Fewer than half of the Congregation's members chose to leave the Netherlands, sailing aboard the Speedwell to Southampton, England, where they joined a larger group of separatists and boarded the Mayflower to cross the Atlantic. They departed on September 16th, 1620, with 102 people aboard, their destination a section of land in the area called Northern Virginia granted by one of the Brewster family friends in the London Company. This grant would have placed them near the Hudson River.
Forced off course by typical North Atlantic weather, the Mayflower arrived in Cape Cod after 65 days at sea, weighing anchor near present-day Provincetown on December 21.
Although they discovered food and fresh water on Cape Cod, and even made contact with local natives, the Pilgrims eventually settled at Plymouth Colony in Massachusetts on the other side of Cape Cod Bay. The longest surviving members of the original group of settlers were Mary Allerton and John Alden.
Pilgrims are commonly portrayed as wearing black and white clothing. In reality, this was uncommon. Although the Pilgrims did indeed seek to stamp out sin within their society, they were not as extreme as they are frequently portrayed. For instance, they allowed drinking (although not drunkenness), they often wore brightly-colored clothing, and did not discourage sex (within marriage, that is).
See also: Pilgrim
"The Pilgrims" is also the nickname of Plymouth Argyle F.C, an English 2nd Division football (soccer) team.External link