Location: Upper Deck

The Ship

The flagship of British naval hero, Sir Francis Drake, who cleared Plymouth,  Devonshire, England, in the company of four other vessels in 1577. Drake, the first Englishman to lead a voyage of circumnavigation, was also the discoverer of the Cape Horn route around South America, rather than the Strait of Magellan, discovered in 1520.
Dissension and bad luck in the southern latitudes reduced the original flotilla to one vessel, Pelican, which Drake renamed Golden Hind on entering the Pacific.  In the Pacific, Drake rampaged north along the South American and Meso American coasts taking booty and prisoners en route.  Prior to crossing the Pacific in 1579, Drake careened his ship at Drake’s Bay, California, which he named Nova Albion (New Albion) [Albion being an ancient name for England].

Departing California, Drake proceeded west to Malacca, where he purchased spices prior to returning to Plymouth Sound, Devonshire, England, in September 1580.  From Plymouth, he went on to Deptford, on the Thames in London, where he was knighted on board Golden Hind by Queen Elizabeth I.  Golden Hind, enshrined at Deptford for a hundred years, finally deteriorated to the point that she was struck from the list and demolished.

Drake was helped by this friend Sir Christopher Hatton to convince Queen Elisabeth to authorize the voyage.  The Hatton coat of arms includes a Golden Hind, thus the name.

The Model

Scale ¼”    Case  H 60”  L 82”  W 34″
Scale 1/8”  H 35”  L 43”  W 16”
Plank on frame construction by J. Stephen Murray circa 1960.