Come Sail Away!
Captain James Cook’s
famous
“Voyage of Discovery”
aboard H.M.B.
Endeavour
Click for music, if desired
What’s in a Name?
• “H.M.B.” stands for “His Majesty's Bark.”
• No, we are not saying Endeavour was a dog! A “bark” (also spelled
"barque") was a name used in the 18th century for smaller ships that didn’t
fit into other categories.
• The word “endeavour” (more often spelled “endeavor” in the US) means:
“to exert oneself to do or affect something; to make an effort; strive” (verb)
“a strenuous effort” (noun)
•
Endeavour was first built as a coal carrier named "The Earl of Pembroke,"
with a flat bottom, large hold, and thick hull; a solidly-built vessel, able to
withstand rough weather.
• Captain Cook chose the ship and renamed her something more suitable
for her upcoming Voyage of Discovery.
• The Navy refitted the ship and registered her as HM Bark Endeavour to
distinguish her from a sloop of the same name.
• When Cook took command of his ship on May 27, 1768, he claimed,
“A better ship for such service I never would wish for.”
Cook’s Three-fold Mission:
1. To observe the Transit of Venus
(more on that later!) Pssst!
Over here!
2. To search for the fabled
“Southern Continent”
G’day,
mate!
3. To observe and discover new
plants and animals (Banks’s idea)
The red line indicates Cook’s voyage on the Endeavour
.
Meet your Captain •
..to go farther
than man had
gone before!
Link to brief Biography of Captain Cook
Link to Extensive biography of Cook plus
more about his voyages (great site!)
Captain James Cook enlisted in the
British Royal Navy at the age of 27
after working 10 years on a coal
carrying ship. He was a skilled
cartographer (maker of maps) and
navigator -- due to his mad skills in
math -- and known for his keen
intelligence and good judgment.
• He kept a clean ship and a healthy
crew, insisting on good hygiene, daily
exercise, and a diet supplemented by
sauerkraut and lime juice to prevent
scurvy.
• Cook was respected and admired by
the men on his ship for his skill as a
captain and for his ability to relate to
the sailors . He himself had risen
through the ranks, earning his
promotions, unlike many captains of
his day who received their
commissions due to their wealth,
social status, and connections.
Not to be confused with…
Captain James Kirk…!
…to boldly go
where no man
has gone
before!
But the similarity in names is no coincidence! The creator of Star Trek named his hero
Captain James Kirk in honor of the famed explorer Captain James Cook. Kirk's famous voiceover at the beginning of the classic TV series explaining the mission of the USS Enterprise:
"To explore new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no
man has gone before!" is a nod to Cook, who said of his epic voyage, "I had the ambition to
not only go farther than man had gone before, but to go as far as it was possible to go."
To boldly go where
William Shatner
has gone before..
Of course, you might know him better as
played by this guy, in Hollywood’s latest
version of Star Trek…
If Hollywood ever made a movie about Captain Cook,
I wonder who they would get to play him…?
How about
me? I look
Captainly!
Cuz I’m really
And
handsome!
And maybe this guy could play Joseph
Banks, the young scientist that sailed with
Cook…
Joseph Banks, referred to by Nick
as one of the "Gentlemen," was
both a naturalist (one who studies
nature) and a botanist (one who
studies plants).
Many plants and animals found on the
journey were named by him and for him
In fact, Carl Linnaeus, the Father of
Taxonomy (the science of naming
organisms), wanted to name Australia
"Banksia"! (Doesn’t have quite the same
ring to it, does it…?)
Joseph Banks was considered to be quite the
handsome and dashing young man by the
ladies of his day. Rumor has it he was what
today’s ladies might call a “player”!
Banks went on more voyages and
eventually was put in charge of the
Royal Botanic Gardens (aka Kew
Gardens) which are just outside of
London.
He was knighted in 1781. To read
more complete biography, try this
link: Sir Joseph Banks.
And what about Nick Young…?
• An 11-year-old boy named Nick Young really
did sail on the Endeavour with Cook and
Banks! His name does not appear in the ship’s
roster until later in the journey, leading many
to speculate that he indeed stowed away.
• As you know, his journal is imagined, but it is
based on the actual journals of Cook, Banks,
and others. You can read these actual
journals at this link: Endeavour Journals
Nick’s Legacy: Young Nick’s Head
“In October 1769, Captain James Cook and his crew first
sighted the east coast of the North Island of New Zealand,
south of present-day Gisborne. Cook named the prominent
headland on the south side of Poverty Bay “Young Nick’s
Head,” after the cabin boy Nicholas Young, who was the first
to sight land from the Endeavour. “
Cook’s Legacy:
Cooktown,
Australia
Mapped:
Cook Crater on the moon!
• Coast of Newfoundland
• St. Lawrence River
• New Zealand
• Eastern Coast of Australia
• West Coast of Alaska
Just aStrait
few of the many places names for Captain Cook:
Cook
Captain Cook, a
town in Hawaii
Cook Inlet in Alaska
Cook Islands
Compare Cook’s handdrawn map of New
Zealand to this satellite
image.
Remember, this was
before Google
Earth and GPS!
Cook was able to
make this map
from his own
observations and
mathematical
calculations.
(I told you he had
MAD SKILLS!!!)
He also is thought to have had good diplomatic skills,
but nevertheless he was a product of a culture that
thought itself superior to the indigenous people of the
places he visited…
Cook met his death in the Sandwich Isles (now known as Hawaii) during his Third
Voyage, at the hands of the people living there. For the full story, click HERE.
Despite that, Cook’s voyages added
to our knowledge of science,
nature, geography, and
anthropology.
The crew of the Endeavour were the first
westerners to see a kangaroo. Can you find
the part in the book where it is described…?
Members of the Royal Society wanted Cook to observe the transit of
Venus to help determine the distance from the sun to the earth and
the Royal Navy thought this would be helpful for marine navigation.
You can read all about it here: Captain Cook and the Transit of Venus
And don’t forget the Transit of Venus!
And astronomy -- don’t forget
the Transit of Venus!
If you want to learn even more, check out this site: TRANSIT OF VENUS
(Extra Credit to the first student who tells me the next time this rare celestial event will
occur..!)
Still sailing:
This full-scale replica of
Endeavour Replica Cook’s ship is currently
sailing around Australia. For
a few thousand dollars,
people can sign up to work
as sailors – or, for a few
thousand dollars more, sail
along (without working) as
“gentlemen”– on different
legs of the journey. (
Australia Circumnavigation
The Adventure Continues…
The spirit of exploration
lives on! How fitting that
the Space Shuttle
Endeavour was named in
honor of Cook’s ship?
She completed 25 space
missions before her
retirement in June, 2011.
She will be exhibited at
The California Science
Center in Los Angeles
next year.
To learn more about
Endeavour and the other
space shuttles, check out
NASA’s “Shuttle
Experience” HERE.
Did you know I once flew on the Endeavour? Actually, it was just on this
simulated shuttle when I was at Space Camp… but still fun, without that whole
risking-your-life component! (And yes, I managed to crash it THREE times!)
But some day I hope to sail on the Endeavour replica…
Meanwhile, I am very happy to embark
on a journey with you, full of our own
EXPLORATION!!!
Be ready to “exert yourself, make an effort,
and strive” – in other words, to ENDEAVOUR!
All hands on deck!
Full speed ahead to a
great year in
science!!!