YORKTOWN, Va. (WAVY) – A recreation of one of the three sailing vessels that brought America’s first permanent English colonists to Virginia in 1607 is making a stop in Yorktown.
As part of the 250th anniversary of the Yorktown Tea Party and Market Days’ Maritime Festival, which is taking place Nov. 7-9, the Jamestown Settlement’s Godspeed will join other maritime vessels along the York River.
Festival guests will be able to tour the Godspeed at the Riverwalk Landing Piers.
Public tours schedule:
Thursday, November 7 – 10 a.m. – 3 p.m.
Friday, November 8 – 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Saturday, November 9 – 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
According to festival organizers, this year’s activities commemorate the 1774 event in which Thomas Nelson, Jr., and other patriots threw two chests of tea overboard a ship on the Yorktown waterfront, joining in the protests that sparked the American Revolution.
The Godspeed, which serves as a floating classroom, also participated in the Urbanna Oyster Festival which took place Oct. 31-Nov. 2.
The Godspeed, along with the Discovery and Susan Constant, have been designated the “official fleet of the Commonwealth” by the General Assembly.
“We are excited for the Godspeed and crew to visit Urbanna and Yorktown for these community events and education programs,” said Eric Speth, director of Maritime Operations for the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation. “It is also an opportunity for the crew to take advantage of the wind and weather conditions for sail training and practice sailing and emergency drills while operating the square-rigged ship.”