Mayflower AI sea drone, or Mayflower Autonomous Ship, or Mayflower 400 (MAS400) is an autonomous research vessel that aims to cross the Atlantic without human crew or assistance. It is named after the Mayflower sailing ship, that carried English and Dutch Pilgrims onboard from England to New England between September and November 1620. Taking the same route, it was originally intended to set sail in September 2020 in time for the 400th anniversary. [1] [2]
A three-week voyage is planned; the Mayflower 400 will sail from Plymouth UK, navigate through the Isles of Scilly and over the site of the sunken Titanic to land in Plymouth, Massachusetts. The Mayflower Autonomous Ship has a highly trained “captain” and a “navigator” knowledgeable in the rules of avoiding collisions at sea. Both functions are controlled by artificial intelligence (AI). [3]
MAS400 began its first transatlantic attempt on June 15. [4] [5] Only three days later, the autonomous ship had to return to England after suffering mechanical problems. [6]
The Mayflower's second attempt began April 27, 2022, departing from England bound for Virginia. [7] After about one month at sea, the vehicle "developed an issue with the charging circuit for the generator starter batteries." The decision was made to switch to backup navigation and divert to Halifax, Nova Scotia. [8]
The 15-meter long aluminum trimaran is solar-powered and is capable of speeds of up to 10 knots (20 km/h). It has a back up diesel generator. The ship cost $1.3 million to build and is owned by the not for profit marine research organization ProMare in partnership with computer-tech company IBM. [9] [10]
The ship will sample the water for pollutants and study marine life during its voyage. It will also trial its computer systems.
The Pilgrims, also known as the Pilgrim Fathers, were the English settlers who traveled to America on the Mayflower and established the Plymouth Colony in Plymouth, Massachusetts. The Pilgrims' leadership came from the religious congregations of Brownists, or Separatists, who had fled religious persecution in England for the tolerance of 17th-century Holland in the Netherlands.
Plymouth Colony was the first permanent English colony in New England from 1620 to 1691 and the third permanent English colony in America, after Newfoundland and the Jamestown Colony. It was settled by the passengers on the Mayflower at a location that had previously been surveyed and named by Captain John Smith. The settlement served as the capital of the colony and developed as the town of Plymouth, Massachusetts. At its height, Plymouth Colony occupied most of the southeastern portion of Massachusetts. Many of the people and events surrounding Plymouth Colony have become part of American folklore, including the American tradition of Thanksgiving and the monument of Plymouth Rock.
John Carver was one of the Pilgrims who braved the Mayflower voyage in 1620 which resulted in the creation of Plymouth Colony in America. He is credited with writing the Mayflower Compact and was its first signer, and he was also the first governor of Plymouth Colony.
Mayflower II is a reproduction of the 17th-century ship Mayflower, celebrated for transporting the Pilgrims to the New World in 1620. The reproduction was built in Devon, England during 1955–1956, in a collaboration between Englishman Warwick Charlton and Plimoth Patuxet, a living history museum. The work drew upon reconstructed ship blueprints held by the American museum, along with hand construction by English shipbuilders using traditional methods. Mayflower II was sailed from Plymouth, Devon on April 20, 1957, recreating the original voyage across the Atlantic Ocean, under the command of Alan Villiers. According to the ship's log, Mayflower II arrived at Plymouth on June 22; it was towed up the East River into New York City on Monday, July 1, 1957, where Villiers and crew received a ticker-tape parade. The ship was listed on the US National Register of Historic Places in 2020.
Edward Winslow was a Separatist and New England political leader who traveled on the Mayflower in 1620. He was one of several senior leaders on the ship and also later at Plymouth Colony. Both Edward Winslow and his brother, Gilbert Winslow signed the Mayflower Compact. In Plymouth he served in a number of governmental positions such as assistant governor, three times was governor and also was the colony's agent in London. In early 1621 he had been one of several key leaders on whom Governor Bradford depended after the death of John Carver. He was the author of several important pamphlets, including Good Newes from New England and co-wrote with William Bradford the historic Mourt's Relation, which ends with an account of the First Thanksgiving and the abundance of the New World. In 1655 he died of fever while on an English naval expedition in the Caribbean against the Spanish.
Speedwell was a 60-ton pinnace that carried the Pilgrims from Leiden, Holland to England, where they intended to sail to America aboard both Speedwell and the Mayflower in 1620. The Pilgrims initially set sail in both ships, but Speedwell was found to be unseaworthy and both ships returned to England. The Pilgrims later left Speedwell behind and sailed in the Mayflower.
Christopher Martin and his family embarked on the historic 1620 voyage of the Pilgrim ship Mayflower on its journey to the New World. He was initially the governor of passengers on the ship Speedwell until that ship was found to be unseaworthy, and later on the Mayflower, until replaced by John Carver. He was a signatory to the Mayflower Compact. He and his family all perished in the first winter at Plymouth Colony.
Robert Cushman (1577–1625) was an important leader and organiser of the Mayflower voyage in 1620, serving as Chief Agent in London for the Leiden Separatist contingent from 1617 to 1620 and later for Plymouth Colony until his death in 1625 in England. His historically famous booklet titled 'Cry of a Stone' was written about 1619 and finally published in 1642, many years after his death in 1625. The work is an important pre-sailing Pilgrim account of the Leiden group's religious lives.
Master Christopher Jones Jr. was the captain of the 1620 voyage of the Pilgrim ship Mayflower.
An unmanned surface vehicle, unmanned surface vessel or uncrewed surface vessel (USV), colloqually called a drone boat, drone ship or sea drone, is a boat or ship that operates on the surface of the water without a crew. USVs operate with various levels of autonomy, from remote control to fully autonomous surface vehicles (ASV).
Humility Cooper, of Leiden, Holland, traveled in 1620 on the voyage of the ship Mayflower as a one-year-old female child in the company of the Edward Tilley family. Although Edward Tilley and his wife died the first winter in the New World, Humility survived to live her young life in Plymouth Colony, returning to England possibly in her teen years. Her fate in England is unknown.
Samuel Fuller was a passenger on the historic 1620 voyage of the Pilgrim ship Mayflower and became a respected church deacon and the physician for Plymouth Colony.
Mayflower was an English sailing ship that transported a group of English families, known today as the Pilgrims, from England to the New World in 1620. After 10 weeks at sea, Mayflower, with 102 passengers and a crew of about 30, reached what is today the United States, dropping anchor near the tip of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, on November 21 [O.S. November 11], 1620.
In the fall of 1621 the Fortune was the second English ship destined for Plymouth Colony in the New World, one year after the voyage of the Pilgrim ship Mayflower. Financed as the Mayflower was by Thomas Weston and others of the London-based Merchant Adventurers, Fortune was to transport thirty-five settlers to the colony on a ship that was much smaller than Mayflower. The Fortune required two months to prepare for the voyage and once underway, reached Cape Cod on 9 November 1621 and the colony itself in late November. The ship was unexpected by those in the Plymouth colony and although it brought useful settlers, many of whom were young men, it brought no supplies, further straining the limited food resources of the colony. The ship only stayed in the colony for about three weeks, returning to England in December loaded with valuable furs and other goods. But when nearing England, instead of heading to the English Channel, a navigation error caused the ship to sail southeast to the coast of France, where it was overtaken and seized by a French warship.
In 1623 the ships Anne and Little James were the third and fourth ships financed by the London-based Merchant Adventurers to come out together in support of Plymouth Colony, as were Mayflower in 1620 and Fortune in 1621. Anne carried mostly passengers, and the much smaller Little James carried primarily cargo, albeit with a few passengers. After a stormy three-month voyage from London, Anne arrived at New Plymouth in early July 1623, with Little James a week or so later.
Peter L. N. Padfield was a British author, biographer, historian, and journalist who specialised in naval history and in the Second World War period. His early journalism appeared under the name P. L. N. Padfield. As well as his non-fiction work, he also published four novels.
Saildrone, Inc. is a United States company based in Alameda, California, that designs, manufacturers, and operates a fleet of unmanned/uncrewed surface vehicles (USVs), or ocean drones, known as "saildrones". The company was founded by engineer Richard Jenkins in 2012.