Local Historian Geoff Searl Sails south on Historic Replica Vessel HMB Endeavour To 2025 Australian Wooden Boat Festival

Avalon Beach Historical Society President Geoff Searl OAM took part in the Follow the Wind voyage of the HMB Endeavour replica to Hobart for the 2025 Australian Wooden Boat Festival, a biannual celebration of all things nautical.
The Australian-built replica of James Cook's HMB Endeavour is one of the world's most accurate maritime replica vessels.
The Follow the Wind voyage to the Australian Wooden Boat Festival took 11 days and ran from 28 January to 7 February 2025. This voyage departed from Darling Harbour, Sydney, sailing down the east coast and arrive at Hobart, Tasmania at the biennial Australian Wooden Boat Festival, 7-10 February 2025.
She was one of the Tall Ships that then took part in the Parade of Sails on the Derwent on February 7 2025.
Geoff said;
''Back on land after 10 days at sea and only just lost my sea-legs!
Here are a couple of pics from my recent voyage from Darling Harbour to Hobart on board as a member of the Voyage Crew.
I was one of 34 applicants from 360 who applied to be a part of the crew.
We were warned that it wasn’t going to be a cruise and we would not be referred to as passengers but part of a team responsible for getting her to Hobart for the National Classic and Wooden Boat Festival.
Our job was straight forward - set and furl sails from the yardarms, helm as part of a 4 hour watch each 12 hours, stand watch day or night, manage some of the 35 kilometres of rope and swab the weather deck each second day.
Besides us, there were 16 professional sailors to ensure we made the right moves all the time.
It was a real privilege to be a part of such a wonderful exercise on board of what is regarded as one of the finest replica sailing tall ships in the world.''
Some more of Geoff's photos and captions:
''This is what’s called the ‘18th century deck’ and is as good as a remake of Cook’s original mess and sleeping deck as possible - my hammock is one of those up to the right.'':
''Almost a full head of canvas up and tripping along at around 8 knots.'':
''The foredeck, bowsprit and jib boom soon after sunset.'':
''The grand lady’s magnificently carved stern.'':
''Climbed to the lower yardarm but left the higher stuff to the fitter and the younger crew members.'':
Those who run these opportunities to be a part of a voyage aboard the HMB Endeavour replica state that when you come on board you may wonder whether James Cook and his crew have just stepped ashore somewhere on their voyage. The table is set, clothes are hung and the cat is slumbering.
''On board the beautifully crafted ship, you glimpse a sailor's life during one of history's great maritime adventures, Captain Cook's epic 1768-71 world voyage. Look and you'll see almost 30 kilometres of rigging and 750 wooden blocks or pulleys! The masts and spars carry 28 sails that spread approximately 10,000 square feet (930 m2) of canvas.
In the galley below is the huge stove, called a fire hearth - state of the art in 1768. The Great Cabin is where Cook worked and dined, sharing the space with famous botanist Joseph Banks, as you can see when you glance around.''
''Construction of the Endeavour replica began in 1988 and the ship was launched 5 years later. Since then, Endeavour has covered many nautical miles on long voyages including circumnavigating Australia three times as well as sailing to Europe, the United States and a number of other overseas ports. Hundreds of thousands of visitors have come on board to see how Cook and his men lived.''
The Captains Log for Geoff's voyage south supplies a day by day account of what those aboard experienced and witnessed - well worth a read. Geoff also replied to a few queries.
Did you get sick?
We spent the first day/night ‘alongside’ because of the 40 degrees day!
There was so much to get through - too much in 40 degrees with the lengthy induction, fitting our ‘fall-stop’ harnesses and climbing to the 1st yardarm on the mainmast etc.!
Took off around 9.30am on the Tuesday morning with a light southerly, so motored around 15ks eastwards hoping to find something other than a bloody southerly - square-riggers don’t tack into the wind!
She bounced around a fair bit under engines (2X405hp caterpillar diesels) whereas under sail she is more stable and directional.
Had a chuck late that day, especially after going below the weather deck.
One poor girl lay on the weather deck with a bucket under her head for 2 days.
How was the food? (Geoff explained in his Profile he had decided when young 'not to eat anything that can look at me')
The food was fabulous, 'Voyage Chef’ Alan even prepared some great veg meals, including a veggie casserole baked in his galley!
Was she slow or fast?
The 36 members of the 'voyage crew’ were broken into 3 ‘watches’ with 4 hours on and 8 hours off.
The view over the snub-nosed bow when on starboard forward watch at night was sensational - like the bow pushing millions of diamonds forward as bioluminescence!
The midnight ’til 4am was a toughie and bloody difficult to get to sleep afterwards.
We spent a couple of hours becalmed off Gabo Island but caught up time across the Strait with a following nor-easter which gave us around 7 knots.
Hot showers were off for the last 2 days after too many of the crew disobeyed the short shower routine.
Actually we made up too much time and spent a night in Wineglass Bay (tough!) but got hit with a 25knot southerly and had to deploy the 2 tonne anchor to hold her overnight.
The trip up the Derwent after Storm Bay was a thrill, accompanied by 5 other square-riggers and around 200 other classic and wooden boats.
The Master insisted on letting one go from one of the canons which made a huge impression!
Did it give you some insight of how those who sailed from England may have felt – even if the landscape that confronted you at the end of the voyage is much changed?
At times we felt tight for room but when Cook left England in 1768 he had a total complement of 94 officers, crew and marines - we had 56!
This fabulously authentic replica was launched in 1993 after a 5 year build at a cost of $17 million and has circumnavigated the globe twice.
She has 30 kilometres of rope on board and can carry 10,000 sq. feet of sail.
It was a real privilege to sail on her - 360 people applied for the journey and 36 were selected (along with the professional crew of 16).
'Salty Sea-dog Searly'
A few extracts from the Captain's Log:
Captain's Log
We are still sailing comfortably with a twenty knot North Easterly breeze pushing us south at speeds of up to 7.5 knots.
We are currently 60 nautical miles east of Flinders island after a 148 nautical mile noon to noon run.
Mid morning we altered course slightly to start making our way inshore and we plan to put reefs into our topsails on the dog watches this evening in preparation for an increase in winds that are forecast tomorrow.
The crew eagerly attended a lecture by Mike, our first mate on sails and how they work. This was followed by another of John Longley's lectures progressively explaining how our replica was built.
Everyone is well and enjoying the perfect sailing conditions.
Sunday 2nd February
It was another brilliant night gazing out at the grandeur of the night sky well away from city lights. Dawn broke through with a purple sky making for some lovely photo opportunities. First mate Mike delivered a lecture on sail handling and how sails balance the ship and John Longley gave a further instalment in his series of lectures about the construction of the Endeavour replica.
The afternoon was spent with more ropework and hammock maintenance. Then it was up the rig to put two reefs in the fore tops’l and main tops’l. Sailing conditions have been magnificent and there is great camaraderie with lots of laughter amongst the crew.
Special mention to mizzen watch for being tops, singing sea shanties on the foredeck and uniquely numbering off in roman numerals at muster. Upper yardie, Ryan, is very proud of them.
Captain's log
We are presently 30 nautical miles NE of Wineglass bay. We are still under sail after we slowed down considerably when our winds dropped overnight reducing our speed to 3 knots. The wind is now returning and we are comfortably making five knots with four square sails and two staysails set.
We are intending to anchor in Wineglass bay using the port bower anchor this evening where we will remain until Wednesday afternoon when the expected brisk Southerly change that is due tomorrow abates and we can comfortably continue our voyage south.
We've had wonderful sailing for the last few days and the crew all deserve a well earned rest.
All is well.
Monday 3rd February
We were very lucky to have more dolphins visit us throughout the night and day. The ocean waters were again lit up with bioluminescence during the night and dolphins swimming through the water made for a spectacular light show.
Our ‘flying nun’ was again working hard to ventilate the 18th century deck below. This is simply a canvas tube positioned on the upper deck with ‘wings’ at the opening which is used to catch some breeze which then sends the cool breeze to the deck below.
We were excited to spot Soren Larsen in the distance as she made her way down the east coast towards Hobart. Sails were slowly taken in and furled and anchor cable laid out as we made preparations to drop the port bower anchor on our approach into Wineglass Bay. What a magnificent place to anchor for the evening, with rugged rocky hills and a sandy white beach. After dinner a beautiful sunset made for some wonderful photo opportunities before voyage crew settled in for a well deserved night’s rest and hourly anchor watches.
The final entry states:
Captain's final log
After a fantastic sail around Tasman island and Cape Raoul on the 6th, Endeavour lost the breeze that we were hoping would accompany us up the Derwent river to our intended anchorage in Ralphs Bay. After waiting for an hour in hope that the wind would return, we reluctantly started the engines, furled our sails and motored the last twenty miles to the anchorage.
We remained at anchor overnight in Ralphs Bay and after breakfast we weighed and got under way to join the parade of sail to Sullivan Cove.
The parade as always is very exciting and with several hundred ships, boats and dinghies of all different shapes and sizes there was always something new to catch the eye.
Endeavour came alongside Princes wharf directly after the parade of sail, we secured the ship, furled the sails and then commenced the sad farewells to the incredible team of people that had developed into a crew throughout our voyage south.
All that sailed south left the Endeavour with a new sense of who they are, and what they can achieve. The memories and new friendships they now carry will last their lifetimes.
Voyage stats:
- Distance required Sydney to Hobart - 614 Nautical miles
- Distance travelled Sydney to Hobart - 724 Nautical miles
- Distance travelled under sail 320 Nautical miles
- Distance using engines 404 Nautical miles
The AWBF is Tasmania’s largest free event and the largest celebration of wooden boats and maritime culture in the Southern Hemisphere. Founded in 1994, the four-day festival is held biennially in Hobart, spanning the entire waterfront and feeding into the city beyond.
Despite being a not-for-profit, the AWBF is big. In 2023, the festival welcomed 450+ wooden boats, 100+ exhibitors and vendors, 250+ performers, speakers, authors and chefs, and saw 60,000 visitations across four days, with 10,000 attendees on site at any one time. This was all delivered by a small team of highly skilled staff and an amazingly talented and dedicated 350+ strong volunteer crew.
The next AWBF is 5-8 February 2027.
Find out more at: https://awbf2025.org.au/
The 2025 Australian Wooden Boat Festival wrap-up
Video by Tasmanian Ports Corporation
The original HMB Endeavour
HMB Endeavour was the British Royal Navy research vessel Lieutenant James Cook commanded to Tahiti, New Zealand and Australia on his first voyage of discovery from 1768 to 1771.
She was launched in 1764 as the collier Earl of Pembroke, with the Navy purchasing her in 1768 for a scientific mission to the Pacific Ocean and to explore the seas for the surmised Terra Australis Incognita or "unknown southern land".
Earl of Pembroke, later HMS Endeavour, leaving Whitby Harbour in 1768. By Thomas Luny, dated 1790. Image courtesy National Library of Australia. Thomas Luny - http://nla.gov.au/nla.pic-an2280897
Commissioned as His Majesty's Bark Endeavour, she departed Plymouth in August 1768, rounded Cape Horn and reached Tahiti in time to observe the 1769 transit of Venus across the Sun. She then set sail into the largely uncharted ocean to the south, stopping at the islands of Huahine, Bora Bora, and Raiatea west of Tahiti to allow Cook to 'claim them' for Great Britain. In September 1769, she anchored off New Zealand, becoming the first European vessel to reach the islands since Abel Tasman's Heemskerck 127 years earlier.
In April 1770, Endeavour became the first European ship to reach the east coast of Australia, with Cook going ashore on April 29 at what is now known as Botany Bay. Endeavour then sailed north along the Australian coast. She narrowly avoided disaster after running aground on the Great Barrier Reef, and Cook had to throw her guns overboard to lighten her.
Painting by Samuel Atkins (1787-1808) of Endeavour off the coast of New Holland during Cook's voyage of discovery 1768-1771. Inscription on reverse of painting indicates it relates to the grounding of the Endeavour on the Great Barrier Reef in June 1770. Samuel Atkins (c.1760-1810) - National Library of Australia, nla.pic-an5921609
On the Sundial Lawn at Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club sits a replica cannon like that jettisoned from Captain Cook’s barque the HMS Endeavour when she was grounded on the Barrier Reef. A smaller cannon placed atop this works and is fired to signal the opening of the RPAYC's Sailing Season each year.
The Ship ran aground on Endeavour Reef on June 11th 1770. An extracted from Captain Cook’s log states:
Monday, 11th. Wind at East-South-East, with which we steer'd along shore North by West at the distance of 3 or 4 Leagues off, having from 14 to 10 and 12 fathoms water. Saw 2 Small Islands in the Offing, which lay in the Latitude of 16 degrees 0 minutes South, and about 6 or 7 Leagues from the Main. At 6 the Northermost land in sight bore North by West 1/2 West, and 2 low, woody Islands,* (* Hope Islands.) which some took to be rocks above Water, bore North 1/2 West. At this time we shortened Sail, and hauld off shore East-North-East and North-East by East, close upon a Wind. My intention was to stretch off all Night as well to avoid the danger we saw ahead as to see if any Islands lay in the Offing, especially as we now begun to draw near the Latitude of those discover'd by Quiros, which some Geographers, for what reason I know not, have thought proper to Tack to this land. Having the advantage of a fine breeze of wind, and a clear Moon light Night in standing off from 6 until near 9 o Clock, we deepned our Water from 14 to 21 fathoms, when all at once we fell into 12, 10 and 8 fathoms. At this time I had everybody at their Stations to put about and come to an Anchor; but in this I was not so fortunate, for meeting again with Deep Water, I thought there could be no danger in standing on.* (* The ship passed just northward of Pickersgill Reef.) Before 10 o'Clock we had 20 and 21 fathoms, and Continued in that depth until a few minutes before 11, when we had 17, and before the Man at the Lead could heave another cast, the Ship Struck and stuck fast. Immediately upon this we took in all our Sails, hoisted out the Boats and Sounded round the Ship, and found that we had got upon the South-East Edge of a reef of Coral Rocks, having in some places round the Ship 3 and 4 fathoms Water, and in other places not quite as many feet, and about a Ship's length from us on the starboard side (the Ship laying with her Head to the North-East) were 8, 10, and 12 fathoms. As soon as the Long boat was out we struck Yards and Topmast, and carried out the Stream Anchor on our Starboard bow, got the Coasting Anchor and Cable into the Boat, and were going to carry it out in the same way; but upon my sounding the 2nd time round the Ship I found the most water a Stern, and therefore had this Anchor carried out upon the Starboard Quarter, and hove upon it a very great Strain; which was to no purpose, the Ship being quite fast, upon which we went to work to lighten her as fast as possible, which seem'd to be the only means we had left to get her off. As we went ashore about the Top of High Water we not only started water, but threw overboard our Guns, Iron and Stone Ballast, Casks, Hoop Staves, Oil Jarrs, decay'd Stores, etc.; many of these last Articles lay in the way at coming at Heavier. All this time the Ship made little or no Water. At 11 a.m., being high Water as we thought, we try'd to heave her off without Success, she not being afloat by a foot or more, notwithstanding by this time we had thrown overboard 40 or 50 Tuns weight. As this was not found sufficient we continued to Lighten her by every method we could think off; as the Tide fell the ship began to make Water as much as two pumps could free: at Noon she lay with 3 or 4 Streakes heel to Starboard; Latitude observed 15 degrees 45 minutes South.
Endeavour was beached on the Australian mainland for seven weeks to permit repairs to her hull. Resuming her voyage, she limped into port in Batavia in October 1770, her crew sworn to secrecy about the lands that they had visited. From Batavia Endeavour continued westward, rounded the Cape of Good Hope on 13 March 1771 and reached the English port of Dover on 12 July, having been at sea for nearly three years.
- Class and type: Bark
- Tons burthen 366 49⁄94 (bm)[4]
- Length: 97 ft 8 in (29.77 m)[4][a]
- Beam: 29 ft 2 in (8.89 m)[4]
- Depth of hold 11 ft 4 in (3.45 m)[4]
- Sail plan: Full-rigged ship, 3,321 square yards (2,777 m2) of sail
- Speed: 7 to 8 knots (13 to 15 km/h) maximum
- Boats & landing: craft carried yawl, pinnace, longboat, two skiffs
- Complement: 94, comprising: 71 ship's company, 12 marines, 11 civilians
- Armament: 10 4-pdrs, 12 swivel guns
Multiple geographic features are named after the ship, including the Endeavour River and Endeavour Reef, as were three spacecraft. The ship is depicted on the New Zealand fifty-cent coin.
A barque, barc, or bark is a type of sailing vessel with three or more masts of which the fore mast, mainmast, and any additional masts are rigged square, and only the aftmost mast (mizzen in three-masted barques) is rigged fore and aft. Sometimes, the mizzen is only partly fore-and-aft rigged, bearing a square-rigged sail above.
The word barc appears to have come from Celtic languages. The form adopted by English, perhaps from Irish, was "bark", while that adopted by Latin as barca very early, which gave rise to the French barge and barque.
In Latin, Spanish, and Italian, the term barca refers to a small boat, not a full-sized ship. The word "barque" entered English via the French term, which in turn came from the Latin barca by way of Occitan, Catalan, Spanish, or Italian. French influence in England led to the use in English of both words, although their meanings now are not the same.
An Australian-built replica of Endeavour was launched in 1993 and is berthed alongside the Australian National Maritime Museum in Sydney Harbour.
The launched in 1993 replica of HM Bark Endeavour By John M Wheatley - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=17012058
Endeavour was originally the merchant collier Earl of Pembroke, built by Thomas Fishburn for Thomas Millner, launched in June 1764 from the coal and whaling Port of Whitby in the North Riding of Yorkshire. She was a type known locally as the "Whitby Cat". She was ship-rigged and sturdily built with a broad, flat bow, a square stern and a long, box-like body with a deep hold.
A flat-bottomed design made her well-suited to sailing in shallow waters and allowed her to be beached for loading and unloading of cargo and for basic repairs without requiring a dry dock. Her hull, internal floors, and futtocks were built from traditional white oak, her keel and stern post from elm, and her masts from pine and fir. Plans of the ship also show a double keelson to lock the keel, floors and frames in place.
There is uncertainty about the height of her standing masts, as surviving diagrams of Endeavour depict the body of the vessel only, and not the mast plan. While her main and foremast standing spars were standard for her shipyard and era, an annotation on one surviving ship plan in the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich has the mizzen as "16 yards 29 inches" (15.4 m). If correct, this would produce an oddly truncated mast a full 9 feet (2.7 m) shorter than the naval standards of the day. Late twentieth-century research suggests the annotation may be a transcription error with "19 yards 29 inches" (18.1 m) being the true reading. If so, this would more closely conform with both naval standards and the lengths of the other masts.
A recovered cannon from Endeavour on display at the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, England. By Acad Ronin - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=27104587
On 16 February 1768, the Royal Society petitioned King George III to finance a scientific expedition to the Pacific to study and observe the 1769 transit of Venus across the sun. Royal approval was granted for the expedition, and the Admiralty elected to combine the scientific voyage with a confidential mission to search the south Pacific for signs of the postulated continent Terra Australis Incognita (or "unknown southern land").
The Royal Society suggested command be given to Scottish geographer Alexander Dalrymple, whose acceptance was conditional on a brevet commission as a captain in the Royal Navy. First Lord of the Admiralty Edward Hawke refused, going so far as to say he would rather cut off his right hand than give command of a navy vessel to someone not educated as a seaman. In refusing Dalrymple's command, Hawke was influenced by previous insubordination aboard the sloop HMS Paramour in 1698, when naval officers had refused to take orders from civilian commander Edmond Halley. The impasse was broken when the Admiralty proposed James Cook, a naval officer with a background in mathematics and cartography. Acceptable to both parties, Cook was promoted to lieutenant and named as commander of the expedition.
On 27 May 1768, Cook took command of Earl of Pembroke, valued in March at £2,307. 5s. 6d. but ultimately purchased for £2,840. 10s. 11d. and assigned for use in the Society's expedition. She was refitted at Deptford by the dock's master shipwright Adam Hayes on the River Thames for the sum of £2,294, almost the price of the ship herself.
The hull was recaulked and copper sheathed to protect against shipworm, and a third internal deck installed to provide cabins, a powder magazine and storerooms. The new cabins provided around 2 square metres (22 sq ft) of floorspace apiece being allocated to Cook and the Royal Society representatives: naturalist Joseph Banks, Banks' assistants Daniel Solander and Herman Spöring, astronomer Charles Green, and artists Sydney Parkinson and Alexander Buchan. These cabins encircled the officers' mess. The great cabin at the rear of the deck was designed as a workroom for Cook and the Royal Society. On the rear lower deck, cabins facing on to the mates' mess were assigned to lieutenants Zachary Hickes and John Gore, ship's surgeon William Monkhouse, the gunner Stephen Forwood, ship's master Robert Molyneux, and the captain's clerk Richard Orton. The adjoining open mess deck provided sleeping and living quarters for the marines and crew, and additional storage space.
A longboat, pinnace and yawl were provided as ship's boats, though the longboat was rotten, having to be rebuilt and painted with white lead before it could be brought aboard. These were accompanied by two privately owned skiffs, one belonging to the boatswain John Gathrey, and the other to Banks. The ship was also equipped with a set of 28 ft (8.5 m) sweeps to allow her to be rowed forward if becalmed or demasted.
The refitted vessel was commissioned as His Majesty's Bark the Endeavour, to distinguish her from the four-gun cutter HMS Endeavour.
On 21 July 1768, Endeavour sailed to Gallions Reach on the Thames to take on armaments to protect her against potentially hostile Pacific island natives. Ten 4-pounder cannon were brought aboard, six of which were mounted on the upper deck with the remainder stowed in the hold. Twelve swivel guns were also supplied, and fixed to posts along the quarterdeck, sides and bow. The ship departed for Plymouth on 30 July, for provisioning and crew boarding of 85, including 12 Royal Marines. Cook also ordered that twelve tons of pig iron be brought on board as sailing ballast.
Pig iron ballast from Captain James Cook's HM Bark Endeavour in the New Zealand Maritime Museum. This piece of ballast was recovered from the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, where Endeavour had gone aground in 1770. By Richard N Horne - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=129298095
Outward voyage
Endeavour departed Plymouth on 26 August 1768, carrying 18 months of provisions for 94 people. Livestock on board included pigs, poultry, two greyhounds and a milking goat.
The first port of call was Funchal in the Madeira Islands, which Endeavour reached on 12 September. The ship was recaulked and painted, and fresh vegetables, beef and water were brought aboard for the next leg of the voyage. While in port, master's mate Robert Weir, became entangled in the anchor cable and was dragged overboard when the anchor was released. He died as a result of the accident. To replace him, Cook pressed a sailor from an American sloop anchored nearby.
Endeavour then continued south along the coast of Africa and across the Atlantic to South America, arriving in Rio de Janeiro on 13 November 1768. Fresh food and water were brought aboard and the ship departed for Cape Horn, which she reached during stormy weather on 13 January 1769. Attempts to round the Cape over the next two days were unsuccessful, and Endeavour was repeatedly driven back by wind, rain and contrary tides. Cook noted that the seas off the Cape were large enough to regularly submerge the bow of the ship as she rode down from the crests of waves. At last, on 16 January the wind eased and the ship was able to pass the Cape and anchor in the Bay of Good Success on the Pacific coast. The crew were sent to collect wood and water, while Banks and his team gathered hundreds of plant specimens from along the icy shore. On 17 January two of Banks' servants died from cold while attempting to return to the ship during a heavy snowstorm.
Endeavour resumed her voyage on 21 January 1769, heading west-northwest into warmer weather. She reached Tahiti on 10 April, where she remained for the next three months. The transit of Venus across the Sun occurred on 3 June, and was observed and recorded by astronomer Charles Green from Endeavour's deck.
Pacific exploration
The transit observed, Endeavour departed Tahiti on 13 July and headed northwest to allow Cook to survey and name the Society Islands. Landfall was made at Huahine, Raiatea and Borabora, providing opportunities for Cook to claim each of them as British territories. An attempt to land the pinnace on the Austral Island of Rurutu was thwarted by rough surf and the rocky shoreline. On 15 August, Endeavour finally turned south to explore the open ocean for Terra Australis Incognita.
In October 1769, Endeavour reached the coastline of New Zealand, becoming the first European vessel to do so since Abel Tasman's Heemskerck in 1642. Unfamiliar with such ships, the Māori people at Cook's first landing point in Poverty Bay thought the ship was a floating island, or a gigantic bird from their mythical homeland of Hawaiki. Endeavour spent the next six months sailing close to shore, while Cook mapped the coastline and concluded that New Zealand comprised two large islands and was not the hoped-for Terra Australis. In March 1770, the longboat from Endeavour carried Cook ashore to allow him to 'formally proclaim British sovereignty over New Zealand'.
On his return, Endeavour resumed her voyage westward, her crew sighting the east coast of Australia on 19 April. On 29 April, she became the first European vessel to make landfall on the east coast of Australia, when Cook landed one of the ship's boats on the southern shore of what is now known as Botany Bay, New South Wales.
While Cook was feted for his successful voyage, Endeavour was largely forgotten. Within a week of her return to England, she was directed to Woolwich Dockyard for refitting as a naval transport. She then made two routine return voyages to the Falkland Islands, the first to deliver provisions and the second to bring home the British garrison. She was paid off in September 1774, and in March 1775 was sold by the Navy to shipping magnate J. Mather for £645.
Mather renamed the increasingly decrepit ship Lord Sandwich and returned her to sea for at least one commercial voyage to Archangel in Russia. In late 1775, he was asked by the Admiralty to provide one of his ships to transport soldiers to North America to help defeat the colonial militia during the American Revolution. Mather offered to return the ageing Lord Sandwich to military service, but her condition was so poor that she was declared unseaworthy. After extensive repairs the ship was finally accepted as a troop transport in February 1776 and embarked a contingent of Hessian soldiers bound for New York. In December 1776, Lord Sandwich was part of a large fleet of Royal Navy and transport vessels that came from New York in December 1776 to occupy the two largest islands in Rhode Island's Narragansett Bay. These troops originally planned to retake Boston by marching overland, and to capture Providence, the center of Rhode Island's resistance. This plan failed, and until 1779 the British and Hessian occupying troops were centered in Newport. During that time, the Lord Sandwich was used locally around Narragansett Bay and intermittently as a prison ship to hold American sympathizers.
Endeavour's end came in August 1778, when the British occupation of Newport, Rhode Island, was threatened by a fleet carrying French soldiers in support of the Continental Army. The British commander, Captain John Brisbane, determined to protect Newport Harbor by sinking privately owned transports there as a blockade. Between 3 and 6 August, a fleet of 13 transports, including the Lord Sandwich, were scuttled at entrance to the Harbour.
In addition to the search for the remains of the ship herself, there was considerable Australian interest in locating relics of the ship's south Pacific voyage. In 1886, the Working Men's Progress Association of Cooktown sought to recover the six cannons thrown overboard when Endeavour grounded on the Great Barrier Reef. A £300 reward was offered for anyone who could locate and recover the guns, but searches that year and the next were fruitless and the money went unclaimed. Remains of equipment left at Endeavour River were discovered in around 1900, and in 1913 the crew of a merchant steamer erroneously claimed to have recovered an Endeavour cannon from shallow water near the Reef.
In 1937, a small part of Endeavour's keel was gifted to the Australian Government by philanthropist Charles Wakefield in his capacity as President of the Admiral Arthur Phillip Memorial. Australian Prime Minister Joseph Lyons described the section of keel as "intimately associated with the discovery and foundation of Australia".
Another search for the original cannons jettisoned
Searches were resumed for the lost Endeavour Reef cannons, but expeditions in 1966, 1967, and 1968 were unsuccessful. They were finally recovered in 1969 by a research team from the American Academy of Natural Sciences, using a sophisticated magnetometer to locate the cannons, a quantity of iron ballast and the abandoned bower anchor. Conservation work on the cannons was undertaken by the Australian National Maritime Museum, after which two of the cannons were displayed at its headquarters in Sydney's Darling Harbour. A third cannon and the bower anchor were displayed at the James Cook Museum in Cooktown, with the remaining three at maritime museums in London, Philadelphia, and the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa in Wellington.
Another search for the original
In February 2022 the Australian National Maritime Museum stated historical evidence found indicates the ship was sunk just north of Goat Island in Newport Harbour, along with four other British transports.
Part of what Australian authorities believe is James Cook’s famous vessel. (Supplied)
Maritime archaeologists had been investigating several 18th century shipwrecks in a 2 square mile (5.2 square kilometres) area, known as RI 2394, since 1999.
Researchers say several key markers distinguished the Endeavour from four other ships sunk in Newport in August 1778:
- historical evidence indicates the ship was sunk just north of Goat Island in Newport Harbour, along with four other British transports
- the ship was the largest of the five scuttled transports in that area
- archaeological evidence indicates RI 2394 is significantly larger than any other 18th century shipwreck site
- the length of the surviving hull is almost exactly the same as that recorded for Endeavour
- the structural details and shape of the remains closely match historic plans of Endeavour
- diagnostic clues such as the construction of the keel along the bottom of the wreck, the joinery used in its bow at the front and the placement of the vessel's fore and main mast are identical to those shown on 18th century plans of Endeavour
- timber samples strongly suggest a vessel built in Europe, not America.
A pump-well and section of the wreck's bow further provide evidence as to the identity of the ship, the Australian National Maritime Museum said in November 2023.
The location of these features lines up with the dimensions of HMB Endeavour. The pump well was drawn out in its as-built condition during a survey by the British Admiralty in 1768, before the ship began its circumnavigation, so its dimensions were known. When a map of the wreck site was overlaid over Endeavour's lower hold plan, the pump well lined up perfectly on the plans. Since ships of this era were built to the shipwright's own specifications by "rack of eye," not to a preconceived plan, each individual ship was quite different - so the dimensions of the pump well would be unique to HMB Endeavour.
The scarf-joint provided further evidence, both from its location and from its design. The wreck had a rare "half-lap" scarf joint, used to build vessels with a near-vertical rake. It precisely matched Endeavour's plans. Only a very few historical vessels are known to have been built with this joint type in this time period, and the ones that are known are British colliers, just like Endeavour.
"Enough correlations have been drawn between the archaeological and historical records to identify RI 2394 as James Cook’s Endeavour and there is now an urgent need to secure the highest possible level of legislative and physical protection for the site," the team recommended.
These claims were disputed by US experts also examining the ship, who said that despite finds "consistent with what might be expected of the Endeavour" there was not yet indisputable data to support the claim.
Rhode Island Marine Archaeology Project executive director Kathy Abbass said a "legitimate report" on the wreck's identity would be released when the group's study was complete.
The museum said there had been no further dissenting responses to its claims that the vessel was the Endeavour in the past two years, and its final archaeological report was due to be released in 2024.
The ANMM's Preliminary Report is available at: www.sea.museum/en/maritime-archaeology/endeavour-report
A summary of the information is available on the museum’s Deep Dive webpage at: www.sea.museum/explore/maritime-archaeology/deep-dive/evidence
