Halve Maen
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The Halve Maen (Half Moon) was this name of the ship that Henry Hudson sailed for the Dutch East India Company in 1609. With it Hudson sailed from Amsterdam to the Barents Sea, where he was unable to find a northern passage to the east. Not wanting to return to his patrons with this bad news, he then sailed westward to traverse the Atlantic Ocean in search of the Northwest Passage.
Hudson explored the North American coastline, including the Chesapeake and Delaware Bays. The Halve Maen sailed up the Hudson River as far as Albany, New York, where the crew determined the water was too shallow for farther progress. Realizing that the river was also not a passage to the east, Hudson crossed the Atlantic to England with his ship.
A replica of the Halve Maen, (officially Anglicized to "Half Moon"), was built in Albany in 1989 and is docked in Verplanck, New York.
The Town of Halfmoon in New York is named after the ship.
External links
- Site about the Half Moon replica (http://www.hudsonriver.com/history/halfmoon.htm)
- Official Half Moon Website (http://halfmoon.mus.ny.us/)