Mayflower II Restoration in Mystic Seaport

The Museum of America and the Sea at Mystic Seaport is restoring Mayflower II, the 57-year-old wooden ship, a faithful replica of the 17th century Mayflower that brought Pilgrims to the New World. The original didn't survive. Mayflower II was built in Great Britain and then gifted to the United States; it symbolizes collaboration of Great Britain and the United States during the WWII.

Mayflower II is expected to be fully restored in time for the 400th anniversary of the Pilgrims' arrival, in 2020.

Meeting the Wampanoag People. Without their help, the Pilgrims wouldn't have survived the first winter in the New World.

We visited Mayflower II this winter and early spring with Dalvero Academy, at the Henry B. duPont Preservation Shipyard. It is much smaller than the whaling ship Charles W. Morgan, and it has a cheerful personality. Presently, during restoration, there are only two masts on the ship. I look forward to seeing it fully rigged in Plymouth, where Mayflower II will spend the summer.