The
Half Moon or Halve Maen as it was known in its
native Dutch Language was commissioned on March 25,
1609, for the Dutch East India Company. She was a ship of exploration
and would be considered "state-of-the-art" for her time. It was
designed to take a crew
of twenty into unknown and uncharted waters. The Dutch East India
Company commissioned English
explorer Henry Hudson to cross the Atlantic in search of a passage to
the Pacific Ocean.
After reaching the Maine coast aboard the Half Moon, Hudson explored the Delaware Bay before arriving at the mouth of a wide river. He stopped at points along the New Jersey coast before sailing the small ship up the river which today bears the Captain's name - the Hudson River, but it was soon obvious that it was an inland river, not a west-ward passage. Hudson sailed upriver to present-day Albany before returning down river, and claiming the region for the Dutch.
It
would be many years before the significance of Hudson's 1609 voyage to
America would be understood, and the Half Moon was universally
recognized as one of the best known ships of exploration. On his fourth
and last exploration voyage he sailed through the northern strait and
is credited in mapping much of Hudson's Bay in 1610 in search of the
elusive passage to the Pacific. Both the strait and the bay now bear
his name.
Facts
About the Half
Moon:
In 1989 a replica of the Half Moon was constructed to commemorate the life and accomplishments of Henry Hudson.
 |
Length
on
Deck: 85 feet Length on Keel: 64.5 feet Height: 78 feet Beam: 17.3 feet Draft: 8.5 feet Crew: 15-20 Class: Yacht Displacement: 112 tons Storage: 80 tons Rigging: square and lateen sails Original Construction: carvel-fitted planks Original Construction Date: 1608 Masts: fore, main, mizzen Sail Area: 2,757 square feet Anchors: 4 Cannons: 2 starboard, 2 larboard, 2 stern chasers Flags: foremast, United Provinces; Mainmast, United Provinces; Mizzenmast, City of Amsterdam; Jackstaff, VOC Amsterdam. |
In 1989 a replica of the Half Moon was constructed to commemorate the life and accomplishments of Henry Hudson.
Today,
in honour of the Half Moon
and in recognition of it's Dutch Heritage, Holland America Lines Inc,
has included it in its corporate logo:
Holland
America Lines Inc also
renamed its private resort island Little
San Salvador in the Bahamas after it. Upon it's purchase in 1997
it was renamed Half Moon Cay:
Note:
The photo's on this
page have been gathered from various Internet sources and Holland America Line's
website.