400th Anniversary of the Departure of the Mayflower.

Four hundred years ago, on the 16th September 1620, at last the voyage would begin. Two ships, the Speedwell and the Mayflower had been commissioned and left Leyden in Holland for Dartmouth and Plymouth where additional passengers and supplies were loaded on board. Twice both ships set out to sea, but twice they returned after only a few hundred miles. Finally, the Speedwell was pronounce un-seaworthy and was abandoned, all embarked on the Mayflower.

Departure was late; the seasons ahead would be severe. Over the next six

months half would perish through sickness. But those who survived

established the first colony that would lay the foundations to a new nation.