The Pilgrims ate the same food everyday: sea biscuits, salted meat, dried fish and cheese. It was reported that at times it seemed the ship would tip over with the rough seas and strong gusts of wind. The voyage to the New World was a perilous undertaking for its 102 passengers and 30 crew members. As the winter approached they remained in Cape Cod Bay. However, Mayflower went drastically off-course during a mid-crossing Northeaster storm and made land on the sheltered side of what is now known as Cape Cod. The original destination of the Pilgrim's voyage on the Mayflower was the Hudson River by agreement with the Dutch who had established a colony there, north of the Jamestown Settlement. The ship was manned by a crew of 25 to 30 men. The ship sailed to France and Spain for the next ten years until in May 1620, the Pilgrims met Captain Jones and hired him to transport them to America.ĭetails of the ship's dimensions are unknown but estimates based on its load weight and the typical size of 180-ton merchant ships of its day suggest an estimated length of 90 to 110 feet (27.4 to 33.5 meters) and a width of about 25 feet (7.6 meters). Not wanting to encounter another fierce winter storm, the captain never sailed the North Sea again. They survived and arrived back in England after several weeks of being veered off course. The return trip was nearly fatal for the crew of Mayflower as it was caught in a winter storm on the way home. The ship's first voyage under Captain Jones was to Norway, in 1609, to transport lumber, tar, and fish back to England. Mayflower was purchased by Christopher Jones and several of his business partners in 1607.