of the seamen sailing the Mayflower. These men did not like landlubbers, particularly religious ones, calling the pilgrims "Psalm-singing pukestockings," and worse. The sailors ridiculed their passengers for taking time each morning to recite or sing Psalms and pray. One young sailor was especially nasty, cursing the ones who were sick and telling them he looked forward to throwing them overboard if they died on the voyage.

About two weeks out to sea, this same sailor unexpectedly developed a raging fever. Within just one day he died of an unknown sickness, raving and cursing as he breathed his last. His shrouded body was buried at sea. This sobered the other seamen, a superstitious group even in normal circumstances. They wondered if their fellow crewman had died because of his treatment of the humble and God-fearing pilgrims. Not wanting to risk a similar fate, the more superstitious sailors no longer ridiculed their passengers.

The Mayflower was nearly halfway across the Atlantic when it met a ferocious storm. The wind wailed at 50 miles per hour, and waves towered 50 feet or higher. The waves' vicious pounding opened cracks in the ship's wooden hull. Icy cold seawater soaked the sailors and leaked into the passenger quarters below deck. The ship groaned and tossed from side to side that terrified pilgrims hanging onto anything solid, crying out to God to deliver them. The storm raged for days and became so intense that even the blasphemous sailors prayed.

The pilgrims continued to pray and sing Psalms, their voices barely heard above the thundering waves and howling wind. Without warning, one of the huge crossbeams supporting the main deck suddenly cracked due to the constant stress of the high winds. Now the sailors were as worried as the passengers, but, as always, the pilgrims took their concerns and fears to God, asking Him to deliver them and provide a way of escape.

Pilgrim: Oh, Lord, deliver us. Provide a way of escape.

Narrator: And He did.

Pilgrim: And protect our little ones.

Narrator: Their spiritual leader, William Brewster, remembered the large iron jackscrew the pilgrims had brought for lifting heavy beams when they would begin their building construction. Similar to the screw on his printing press, the jackscrew was located in the cargo hold and carried to the 'tween deck where the sailors used it to crank up the beam to its original position. The pilgrims gave God the praise.

One man, a servant of John Carver named John Howland, became frantic after being cooped up so long during the long storm. Though the worst of the storm was over, the main deck was still no place for passengers who were not used to rough seas. He disobeyed both the captain's and his master's orders and went up on deck for some fresh air. The waves were still huge and sprayed frigid water over the sides.

Suddenly, when the ship heeled over without warning, John fell overboard. As the young man slammed into the surface of the icy water and went under, he instinctively reached up with his arms, grasping for anything to hold onto. A rope was trailing over the side of the ship and, by God's amazing grace, it was there when John reached out.

A person can live in the North Atlantic in November for only about four minutes. No one knows exactly how long John was in that cold, salty water before the sailors were able to haul him on deck. His skin was blue, and he nearly drowned, but he did survive. There is no record that he ever disobeyed an order again.

Another young man, a servant by the name of William Button, became an example to all the other passengers on the importance of obeying the captain. It appears that William refused to follow the captain's and the ship's doctor's orders to drink a spoonful of lemon juice daily. He became sick and died – the only passenger to die on the voyage. His body was quickly buried at sea. The pilgrims, especially the children, took notice.

In the midst of tragic events and hardships on the long voyage, the pilgrims also knew times of rejoicing. A moment of joy came when one of the mothers gave birth in a smelly, crowded cabin to a baby boy. His proud father appropriately named the lad "Oceanus."

But after 10 week at sea, many passengers were falling ill and complaining of fever, chills, and swollen limbs. The situation was grave, and there was still no sign of land. The weather, however, had finally improved so that passengers could go on deck for exercise and fresh air.

Captain Miles Standish, in charge of security and military readiness for the colony, took this opportunity to drill the men on the basics of weaponry and tactics. On November the 9th, several children squealed with delight when they saw a seagull dive above the ship. Not long afterward, a sailor cried, "Land Ho." After 65 days at sea from Plymouth, a total of 97 days from the first launch at Southampton, the pilgrims caught a glimpse of their destination – the new land where God would be worshipped freely and, in time, where freedom would flourish.

Shouting for joy and falling to their knees to pray, they celebrated by reading Psalm 100 – "Shout joyfully to the Lord all the earth, serve the Lord with gladness, come before Him with joyful singing, know that the Lord Himself is God, it is He who has made us and not we ourselves. We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him, bless His name, for the Lord is good. His lovingkindness is everlasting, and His faithfulness to all generations."