Onrust

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The Onrust (Dutch for "Restless") was a Dutch ship that was built by Adriaen Block and the crew of the Tyger, which had been destroyed by fire. The ship, a yacht, was the first decked vessel to be built entirely in America. The construction, with help from the Lenape, (this is an assumption and not documented) took one winter (January to April, 1614). The ship was 42-feet long and capable of carrying 16-tons.

In 1614, Block sailed through the whirlpools on the East River, and into Long Island Sound. Here he discovered Block Island.

Block was also the first European to venture up the Connecticut River. He managed to get as far as the Enfield rapids, about 60 miles up the river.

Besides finding several inland water routes, creating trading networks and mapping native villages, the two first accurate maps of the east coast were drawn based on the voyages of the Onrust. As a result, It was the first research vessel in America.

Later in the year he sighted another Dutch vessel, and sailed to back to the Netherlands on 1 October 1614.

New Netherland Routes, Inc., a non-profit organization, is currently building a replica of the Onrust at the Schenectady County Historical Society's Mabee Farm Historic Site in Rotterdam Junction, NY. Construction uses authentic 17th century Dutch ship building techniques, recently rediscovered by the organization's master shipwright.^[1]

[edit] Notes

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