The Mayflower was destined for the Colony of Virginia. They departed Plymouth, England on the Mayflower on September 6/16, 1620 with 102 passengers and about 30 crew members in a small 100 foot ship. The first month in the Atlantic, the seas were not severe, but by the second month the ship was being hit by strong north-Atlantic winter gales causing the ship to be badly shaken with water leaks from structural damage. There were two deaths, but this was just a precursor of what happened after their Cape Cod arrival, when almost half the company would die in the first winter.
On November 9/19, 1620, after about 3 months at sea, including a month of delays in England, they spotted land, which was Cape Cod. After several days of trying to get south to their planned destination, strong winter seas forced them to return to Cape Cod, which is now Provincetown Harbor, where they anchored on November 11/21. The Mayflower Compact was signed that day.
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