—By Katie Farthing
With the winds of hope and prosperity filling its sails, the Susan Constant landed at Jamestown in 1607 with 54 Englishmen aboard hoping for glory and gold.
Fast forward 400 years, the original three-masted square rig has long since disappeared, but her lore has remained a vital connection to Virginia’s past, serving as a floating classroom for history buffs, students, tourists, even royalty. She’s been recreated twice—first in 1957, then again in 1991—but during a dry dock inspection last year, it was determined that she needed a comprehensive overhaul to repair her hull planking, upper framing, mast, and rigging components.
Capt. Eric Speth, director of maritime operations for the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation, and a 15-member crew made the 515-mile journey in June to the Mystic Seaport Museum in Connecticut, where the Susan Constant will undergo a two-year, $4.7 million restoration at the museum’s state-of-the-art preservation shipyard. Speth notes that a restoration is far less expensive than a replacement.
The historic barque is due to return to Jamestown in 2026. There, she’ll resume her role as a 17th-century ambassador and a testament to Virginia’s rich colonial history, majestically moored alongside the Godspeed and Discovery as the official fleet of the Commonwealth. For updates, visit JYFMuseums.org.
This article originally appeared in the December 2024 issue.
