Smooth sailing so far on $7.5M makeover of Pilgrim ship

Twenty craftsmen at Connecticut’s Mystic Seaport are making major structural repairs to the ship that Britain built and sailed to the U.S. as a gift of friendship in 1957. (Photo by: wikitravel:user:OldPine, CC BY-SA 1.0)

PLYMOUTH, Mass. – Experts reconstructing the rotting replica of the ship that brought the Pilgrims to America in 1620 say it’s been smooth sailing so far.

Project manager Whit Perry says the Mayflower II’s $7.5 million makeover hasn’t hit any major snags since work began this time last year.

Twenty craftsmen at Connecticut’s Mystic Seaport are making major structural repairs to the ship that Britain built and sailed to the U.S. as a gift of friendship in 1957.

Perry says workers are on target to return the vessel to its mooring in Plymouth, Massachusetts, in 2019. That will be in plenty of time for 2020 festivities marking the 400th anniversary of the Pilgrim landing.

More than 25 million people have boarded the Mayflower II over the past six decades.