Ship sails 

 through history 



Afoul stench rises from the sweaty bodies of the 50 

 passengers crowded in the dark hold of the 70-foot 

 English vessel. The odor, made worse by molded bread and 

 stale ale, cannot be eased by opening a window. The gun 

 ports have been caulked shut for the two-month voyage to 

 North America. 



The passengers aboard the Elizabeth, one of seven 

 vessels carrying colonists to Roanoke Island in 1585, were 

 adventurers. They sought wealth, a possible North-West 

 passage to the Orient and a military outpost. 



Beginning this July, the events of Sir Walter Raleigh's 

 second expedition to Roanoke Island will be recreated 

 in Manteo on an authentic replica of the Elizabeth. 

 Visitors can climb aboard the Elizabeth II and listen to 

 costumed "living history" guides tell of their 16th century 

 voyage. 



Special care was taken to design and construct the 

 Elizabeth II just like her prototype. Architect William 

 Avery Baker, an expert of 16th and 17th century ships, was 

 first commissioned to design the vessel. When he died in 



1981, his work was resumed by Stanley Potter. By June, 



1982, everything was shipshape when O. Lie-Nielsen of 

 Maine began the construction in Manteo. 



Like her 1585 counterpart, the Elizabeth II is com- 

 pletely handmade. Shipwrights cut each board by hand. 

 And instead of using nails and screws, they joined the 

 beams, frames and decks by wooden trunnels (pegs) and 

 spikes. After 15 months of painstaking work, the craftsmen 

 launched their finished product — a sea-blue, red and white 

 replica sporting three towering masts and weighing more 

 than 95 tons. 



Stepping aboard the Elizabeth II is like stepping back 

 400 years into history. At the stern is the small captain's 

 quarters with only a bedroll and a desk. At the bow, there is 

 a beakhead that the seafarers used as a toilet. The remain- 

 ing deck is home and workplace for the 25 or so mariners on 

 the journey. 



On the Elizabeth, there were about 12 categories of 

 crewmen, says Lokey Lytjen-Collins, historian for the 

 Elizabeth II Historic Site. The captain, believed to have 

 been Thomas Cavendish, was in charge of the ship, its 

 navigation and passengers. Often, a captain's mate and a 

 navigator assisted him. Next in command was the pilot, 

 Simon Ferdinando, who steered the ship. Petty officers, or 

 boatswains, maintained the rigging and sails. Seamen and 



Photo by Nancy Davis 



Horace Whitfield, captain of the Elizabeth II 



yonkers, the younger sailors, also worked with the riggings 

 and on the deck. A ship's boy, or grommet, helped on deck. 



A carpenter, cook and barber-surgeon took care of daily 

 chores and problems, Lytjen-Collins says. The lowest 

 mariner, the swabber, cleaned the deck and beakhead as 

 punishment for not carrying his weight on the ship or for 

 lying. 



Below the deck of the Elizabeth II is the hold, the area 

 where the passengers stayed. Underneath it, provi- 

 sions, anchors, farming and building equipment, ammuni- 

 tion and a cannon were stored. 



These hearty seafarers slept on straw ticks or mattresses, 

 using a coil of rope for a pillow. A small fireplace toward the 

 bow warmed the men and cooked them simple meals. 



For dinner, they ate hardtack (sea biscuits) and salthorse 

 (salted beef or pork), says Lytjen-Collins. But the hardtack 

 usually became damp and molded, and the salthorse, full of 

 maggots. Their ale tended to be green or stale after the first 

 keg because the supplier knew they would be far out to sea 

 and could not exchange it. Occasionally, the menu was sup- 

 plemented with bread, cheese, honey and fresh fruits picked 

 up in ports. 



Entertainment for mariners on the Elizabeth included 

 games of cards or dice, says Lytjen-Collins. Passengers 

 may have taken along musical instruments such as tabors or 

 flutes to bide their time. Because most of the voyagers were 



