On November 9, 1620, the Mayflower reached the coast of Cape Cod. But the voyage wasn't all smooth sailing, and the ship encountered a number of storms off the North Atlantic. | American Experience | PBS

In 1620, the Mayflower voyage was a monumental enterprise, a high-risk investment in the opportunity for a new world. During a fierce Atlantic storm, the simple technology of the ship buckled, and a young man named John Howland was cast into the churning sea, his future seemingly erased in an instant. Yet in a moment that defied odds, his hand made a discovery, finding a trailing rope from the ship. The crew, engaged in the desperate business of survival, used a boat hook in a clever innovation