Whitby-built ships were used on all the
voyages. For the first voyage the collier and cat “Earl
of Pembroke” was re-fitted and re-named His Majesty’s
Bark “Endeavour”.
 |
European vessel
under sail in heavy seas
Link to pop-up enlargement |
The vessel had a large hold in which the massive amounts
of supplies needed for a long voyage could be stored. She
was a flat bottomed ship and so, in the event of an emergency
and the absence of a man-made harbour, could be beached for
repairs.
|
Complement of
the Endeavour Link to pop-up enlargement
|
For the first voyage Endeavour was converted
to accommodate a crew of almost one hundred officers and men,
marines and civilians. The ship was the crew’s main
home for the three years of the voyage. Conditions were cramped,
particularly for the ordinary seamen who lived communally
on the main deck. Officers and civilians had small cabins
in the ship’s stern. First to be entered on the muster-book,
or crew list, is James Cook, First Lieutenant, commander of
the ship, who received his commission on 25th May 1768. Two
days later he went aboard the Endeavour.
According to the muster-book, or crew list,
about 70 men, including the carpenter, boatswain’s mate
and sailmaker, servants, able seamen and marines, joined the
Endeavour and began receiving wages from 25 May 1768. North
Country men who joined the ship included; Thomas Brown from
Whitby; Robert Beats from Newcastle; and Robert Stainsby from
Darlington. The two former left the ship at the end of June
but Stainsby sailed on the voyage and became one of the first
of the ship’s crew to be tattooed at Tahiti.
 |
The Watering
place in the Bay of Good Success
Link to pop-up enlargement |
On arrival in the Bay of Success, Tierra
del Fuego Cook wrote, “Having found a convenient place
on the s side of the Bay to wood and Water at, we set about
that work in the morning.” (Cook, Journals I, 45, 16
January 1769). After long periods at sea fresh supplies had
to be collected whenever a landfall was made. The crew worked
hard to fill the ship’s casks with large amounts of
local produce, either collected or traded with the native
peoples and fresh water from streams and rivers.
 |
Logbook of Lieut.
James Cook
Link to pop-up enlargement |
A ship’s master and commander was
responsible for keeping a record of a voyage, including details
of the ship’s course, weather conditions, observations
and events. Cook and some of his crew kept very detailed records
of their experiences, including descriptions of the native
peoples, flora and fauna of the places visited and especially
dramatic events such as shipwreck.
Cook recorded the near fatal striking of the Great Barrier
Reef, Australia, and subsequent attempts to save the ship:
“Shoale the water from 20 to 17 fath. and before
the man in the chains could have another cast (of the sounding
lead) the ship struck and lay fast on some rocks upon which
we took in all our sails, hoisted out the boats and sounded
round the ship and found that we had got upon the edge of
a reef of coral rocks which lay to the NW of us, having in
some some places round the ship 3 or 4 fathoms and in others
ab0out as many feet …Turn’d all hands to lighten
the ship and in order to do this we not only started water
but hove over board guns, Iron and stone ballast, Casks, Hoops,
Staves oyle Jars, decay’d stores and whatever was of
weight or lay in the way at coming at heavy articles all this
time the ship made but little water.” (Cook, Journals,
1, 11 June 1770)
 |
A plan of the
entrance of Endeavour River
Link to pop-up enlargement |
On striking the Great Barrier Reef in June
1770 the Endeavour was holed and started to flood. The crew
had to work frantically to pump out the water to keep the
ship afloat and Cook had to find a suitable place to beach
the ship and carry out repairs. |