Fund Raising Begun To Build Replica Of Mayflower In London

Nearly 400 years later, the Mayflower is coming home.

The ship that bore the Pilgrims with all their hopes and dreams is being re-created at Rotherhithe on the Thames, where it began its epic voyage to America in 1620, and where its captain, Christopher Jones, is buried.

Rotherhithe, a district of London, is also where the ship, which was already aging when it reached America, was scrapped in 1624.

Lawmakers and city fathers on Thursday launched a campaign to raise $7.5 million to build a full-size replica, with plans to sail to America in 1999. The project is called Mayflower III Mayflower II is another replica berthed at Plymouth, Mass.

“It’s important to go back to to your roots,” said local lawmaker Simon Hughes, who donned a broad-brimmed Puritan’s hat and buckled shoes for the occasion. “And we are very glad to be the roots.”

Workers experienced in traditional ship-building will begin constructing the three-masted vessel next summer on the south side of the Thames near Tower Bridge.

The 90-foot ship will be built entirely of wood, mostly oak and fir. It won’t be an exact copy of Mayflower II - like the earlier replica, it will involve some guesswork.

“We have no plans of the vessel, but ships’ logs and sailors’ manuals give us a very good idea of the design and the riggings,” said naval architect Colin Mudie.

He said ship-builders had estimated the ship’s dimensions based on its tonnage - 25 feet wide, and 33 feet from the keel to the top of the poop deck.

In many cases, Mudie said the builders have chosen modern materials for practical reasons - 17th-century iron would not last like the modern metal, and unlike the original, Mayflower III will be designed to right itself if knocked down by bad weather.

Organizers of the project hope the keel will be laid on July 4. Construction is expected to take two years. After a launch in early 1998, the plan is to make the 65-day crossing the following spring to New York, Plymouth and other pilgrim sites.

On board will be a crew of about 20 and about a dozen passengers who will buy their places at an auction. Mayflower III will then return to Rotherhithe.