Young Winthrop was married the first time when he was seventeen, and his son Henry was born when the young father was eighteen. In 1629, the father decided to go to America where he could worship God as he thought best. He and four hundred men and women set sail from England in a fleet of small ships, intending to join the settlement at Salem, started a year before. One of these ships was the Mayflower, in which the Pilgrims of Plymouth had sailed nine years before.
On their second morning out from England they spied eight ships coming behind them. The captain of the Arabella, the ship on which Winthrop sailed (as he wrote in the logbook or journal of the voyage),
“caused the gun-room and gun-deck to be cleared. After noon we still saw those eight ships to stand towards us. Having more wind than we, they came up apace. We all prepared to fight with them, and took down some cabins which were in the way of our ordnance [cannon] and out of every ship were thrown such bed matters as were subject to take fire. We drew forth our men and armed them with muskets and other weapons and instruments for fireworks. To try it our captain shot a ball of wildfire fastened to an arrow, out of a crossbow, which burnt in the water a good time.
“The women and children were removed into the lower deck that they might be out of danger. All things being thus fitted, we went to prayer upon the upper deck. It was good to see how cheerful all the company appeared; not a woman or child showed fear.
“It was now about one of the clock, and the fleet seemed to be within a league of us; therefore our captain, because he would show he was not afraid of them, and that he might see what was to be done before night should overtake us, tacked about and stood to meet them. And when they came near, we perceived them to be our friends.
“So every ship (as they met) saluted each other and the musketeers discharged their small shot; and so, God be praised, our fear and danger was turned into mirth and friendly entertainment. Our danger being thus over, we espied two boats fishing in the Channel. So every one of our four ships manned out a skiff, and we bought of them great store of excellent fresh fish of divers sorts.”
The voyagers were seventy-six days—nearly eleven weeks—crossing the Atlantic. They had passed through storms, but when, early in June, they sighted America, Winthrop wrote in his journal:
“We had now fair sunshine weather, and so pleasant a sweet air as did much refresh us; and there came a smell off shore like the smell of a garden. There came a wild pigeon into our ship, and another small land bird.”