Ship 'Godspeed' Heads to Old Town Alexandria Waterfront

The Godspeed, a re-creation of one of the three ships that brought America’s first permanent English colonists to Virginia in 1607, will dock in Old Town to host public tours and school field trips this fall.

The ship, from the Jamestown Settlement history museum, last visited the city in 2008.

The Godspeed will be docked at the north end of the Alexandria City Marina, adjacent to Founders Park near the intersection of North Union and Queen streets, and will be open for free tours from:

• 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. Oct. 4-7
• 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Oct. 8
• 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Oct. 9

Visitors will be able to explore the ship and talk with historical interpreters about the 1607 voyage and 17th-century sailing, navigation and shipboard life.

The Godspeed is sailed by a crew of Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation staff and volunteers, and its voyages are supported with private donations.

Prescheduled educational programs for fourth-grade students from Alexandria City Public Schools are planned during its docking.

The Godspeed will depart from Jamestown Settlement on Sept. 28. From Alexandria, the ship will sail to Yorktown, where it will be docked Oct. 14-19 in conjunction with events celebrating the 230th anniversary of the decisive victory of the American Revolution.

The original Godspeed carried 52 people, including crew, on the 1607 voyage and was captained by Bartholomew Gosnold, a principal organizer of the Virginia Company of London that sponsored the Jamestown colony.