Discovery Almost Ready for Launch
No, not the space shuttle. The tiny two-masted barque that is a replica of the smallest ship to make the trans-Atlantic voyage in 1607 bringing the first settlers to Jamestown. The Discovery is scheduled to launch near the end of January and will sail from Maine, along with the Godspeed, to Jamestown in February for the beginning of the 400th celebration of Jamestown.
The Discovery will replace the 50-year old non-sailing replica currently at the wharf in Jamestown Settlement.
From the Daily Press here:
BOOTHBAY HARBOR, MAINE — In an open boat shed, with the blue-green waters of Boothbay Harbor shimmering outside, a wooden structure with the mass of a whale’s rib cage and the intricacy of a New England church rises toward the ceiling.
Forty-four miles down the Maine coast from where the Godspeed awaits its launch, the shipwrights at Boothbay Harbor Shipyard have pieced together the skeleton of Godspeed’s future fleet mate, the Discovery. Both ships will play a key role in the Jamestown 2007 events and then will be kept at Jamestown Settlement.
Based on the smallest of the three ships that carried English settlers to Jamestown, the new Discovery, like the new Godspeed, represents advances in research and technique that make it more historically accurate, more seaworthy and less trouble to maintain.
Boothbay Harbor Shipyard expects to deliver the $2 million ship to Jamestown by February 2007 – in time for many of the anniversary events.
By the way, 2 million bucks for an 88-foot square rigger handmade sailing barque seems like an excellent price!
