Captain Waymouth’s
Voyage of Discovery
by Tom Seymour
Replica of the pinnace, The Light Horseman, a 17th-century kit boat carried aboard Captain Waymouth’s ship The Archangel when he explored the Penobscot River and Bay in 1605. It is believed The Light Horseman was assembled off the northeast point of what is now Cape Rosier in Stockton Springs, Maine on the west shore of the Penobscot River just north of Searsport Harbor. Tom Seymour photo
Captain George Waymouth and a crew of 28 visited the Maine coast in May of 1605 in the small sailing ship, Archangel. Waymouth had sailed along the Labrador coast in 1593 in a failed bid to discover the Northwest Passage. And now, his trip to Maine was on its face another quest for the mythical passage and also to find “a place fit for any nation to inhabit.”
Waymouth’s first sighting of land was just off Nantucket, but he couldn’t put in because of contrary winds. So he put out to sea again and five days later, anchored off the island of Monhegan, which he named St. George’s Island.
Luckily for modern historians, a “French gentleman,” James Rosier, was along on the voyage and Rosier kept copious notes of events. However, concerning the name and location of a large river emptying into the bay, Rosier was purposely vague. That was understandable, since Waymouth considered that this river might mark the start of the Northwest Passage. And of course, captain and crew wanted the discovery to be theirs and theirs alone.
This vagueness on Rosier’s part has led to a standing controversy. What river did Waymouth discover? Was it the St. George? The Kennebec? Or perhaps it may have been the Penobscot. Since the Kennebec has been disqualified as the river, that left the St. George and Penobscot as contenders.
For more information, we may consult Rosier’s narrative. “The next day being Whitsunday; because we rode too much open to the sea and winds, we weighed anchor about 12 o’clock and came along to the other islands more adjoining to the main, and with the road directly with the mountains, about three leagues from the first island where we had anchored.”
Rosier continues to say that they came upon “…a convenient harbor, in a most safe berth defended from all winds, in an excellent depth of water for ships of any burthen, in six, seven, eight, nine and ten fathoms, upon a clay ooze, very tough.”
The Light Horseman
Continuing, Rosier said that after landing upon the bigger of the islands, “…we set together a pinnace, which we brought in pieces from England.”
Rosier’s “pinnace” was a very swift longboat, propelled by eight men rowing and was named The Light Horseman. She also had a sail, which was used as winds allowed.
After assembling their kit boat, captain and crew enjoyed several days exploring the island and its copious natural resources. Then on May 30 (according to Williamson’s History of Belfast. Others place the date as June 14), Captain Waymouth and 13 men set out in their rowing vessel to explore more of the Maine coast. The Light Horseman and her crew returned 24 hours after setting out. And what they discovered was remarkable.
Of it, Rosier wrote, “Our captain had, in this small time, discovered up a great river, trending alongst into the main about forty miles. The pleasantness whereof, with the safety of the harbor for shipping, together with the fertility of ground and other fruits, which were generally by his whole company related, I omit till I report of the whole discovery thereinafter performed.”
And what Rosier omitted remains the subject of controversy and also the reason that a group of modern Mainers from the Rockland Apprenticeshop searched ancient boat drawings in order to construct an authentic replica of The Light Horseman. This, they planned to use to follow Waymouth’s route and see if they could in 24 hours duplicate Waymouth’s exploration to the grand river and back.
The original Light Horseman was probably built almost entirely of English oak. Her contemporary double was made of locally-available wood. Her keel, though, was constructed of oak.
Back to Captain Waymouth and his adventure. After their captain had taken off exploring in the rowing vessel, the crew left behind met some local natives and what began as reluctance on the part of the natives concluded in a civil manner, with the English bestowing trinkets and foodstuffs upon their somewhat reluctant hosts.
Then, according to Rosier, “Tuesday, the eleventh of June, we passed up into the river (having left their island sanctuary) with our ship, about six and twenty miles…” More specific details regarding the river’s location were again withheld, except that Rosier said, “I would boldly affirm it to be the most rich, beautiful, large, and secure harboring river that the world affords.”
The Light Horseman outside the Power and Sail Museum in Rockland, Maine. The “pinnace” was a very swift longboat, propelled by eight men rowing. She also had a sail, which was used as winds allowed. On May 30 Captain Waymouth and 13 men set out in their rowing vessel to explore more of the Maine coast. The Light Horseman and her crew returned 24 hours after setting out. Tom Seymour photo
Controversy Begins
Rivers including the James, Hudson, Kennebec and Penobscot were all, at one time, considered Captain Waymouth’s “most beautiful river in the world.” And over the years, various persons have set out to prove that their favorite river was the one.
One researcher who early on declared that Waymouth had found the Penobscot was a Dr. Belknap, author of a two-volume biography of America, first published in 1794. According to Belknap, the island Waymouth had sighted in May 17 was definitely Monhegan, the mountains he saw were the Penobscot Hills and the harbor he named Pentecost Harbor was George’s Island Harbor.
Dr. Belknap then posited that Captain Waymouth had passed Belfast Bay and then anchored his ship off of Fort Point in modern-day Stockton Springs. This is at the mouth of the Penobscot River.
Dr. Belknap’s theory was quite universally accepted by his peers. Then in 1857, John McKeen of Brunswick challenged Dr. Belknap’s version and declared that Captain Waymouth had in fact anchored the Archangel in Boothbay Harbor and the river he discovered was the Kennebec. The following year, a book by a Reverend Dr. Palfrey, History of New England, agreed with McKeen in rebuffing the Belknap theory.
Then in 1858, Captain George Prince of Bath contended that Captain Waymouth had discovered the St. George River. And today, at the public landing in Thomaston, stands a replica of the cross that Captain Waymouth erected as evidence of his discovery.
Regarding that cross, Rosier wrote that on June 13, Captain Waymouth and company, in The Light Horseman, went from the ship up to that part of the river that, “…trended westward into the main, to search that.” The Light Horseman carried with it a cross to erect. The cross had to wait for the trip upriver and then back down, before being set up.
Erecting a cross at the point of discovery was established protocol for all European explorers. And honoring that tradition of respecting the claims of whomever first erected a cross, Captain Waymouth and his crew searched diligently for any sign that Christian adventurers had cut wood, dug holes or in any way set up a cross. After sufficient searching without finding a single clue, Captain Waymouth was satisfied that his claim to be first was legitimate.
Now in modern times, Thomaston has their replica cross and for some years, Thomaston’s claim to being the place where Captain Waymouth visited has stood nearly unchallenged. Nearly, but not quite. The people from the Apprenticeshop in Rockland, mentioned earlier, built their replica of The Light Horseman and set out to prove or disprove that a rowing vessel could, with similar moon and tides to that long-ago day, duplicate Captain Waymouth’s feat.
And so, manned with expert rowers, the modern-day Light Horseman set out to see if a rowing vessel could accomplish the roughly 80-mile trip from the site of the Archangel’s anchorage, up to the beginning of the Penobscot River and back in a 24-hour timeframe.
According to Captain Jim Sharp of the Sail, Power & Steam Museum in Rockland, the objective was met. In an email, Captain Jim said, “Yes Tom, they did figure the tides and weather conditions to the best of their ability, got a crew together and rowed/sailed to Ft. Point – the top of Penobscot Bay and back in 24 hours, proving it could be done and that the “most beautiful river in the world” was in fact, the Penobscot.”
Since her eventful trip, The Light Horseman was used in a re-enactment in Pemaquid. She now sits on stands in front of Captain Jim’s museum in Rockland, her new, permanent home. To get her there, Captain Jim, his wife and crew rowed her from the Apprenticeshop to the museum, only a short distance. But it was a hard row. The oars were terribly heavy and, according to Captain Jim, she “leaked like a sieve. We were bailing the whole time.”
To see this historical re-creation, visit Sail, Power & Steam Museum, 75 Mechanic St. Rockland, ME 04841. To contact the Apprenticeshop at 643 Main Street, Rockland, ME 04841, call (207) 594-7070 or go online to: www.atlanticchallenge.com.