Mayflower Ship Sailing Coloring Page with PDF Sheet

Mayflower Ship Sailing: History & Fun Facts

The 1620 Crossing from England

The Mayflower departed Plymouth, England in September 1620 carrying 102 passengers and roughly 30 crew members, intending to land near the Hudson River but veering off course due to rough Atlantic weather and eventually anchoring off Cape Cod in present-day Massachusetts instead. The 66-day crossing was cramped and difficult, with passengers confined mostly to a single deck below the main cargo hold, and one passenger died during the voyage while another was born at sea.

What Kind of Ship the Mayflower Actually Was

The Mayflower was not built as a passenger vessel but as a cargo ship, most likely used before 1620 to transport wine and other goods between England and continental Europe, which explains its rounded hull built for storage capacity rather than speed. Estimates put its length at around 100 feet and its cargo capacity at roughly 180 tons, with three masts carrying square-rigged sails typical of English merchant ships of the era.

The Mayflower Compact and What Came After

Before going ashore, 41 of the adult male passengers signed the Mayflower Compact, a short agreement to form a self-governing body and follow common laws for the good of the colony, since the ship had landed outside the territory covered by their original charter. No original Mayflower survives today, but a full-size, historically researched replica called Mayflower II has sailed and been docked in Plymouth, Massachusetts for public viewing since the 1950s.