To welcome the Matthew and her crew into our Bay, the citizens of Lark Harbour and York Harbour presented Captain Alan-Williams with a copy of a chart of James Cook, who spent the summer of 1767 surveying the Bay of Islands for the British Admiralty. In this picture, left to right, are: Captain James Cook (Matthew Sheppard), Captain David Alan-Williams, and John Cabot (Clar Barnes) on the main deck of the Matthew.

Every effort was made to ensure authenticity in the building of this replica, even though this frequently meant using marine technology that had long become obsolete. The steering mechanism is one such example. In the 1400s ships did not have a helmwheel such as we expect to see on modern vessels. Instead, steering was fully manual, without the gearing assistance that a helmwheel can provide. A pole passed down through the afterdeck and moved the tiller and large rudder by means of a block and tackle pulley arrangement. In heavy weather it took two or more men to steer the ship, even with the aid of ropes to dampen the movement of the mechanism, although the vessel was quite responsive to helm movements. The helmsman stood on the afterdeck, completely exposed to the elements at all times.

The ship's cook cleans up after breakfast. The galley of the Matthew is basically as it would have been in Caboto's day, except that modern equipment has been used to comply with safety requirements: in place of a wood or coal stove there is a propane cooking range. Space is rather limited, but in the replica conditions looked surprisingly comfortable.

The Matthew is no exception to the idea that a good ship is a clean ship, and each day the decks, hatch tops, rails, and companionways were washed and scrubbed, even if they didn't seem to need it! The crew, mostly volunteers, turned to with willing hands and manned the brushes and buckets, down on their knees if necessary.

Unlike modern sailing ships which carry their sails furled downwards to the spar, in the heyday of the caravel the sails were furled to the top spar. This necessitated the lowering of the spar for furling, and then the laborious effort of raising it again, with the additional weight of the sail, back to its position near the top of the mast, as can be seen in this shot of the foremast of the Matthew. This ship has three masts, the fore and aft ones each carrying a single sail, while the mainmast has two, the big mainsail, and a small one set from the crow's nest; one more on the bowsprit makes the complement of five sails. She carries a total of 2,360 square feet of canvas.