THE Mayflower II will sail in sea trials before heading home to Plymouth.

The replica of the original Mayflower ship that sailed to Plymouth, Massachusetts, in 1620 sailed from Rhode Island on Thursday. 

The replica ship is undergoing two-week-long sea trials.

It sailed alongside the United States Coast Guard Cutter Barque Eagle, a vessel used to train cadets.

The Day. reported that the Coast Guard suggested that Captain Michael Turdo of the Eagle sail alongside the Mayflower during the sea trials.

Mayflower has been training in the water aorund Fishers Island Sound, for a fortnight.

But it's too shallow for Eagle to navigate.

SETTING OFF

So, the Mayflower was towed out to more open waters south of the Rhode Island shore to set sail together.

The beloved ship then returned to City Pier in New London, Connecticut, for more training, while the Eagle remained at sea training Coast Guard Academy cadets.

Mayflower is preparing to embark from Connecticut after three years of $11.2 million renovations.

But the coronavirus pandemic caused months of delays

COVID DELAYS

Earlier in July, it was towed from the preservation shipyard at the Mystic Seaport Museum to New London.

There, two weeks of sea trials got underway before the 64-year-old historic reproduction traveled up the coast.

The Mayflower is scheduled to arrive back at the harbor around August 10.

It was originally supposed to have a celebratory departure in late April, before arriving in May – including being led into Boston Harbor under sail with the USS Constitution.

That maritime festival was supposed to mark the 400th anniversary of the original Mayflower voyage – but the crisis scuppered these commemorative plans.

NO MORE CROWDS

The ship is scheduled for two overnight stops with no crowds but people can follow its progress online.

"Our goal is to keep the crew as isolated as possible," said Kate Sheehan of Plimoth Plantation.

"So the public will not be able to board the ship at any point during the journey.

"We're just being very, very careful about the crew's exposure."

RESTORATION

The Mayflower II arrived in Plymouth as a gift from England in 1957 and has become a popular attraction.

In 2014, with the ship spending part of the year in Mystic and the restoration work began at the seaport museum in 2016.

Shipwrights from the seaport museum and artisans from Plimoth Plantation all contributed to the painstaking work.

Sheehan revealed that although they managed to save the keel, 75 per cent of the vessel is new.

"The hull planking was completely replaced with 20,000 board feet of Danish white oak that is absolutely some of the most beautiful wood that I have ever seen and the shipwrights have ever seen," she said.

ANNIVERSARY ON HOLD

Craftsmen have been doing painting, rigging, finishing work and installing new features since it was rechristened in 2019.

This includes a state-of-the-art fire suppression system on board.

But its 400th anniversary commemoration in Provincetown, Massachusetts, in September are on hold amid virus fears.

"To the extent that it's possible to mark her arrival with any sort of event, then we will do so," she said.

"Even under the most mundane of circumstances, Mayflower tends to attract a crowd.

"So even if a crowd gathers organically, we'll communicate that they need to follow the state's safety guidelines regarding physical distancing and mask wearing."

For at least the remainder of this year, the ship will be docked at Pilgrim Memorial State Park, Sheehan said.

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