JYF Cribs | Susan Constant Edition

Join Kaia, Derek, and Aaron onboard our recreation of the Susan Constant, a 17th century sailing ship, as they tell us what life would have been like for the passengers and sailors on the 1607 English voyage.

[@michelehumphrey852]

Fascinating tour of the ship. Its amazing a ship that small could travel across the ocean. Thanks for sharing 😊

[@Tuckahoe1918]

Amazing too, the "small" Susan Constant was the largest of the 3 vessels at 120 ton, while the Godspeed was 40 ton and the Discovery was 20 ton. Think of the poor souls on the Discovery. Often overlooked was a fourth vessel -- a shallop -- brought disassembled to Virginia, and was assembled once the settlers arrived.

[@mhmt1453]

Awesome! I can sympathize with the cook; I used to cook for the guys at my firehouse. And woe to the food critic who complains!

[@JYFMuseums]

Right on 😀

[@tnphotobug]

A very, very nice video - thanks so much for posting! When I visited last fall just a portion of the top deck was open - probably due to COVID safety precautions (which I in all honesty appreciate - love being able to still come even with reduced amount of exhibits open). This video was particularly fascinating as I got to see parts of the ship that I did not get to see in person, plus learn more cool facts about the Susan Constant! Thanks again for this excellent video.

[@sherir4462]

Excellent! Thank you!

[@JYFMuseums]

You are welcome and thank you!

[@russeads2995]

What is the flag flown aft? It reminds me of English Civil War flag styles.

[@JYFMuseums]

In addition to the practice of flying St George’s Cross from their masts, English merchant ships were known to fly striped flags with St George’s Cross in the canton. Our flag is a striped merchant flag.

[@ciscodepr]

This is amazing! Quick question with the steering system, is left moving the ship to the right and right to the left, or did they make is so if you move the lever right it go's right,

[@JYFMuseums]

Thank you for another question! When steering with the whipstaff, it's true steering, so pushing the whipstaff to the right turns the ship to the right and vice versa. If steering using a tiller though, pushing the tiller one way turns the ship the opposite way, i.e., push the tiller to the right and the ship turns left.

[@christianx8494]

Some more detail: the round block that serves as a pivot for the whipstaff lets the staff pass through it. That means when you turn its upper end to the right (starboard) and press it down at the same time, you can push the tiller really far to the left (and vice versa). Otherwise the whipstaff would only allow the rudder to be turned at a very small angle.

[@scelonferdi]

Is the ring on top of the forward end of the tiller for locking it in place via rope?

[@JYFMuseums]

Hi. If you mean the eyebolt, at about the 10:24 mark, it is serving as a retaining pin to keep the whipstaff in place and prevent it from slipping off the tiller.

[@HoJu1989]

Is the replica capable of sailing or just a stationary floating museum?

[@JYFMuseums]

Yes, all three of our ships are capable of sailing. Our Godspeed did a sail in September and back in June she sailed down to Norfolk to participate in Harbor Fest -- wydaily.com/latest-news/2023/06/06/jamestown-settlements-godspeed-sailing-to-norfolk-for-harborfest/

[@Thaustralia]

i love this

[@calebwelch6393]

This was a very interesting video! Do y'all have any book recommendations on this subject?

[@jamesread1607]

Is there a particular maritime subject you are looking for a book to cover? As a general thought, you might start with any of the many books that are available about the ships Mary Rose and Vasa and their Archaeological recoveries. The Mary Rose was an English ship that sank off Portsmouth, England in 1545, discovered in 1971 and archaeologically recovered in 1982. Her remains are now housed in the Mary Rose museum in Portsmouth. The Vasa was a Swedish ship that sank in 1628 just 1400yards into her maiden voyage. She was rediscovered in Stockholm harbor the late 1950s and recovered in 1961 and is now housed in the Vasa Museum, Royal National City Park in Stockholm. You might also look for Brian Lavery's The Colonial Merchantman Susan Constant 1605 and A Goodly Ship: The Building of the Susan Constant by Peter H. Spectre and David Larkin. A Goodly Ship is about the construction back in 1989-1991 of the replica Susan Constant featured in this video.

[@calebwelch6393]

@@jamesread1607 Thanks for the recommendations! I will check those out when I get the chance!

[@Anncrohr]

@@calebwelch6393 I'll add the ship Kalmar Nyckel, which brought Swedish settlers to the Delaware Valley. There's a recreation ship based in Wilmington, DE, with an awesome museum and also a DVD documentary about the original ship and settlement. If you ever make it to the East Coast of the US - she's doing public day sails in the summer and everyone of the crew will happily answer all of your questions! Then there's also the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum who has the ship 'Maryland Dove' for dockside interpretation and they're currently building the Maryland Dove II who'll eventually do educational sails just like the Kalmar Nyckel. Enjoy this rabbit hole, it's a deep and amazing one!

[@Anncrohr]

The people of Vasa and Kalmar Nyckel have been working together very closely. Research has been conducted on salvaged ship Vasa, then the Kalmat Nyckel was built aided by that (even though it was a naval and merchant ship, not a warship) and it allowed to verify theories the Vasa people had. Therefore, in the Vasa books they can say "we know this worked, because we actually tried it. We don't if they actually did it *exactly* this way, but it would have been a plausible way". You can get a glimpse of the differences between historical and reproduction KN here, it's the "Tall Ship Time Machine": kzbin.info/www/bejne/nIu7hmyDdtFqhZo

[@jjhbjhbhjgjhgfjhghjg]

How many people were on the Susann Constant in 1607

[@JYFMuseums]

Most sources say around 71 passengers, including crew, were on board the Susan Constant during the 1607 voyage to Jamestown.

[@MackenzieMosley-g6i]

where's the food at

[@JYFMuseums]

Check out this video discussing the topic of food at sea -- kzbin.info/www/bejne/eqmpZnmhpaetZqc The Recipe Rewind playlist might be of interest -- kzbin.info/aero/PLdzBgB_06BySv3ReKI5bRsMHopdh14FCG