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Alexandria welcomed a tall ship to its waterfront this weekend as part of the Portside in Old Town Festival.
This replica of Godspeed, which brought 52 men — 39 settlers and 13 crew members — to Virginia in 1607, will be at the waterfront through Tuesday.
Public tours were open 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. Friday, 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday. The ship will be docked Monday and Tuesday at the waterfront but only open for school group tours as part of an educational initiative. Tours are on a first-come, first-served basis.
The original ship took 144 days to cross the Atlantic from England to Virginia, including several days navigating the Thames River out of London, delays for weather, six stops in the West Indies and a few weeks exploring the Virginia coastline before ultimately landing in Jamestown. Godspeed traveled with Susan Constant and Discovery, two other ships bringing settlers and supplies to America.
Godspeed sailed under the Captain Bartholomew Gosnold and was owned by the Virginia Company of London. After spending a few weeks in Jamestown, Godspeed and Susan Constant both returned to England, and Discovery stayed behind to help settlers explore the area.
The replica was built in 2006 in Maine. It is a fully operational modern boat with twin diesel engines, but when the ship is in "museum mode" at its home in Jamestown, it's impossible to see that, as all modern elements are removed or hidden. The tour of Godspeed includes an anchor, rigging, early 17th century navigational tools, games and more.
Godspeed's visit in part of the larger Portside in Old Town Festival, which ran Friday through Sunday along the Alexandria waterfront. The festival includeed a pop-up beer garden from Port City Brewing Co., a pop-up Pizzeria Paradiso, art, activities and more.
Alexandria will be getting its own permanent tall ship next summer when Providence arrives. See: A Tall Ship for the Port City here.
