For Mayflower II crew, a sail down memory lane
Vessel commemorates 1957 reenactment
PLYMOUTH -- Hundreds of people gathered at the pier off Water Street, whipped out their cameras, and snapped wildly as the Mayflower II prepared for sea.
And as the vessel was pulled by a tugboat away from land, the crowd erupted into cheers. It was only the ninth time in 50 years that the 106-foot long, wooden replica of the original Mayflower had sailed.
For the launch, which commemorated the vessel's 50-year anniversary, town residents gave a "bon voyage" that to some was reminiscent of the welcome the Mayflower II received when it sailed into Plymouth Harbor from England in 1957.
Peter Padfield, one of the eight surviving crew members of the ship's maiden voyage, waved at the cheering crowd from the deck of the ship.
"This reminds me of 1957," he said. "It looked just like this. It really is amazing."
The tugboat led Mayflower II out of the narrow channel of Plymouth Harbor. Once it was past Gurnet Point and Plymouth Long Beach, where the original Pilgrims had anchored the Mayflower in 1620 before setting ashore in a smaller boat, the Mayflower II set sail and ven tured into the open waters of Cape Cod Bay. A flotilla of some 300 yachts, jet skis, and sail boats accompanied the stout, square-rigged vessel.
"It's like an amusement park ride," said Peter Arenstam, the vessel's first mate, as he climbed up the rigging to fix the sails.
"Not one I want to be on," said Judy Plummer, 58, a financial analyst, as she watched Arenstam warily from the poop deck.
Plummer, one of a lucky few passengers who had won a place aboard the Mayflower II for the three-hour sail through various sweepstakes and raffles watched the nearby boats and laughed as she became the subject of dozens of photographs.
"I feel like we're at the zoo and we're staring at them and they're staring at us," she said. "We're on display, but it's a fun display."
History buffs, sailing enthusiasts, and those eager to take part in maritime history, competed to get passage on board. Some spent several days painting the Mayflower II in the hot sun and learning first aid to become volunteer crew members.
Others spent thousands of dollars outbidding one another at local auctions to get a seat on the vessel, where guests munched on grapes, smoked Gouda, and crackers.
Academy Award-winning actor Chris Cooper of Kingston, and his wife, Marianne Leone, said they had immediately accepted the organization's invitation to sail on the Mayflower II.
"We were thrilled to be invited," Leone said, as Cooper stood nearby, eating cheese. "It was awesome."
Seven people in the 33-member crew that made the trans-Atlantic voyage from England in 1957 were on board yesterday. Twenty-five of the crew members had died and one had to stay in Scotland, too ill from cancer to make the journey.
The seven crew members, who arrived last week in Plymouth, had spent the last several days touring the town, signing autographs for those who still carried photos of 1957 crew, and reliving the days when they felt like visiting movie stars.
Arenstam laughed as he recalled how Mike John Ford, a member of the 1957 crew and a retired chemist, blushed when a woman approached him at a gala dinner Saturday night and reminded him that she had kissed him when he stepped off the Mayflower II fifty years ago. Ford, 77, of Cornwall, England, scoffed.
"I took it delightfully," said Ford, as he sat on the main deck yesterday. "I was assured that everyone was kissing each other then."
As the surviving crew members stood on the deck, some admitted they were tempted to jump to action when the captain ordered his crew to unfurl the sails.
Former crew member David Thorpe, 74, could not help himself.
When three burly crew members began pulling a rope to straighten the mizzen sail, he joined them, picked up the slack, and began to yank.
"It's very nostalgic being on the ship," he said, dressed in the same period clothing he wore when he the ship sailed to port in 1957. He was decked in rough wool pants reminiscent of what a 17th-century sailor would have worn, a woolen jacket with silver buttons, a suede belt, and custom made shoes. Less authentic was the green knit cap he wore.
"It was my mother's tea cozy," he said of the hat, laughing.
Those on board grew silent when a hawthorne wreath was thrown overboard to commemorate the crew members who had died since the ship first set sail.
A crew member rang the ship bell 25 times in honor of each one.
"Twenty-five gone," breathed one of the survivors, John Winslow, 71, a retired airline pilot.
For some of them it was a sober reminder that seven years ago, when the ship sailed to Provincetown to celebrate the millennium, a dozen of the crew were on board.
But Ford said he was looking at yesterday's journey as one of many chances for the remaining crew members to reunite.
"We're a jolly lot, eagerly awaiting the next invitation," he said. "When the ship next sails, we want to make sure we have another invitation. We want to be there."
Maria Cramer can be reached at mcramer@globe.com. 