Virginia of Sagadahoc

"Virginia of Sagadahoc" (also known as simply "Virginia") was a pinnace built in 1607-08 by colonists at the Popham Colony. It was the first English-built ship in what is now Maine and possibly in all of the English-colonized areas of North America.

Little is known about the details of its architecture, but written accounts of the colony and historical records of similar ships suggest that "Virginia" displaced about 30 tons and measured somewhat less than 50' (15m) long, with a beam of 14'6" (4.42m). She had a flush main deck, drew about 6'6" (2m) fully loaded, and had a freeboard of less than 2' (0.6m).

A demonstration of the new colony's ability to build ships, "Virginia" was built at the mouth of the Kennebec River in what is now Phippsburg, Maine. The ship was a project of the Plymouth Company branch of the proprietary Virginia Company in land England claimed as Virginia.

Voyages

In August 1608, the pinnace crossed the Atlantic Ocean to England, bearing some of the the surviving members of the Popham Colony.

In 1609, the ship participated in the transatlantic Third Supply to Jamestown Settlement, en route riding out a three-day storm now thought to have been a hurricane. [ [http://www.jamestowne-wash-nova.org/JamesDavis.htm Wash & NoVa Company - Biographies - James Davis ] ] "Virginia" was one of the two pinnaces towed behind the seven large ships of the mission, which departed from Plymouth, England. The storm separated the ships and shipwrecked the fleet's flagship, the "Sea Venture", on an uninhabited archipelago that would later be named Bermuda. "Virginia" survived the storm and arrived in the Colony in October under the command of Captain James Davis, who thereafter assumed command of Fort Algernon at Old Point Comfort.

It is unclear what happened to "Virginia" after arrival at Jamestown. The ship disappears from known records in 1610.

Recreating the Virginia: Maine's First Ship

A non-profit organization, Maine's First Ship, has been formed to build a reconstruction of "Virginia" in the grounds of Maine Maritime Museum in Bath, Maine. The organization educates people about Maine's role in early American and European history, the 400-year tradition of shipbuilding, and archeology.

References

External links

* [http://www.mainesfirstship.org Maine's First Ship] - a project to reconstruct "Virginia"
* [http://www.pophamcolony.org Popham Colony]