Dick Turner, kneeling, and Doug Lindeman, standing, talk to students about some of the diversions enjoyed by sailors aboard the Godspeed in 1607, including playing cards. Photos by Charlie Koenig

The Godspeed has arrived.

The vessel, a replica of one of the three ships that brought the first permanent English colonists to Virginia in 1607, sailed up the East River yesterday afternoon to spend the weekend at Williams Wharf Landing.

Whit Perry of the Godspeed welcomes the newest recruits to his vessel, a group of second-grade students from Lee-Jackson Elementary School, on Friday morning.

The crew of the Godspeed is spending the day showing students from Mathews County Public Schools all about the vessel and giving them a flavor for what life was like in colonial Virginia.

The public is invited to Williams Wharf tomorrow and Sunday to tour the Godspeed; it will be open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day at no charge. The ship is scheduled to sail back to Jamestown on Monday.

Pam Muffelman speaks to a group of Lee-Jackson Elementary School students about the Mathews Land Conservancy exhibit, “When We Belonged to England.”

In conjunction with the Godspeed’s visit, the Mathews Land Conservancy is opening its doors for a special exhibit, “When We Belonged to England.” The exhibit, which presents the colonial history of Mathews County, includes items from the Mariners’ Museum in Newport News and the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation. Many of the displays relate to the county’s fame as a colonial shipbuilding capital, as well as the region’s tobacco industry.

To view this article in its entirety, subscribe here. Already an online subscriber? Login Here