32. A Treacherous Crossing
Sailing the Atlantic proved to be treacherous. The Mayflower’s voyage proceeded smoothly at first, but then the ship was beset by foul weather and fouler storms during the second half of the trip. 66 days after departing England – a voyage they had hoped would take a month – they finally spotted land at today’s Cape Cod, on November 9th, 1620.
That was about 250 farther north than their original aiming point, and all else being equal, they would have simply sailed down the coast until they reached their intended settlement site. However, all else was not equal, and the Pilgrims faced a serious problem: they were out of beer. Back then, drinking water aboard ship was liable to go bad, especially on long voyages. Sea voyagers, such as the Mayflower’s Pilgrims, relied on beer as a drinking source that would not spoil. So running out of the brewed stuff was a big deal.