The Pilgrims' first encounter

On November 11th, 1620, Old Style Calendar, the Mayflower dropped anchor in what is now Provincetown Harbor at the tip of Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Nathaniel Philbrick in his wonderful book, Mayflower, writes that Captain Jones had navigated the vessel into one of New England's largest and safest harbors, Jones estimated it could hold a thousand ships. They were alone. It had taken sixty five frightening days at sea to find this anchorage, three thousand miles from home with five hundred miles separating them from other English colonists. In the next four months, half of them would be dead. The ship's carpenter began to reassemble their larger open boat, known as a scallop, for future landings. In the meantime, sixteen well armed men set out for shore in a smaller open boat. Near an area now called Long Point, the hills and dunes they encountered reminded them of the Downs in Holland. They explored the sandy reaches and gathered fragrant cedar for a long anticipated fire aboard ship that evening. The New World had become a reality.

One of my connections with these wanderers comes through my father's paternal grandmother, a direct descendent of Peregrine White, born aboard ship in the days to come, the first child of these English settlers to be born in the New World.

The image is an oil painting of mine, depicting the area near their first encounter, the majestic dunes, icy cold water and a Cape Cod sunset that hopefully welcomed their hearts and legs made weak by the long sea voyage.

Thanksgiving Greetings to all blippers 2010

Provincetown & the Pilgrims

Peregrine White