Constructed in 1607 at Popham Colony’s Fort St. George, which was at the mouth of the Kennebec River, the Virginia was the first English ocean-going ship built in the Americas. It was a pinnace ship, which is a lightly built, single decked vessel used for exploration and fishing. In 1608, the colony was abandoned, and the Virginia was used to bring some colonists back to England. The ship was then sold to the Jamestown colony and brought supplies to them from England in 1609. The Virginia disappeared from the historical record in June 1610. Robert Tyndall, the captain of the ship, was told to take it to catch fish in Chesapeake Bay near Cape Charles. 

A volunteer group began work on a replica of the ship in the 1990s. Because of the lack of historical records about the original Virginia, the initial design of the replica was not completed until 2007. The keel was laid on July 3, 2011, and after years of work, the 58-foot ship was lifted by two cranes into the water in June 2022. 

The replica was built to be larger than the original so that it would meet US Coast Guard requirements and can be used as a floating classroom during school field trips. It is currently scheduled to be launched in 2023, as work is still being done on the rigging, not to mention that the crew will need to learn how to sail the new ship.