HM Bark 'Endeavour' - London's docks and shipping

HM Bark 'Endeavour' (1768 – 1775)

Known for

Port Connection

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Captain Cook's vessel for sailing to the South Seas

Known for

Model of the Endeavour. © NMM

Captain James Cook was commissioned by the Council of the Royal Society of London to command an expedition to observe and record the six-hour transit of the planet Venus in 1769. His Majesty’s Bark Endeavour was used by Captain Cook to make this first voyage of discovery to the South Seas.

Admiralty deck plan of the Endeavour, 1768. © NMM

In 1768, the Admiralty purchased a cat-built (bluff bow) collier named the Earl of Pembroke to be converted for Cook’s expedition. She was a three-masted square-rigger, built in Whitby in January 1767. The Earl of Pembroke was a sturdy built vessel, originally designed to carry coal and timber in her broad, flat hull. Although she was not very fast, her unusual

Chart showing the tracks of the ships on Cook's three voyages. © NMM

convex shape meant that she had a large hold for provisions and was ideal for sailing in the shallow waters of the South Pacific.

Captain James Cook and the Endeavour returned to England on 13 July 1771, having completed what would become the first of his three voyages to open up the mysterious Pacific Ocean and her islands to Europe.

Port Connection

Repairing of Captain Cook's ship in Endeavour River (Cook's first voyage).

The Endeavour was converted and fitted out at Deptford Dockyard in 1768. The Admiralty had ship builders plans of the vessel drawn up during her refit, which are still in existence today.

A lot of work had to be carried out on the vessel to make her suitable for the journey. The hull of the collier was sheathed and caulked to protect her from the tropical marine worms. As one hundred and seven people had to be accommodated for the long voyage, a third deck had to be squeezed into the ship, to house extra cabins, storerooms and the galley.

From Deptford, HM Bark Endeavour sailed down the Thames to Galleons Reach to take on her compliment of guns, before she set sail for Plymouth to provision and take on crew. Endeavour set sail from Plymouth on the 25 August 1768 to begin her long voyage.

Statistics

· Length: 32 metres (106 feet)
· Beam: 9 metres (29 feet)
· Weight: 400 tonnes (397 tons)
· Sail area: 897 square metres (9964 square feet)
· Three masts
· Main mast height: 39 metres (128 feet)
· Fore mast height: 33 metres (110 feet)
· Mizzenmast height: 24 metres (79 feet)
· Carried a compliment of 107: Captain and crew
· She carried three small boats: the yawl, the pinnace and the longboat