There were actually two ships that set off from Southampton to the new world in 1620. The Mayflower the one we all know, but there was another called the Speedwell. Plymouth wasn't originally the leaving destination of the pligrims.
The Speedwell was one of two ships that was supposed to carry the Pilgrim, religious refugees across the Atlantic to begin a new life in America.
The Separatists in the Netherlands sold their personal belongings in order to purchase a ship named the Speedwell. In August 1620, they sailed away from Delfshaven to England where they had arranged to meet the Mayflower. A small part of the group remained in Leiden.
THE VOYAGE TO AMERICA
The English group had chartered a ship named the Mayflower, an armed merchant vessel boasting three masts that were 30 metres tall and up to 7,5 metres in width. The ship had been built in Harwich and was under the command of captain Christopher Jones. In 1611, Jones decided to leave Harwich and head for a more southerly location, one mile downstream from the Tower of London at the Thames.
Many of the dissidents from London had fled to the Netherlands, though some of them continued their secret gatherings in England. In 1620 they received permission to travel to America. They joined the Mayflower and sailed to Southampton, where they were due to meet the Speedwell.
There were some concerns about the Speedwell, as it had sustained damage an was taking on water. However, the Speedwell was repaired and on 15 August, the two ships weighed their anchors and hoisted the sails.
Soon after the two ships had set sail, the Speedwell started to take on water again. Some believe too many sails had been hoisted, which caused an immense amount of pressure on the entire structure, others say sabotage by the reluctant crew was to blame. They diverted their course to Dartmouth in Devon. Here, it took the harbour labourers approximately one week to repair the damage. Unfortunately, the second attempt proved equally unsuccessful.
The Mayflower and the Speedwell had sailed 500 kilometres beyond Land’s End, the westernmost point in mainland England, when the smaller of the two vessels was found to be taking on large amounts of water. Sailing on was deemed too risky, and so they turned back to Plymouth.
By this time, the passengers on board had spent six wretched, dank weeks in a confined space at sea and had made virtually no progress at all. Had their luck not changed for the worse, they could have been well near their destination at this point in time.
The Speedwell was declared un-seaworthy. Unsurprisingly, a number of Pilgrims gave up, and the remaining diehards in the group crowded aboard the Mayflower. They were running low on provisions, and funds were running out, it must have been a desperate situation, all resting on finding safe haven in the new land. Though, money in America would be useless for barter.