The Matthew of Bristol (2)

The Matthew is a faithful, full-size replica of John Cabot's original ship. It is  78 feet / 24 metres long, with a beam of 20ft 6inches / 6.25 metres, with a draft of 7 feet / 2.1 metres, and 2,360 square feet / 219 square metres of sail.





















On her historic voyage, in 1997, to mark the 500th anniversary of Cabot's original journey to Newfoundland, The Matthew followed the original course exactly, carrying exactly the same number of crew, and taking exactly the same amount of time to complete the crossing.
On 24th June 1997 she was welcomed into port at Bonavista by Queen Elizabeth.

She has just sailed from Plymouth bound for London, where she will join 46 other tall ships and historic craft taking part in the 1,000 boat Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant on Sunday 3rd June.

The Matthew of Bristol (1)

For the last week or so, this marvellous replica of The Matthew of Bristol has been in Plymouth.

This ship is a faithful replica of the vessel in which  John Cabot and his crew set sail in 1497 for Asia. However, he finally arrived on the coast of Newfoundland and therefore he was the original discoverer of North America, not Christopher Columbus as most people believe.

Come back tomorrow for some close ups and details of her voyages and construction.