2019 Spring Court Features Capt. Eric Speth
The Society of the Colonial Wars in Virginia held its Spring Court on April 25 including a presentation by Capt. Eric Speth, Maritime Program Manager of the Jamestown Yorktown Foundation, on the design, construction and launch of the replica of Godspeed, one of three ships that established the Virginia Colony in 1607.
Governor Charles Grant convened the Court at the Country Club of Virginia with sixty Warriors and guests in attendance.
Speth explained the historical research and maritime architectural planning that was necessary to make a working replica that also complied with current sailing technology and Coast Guard regulations.
The original Godspeed, along with Susan Constant and Discovery set sail from London on December 20, 1606, bound for Virginia. The expedition was sponsored by the Virginia Company of London, a business venture that had been organized to form a colony in Virginia. The fleet reached the Virginia coast in late April and, after two weeks of inland waterway exploration, arrived at the selected settlement site on May 13, 1607.
