You might find Creef's 90-something grandson, Vernon Davis, at work as well. All in a Day's Work A sailor's work is never done. Aboard the Elizabeth II, a representative 16th century ship berthed at Roanoke Island Festival Park across from the Manteo waterfront, costumed interpreters may be swabbing the decks or mending the rigging. But they'll be happy to pause from their tasks to explain, in Elizabethan accents, exactly what they're doing. In addition to their educational value, these tasks are part of the real-life efforts needed to keep the Elizabeth II shipshape.
Work seems never-ending on the north end island as well.
Stroll down the shaded paths of the 10-acre Elizabethan Gardens, and you're likely to see grounds keepers going about their daily tasks, watering, weeding and pruning. The gardens, which will celebrate their 50th anniversary next year, are an ongoing labor of love, dedicated to the memory of the lost colonists who, for a brief time, worked the soil of Roanoke Island more than 400 years ago.