Mayflower II

Type: Segment Subject(s): Museum Exhibit Project Contact: Name: Robert Judge Company: WGBH Email: [email protected] Original Broadcast/Publish Date: 10/09/2020 Runtime: 00:04:52 Main Asset File Size: 1.84 GB Short Description: The restoration of the Mayflower II, a replica of the tall ship that brought the pilgrims to Plymouth in 1620 and its reopening to the public Long Description: The restoration of the Mayflower II, a replica of the tall ship that brought the pilgrims to Plymouth in 1620 and its reopening to the public

Rights Information

Media Rights: Please refer to the MMG Arts Initiative Agreement for full rights information. Sensitive Material: N/A Special Instructions: N/A File Clean of Graphics: Yes Language English Embed Code: WWW.PLIMOTH.ORG

Lower Thirds

TC In Lower Third In Cue 00:00:10 Richard Pickering It was a Greyhound bus of its Deputy Executive Director, era Plimoth Patuxet 00:01:50 Whit Perry When I first took the job Captain, Mayflower II Production Credits: Executive Editor/Arts: Jared Bowen Executive Producer: Delores Edwards Associate Producer: Rory Sheil Production Manager: Bob Judge Videographer: Howard Powell Editor: Rob Fagnant Additional video courtesy of Plimoth Patuxet Museums Cold Open “LET'S COME ON BOARD JARED, LET'S GO ABOARD MAYFLOWER II. (I'M SURE IT NEVER GETS OLD FOR YOU.) NOT AT ALL.” Lead SOMEWHAT LOST IN THIS PANDEMIC ERA IS

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THE FACT THAT THIS IS THE 400TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE PILGRIMS LANDING ON THESE SHORES—ARRIVING FROM ENGLAND ABOARD THE MAYFLOWER. AS PART OF THE COMMEMORATION, ITS FULL- SCALE REPLICA, MAYFLOWER II RECENTLY RETURNED TO PLYMOUTH AFTER A MASSIVE RESTORATION. Tag SHIP OUT TO VISIT MAYFLOWER II. Transcript In Plymouth Harbor, Mayflower II is the embodiment of promise. A full-scale replica of the ship that delivered the Pilgrims to American shores where they expected to find religious freedom. //SOT// 03:23 Richard Pickering/Deputy Executive Director, Plimoth Patuxet “It was a Greyhound bus of its era //[Illustrations] it was just a ship that a group of people had hired to get them to what they thought would be Virginia and ended up being New England. So in its day of no great significance.” Track Today, though, it’s an indelible part of this nation’s founding. And on the 400th anniversary of that famous sailing, Mayflower II has just undergone a three-year, multi-million-dollar restoration. //SOT// 01:55 JB & Pickering (What do you see when you look at the Mayflower II?) The American story that before me, Mayflower is a memory device and it is a symbol. And it has incredible richness because a symbol gets its meaning from the person looking at it. And so for someone that has direct family ties to that ship, it may mean one thing, for an indigenous person it may need it may have another meaning.” Track The ship is operated by [Prior OS piece] nearby Plimoth Plantation where Richard Pickering is Deputy Executive Director. The historic site recreates life during those first, precarious years as the Pilgrims settled here. Although Plimoth Plantation’s name is changing. //SOT// :45 Pickering “We wanted to make certain that the Wampanoag voice, the indigenous voice was as important as the English voice. So we have [New logo] become Plimoth Patuxet Museums.” Track Back to the Mayflower II, it gleams once again and more importantly, it’s staying afloat says Captain, Whit Perry. //SOT// 24:30 Whit Perry/Captain, Mayflower II “When I first took the job before we did the restoration, the bilge pump would be coming on seven or eight times a day to pump out the water coming in. And of course, the first rule of any

2 / 4 boat or ship is keep the water on the outside.” Track [Restoration stills] The ship’s restoration happened at Mystic Seaport Museum in Connecticut where a team of shipwrights and artisans restored the ship’s sails, wood and metal parts—sometimes even using 17th century tools. //SOT// 25:42 Perry “One of the really cool parts of the collaboration was no one was just coming to work to punch a time card. Everybody took a vested interest in how important they what they were doing.” //SOT// 33:19 Perry & JB “Let's come on board Jared, let's go aboard Mayflower II. (I'm sure it never gets old for you.) Not at all.” Track Like a kid still excited to show off his now toy, Perry took me around the ship—pointing out the paint colors—bright combinations chosen so sailors could identify ships from afar. And the tween deck where more than 100 pilgrim passengers were relegated for their 66-day crossing. //SOT// 35:16 Perry & JB “It's kinda like no umbrella drinks and a Carnival cruise for those folks in 1620. (So quarantined, but no social distancing.) Exactly.” Track Perry points out where restoration has happened—like on this windlass [36:00] which hoists the anchor. And where whole sections of the ship have been fully replaced—an expedition all its own with wood sourced from around the world. //SOT// 30:45 Perry [Will need to cover this bite since this is from formal intv.] [Perry and/or team in woods if we get pics] “We actually started coining the phrase from tree to sea because we would start right with the log in the woods. And one of my favorite parts was going out in the woods with a spray can to pick the trees right out of the forest.” Track Steering the Mayflower was nearly as complicated. //SOT// 42:11 Perry So here, here's our steering wheel. This is what's called a whip staff.//And you can see that we can't really see much out here at all. So how do you steer the ship? Certainly they would have had a magnetic compass and the helmsman would be down here. But if you look at this hatch grading, the officer of the deck would be giving steering commands from up on the half deck// South, south by west or north, north by west, south southwest by the 32 points on a compass.” Track [1957 pics] Mayflower II was a gifted to the US by England in 1957—a thank you for American support during World War II. [2020 sailing video]

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It crossed the Atlantic then and set sail again on the open sea this summer as it returned from Connecticut. [Perry and crew aboard] Perry captained the ship with a crew of 27. //SOT// 49:43 JB & Perry (Is it peaceful?) Oh, yeah. Yeah.//it's all of those romantic sounds that we all know and love from movies of the creaking, of the rigging, the wood working against each other as the ship moves like a living thing and twists and moves, which it's meant to do.” Track There’s one sound though, which Perry saves for the occasional visitor who also happened [JB Pic at launch ceremony] to have emceed the ship’s launch ceremony in Connecticut. //SOT// 50:38 JB “(Jared, thank you very much for showing an interest in Mayflower // I think you should ring our bell for us, the Mayflower Bell. (I would gladly, do I get down at all into it?) //What we're going to do, it's about 1 o'clock. So that will be two bells on the sailors watch schedule. So if you'll give it a ding ding, that will let the sailors know that it's 1 o'clock. (All right. Here it goes.) [LOUD BELL] Isn't that tone, listen to that isn't that beautiful?"