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| Replica of HMB Endeavour, Sydney, NSW |
HMB Endeavour
The Endeavour voyage commanded by James Cook between 1768 and 1771, on a 30m coal carrier, was a long and often perilous combined Royal Navy and Royal Society expedition to the south Pacific Ocean.
The two main purposes of the expedition were to measure the distance from the Earth to the Sun and find the unknown "Great South Land" and claim it for Britain..
The first task required the Endeavour to sail to Tahiti to measure the "transit" of the planet Venus as it moved across the face of the Sun.
However, the expedition did not find the hypothetical "Great South Land", believed to be a huge continent the size of Europe, which was thought to balance the globe.
Instead, Captain Cook reached the southern coast of New South Wales in 1770 and sailed north, charting Australia's eastern coastline and claiming the eastern portion of the Australian continent for the British Crown.
Cook's epic journeys proved that he was one of the greatest navigators in history. And without a chronometer, his maps had incredible accuracy.
James Cook's HMB Endeavour, built in Australia, is one of the world's most accurate maritime replica vessels.
This beautifully crafted ship has 30 kilometres of rigging and 750 wooden blocks or pulleys. The masts and spars carry 28 sails that spread approximately 10,000 sq feet (930 m2) of canvas.
Below decks, in the galley, there is a huge stove called a firehearth and a relica of the Great Cabin where Cook worked and dined, along with famous botanist Joseph Banks.
The Endeavour replica began construction in 1988, and was launched 5 years later.
When it is out at sea, you can track the Endeavour over at marinetraffic.com (search for "HMB Endeavour").
To find out about voyages in the Endeavour and when open to the public. see here.
Duyfken
In 1606, the Duyfken ("little dove"), constructed in the Netherlands under the command of Willem Janszoon, was the first European ship to reach the Australian coastline.
Today, you can cruise Sydney Harbour on the Duyfken replica.
The two main purposes of the expedition were to measure the distance from the Earth to the Sun and find the unknown "Great South Land" and claim it for Britain..
The first task required the Endeavour to sail to Tahiti to measure the "transit" of the planet Venus as it moved across the face of the Sun.
However, the expedition did not find the hypothetical "Great South Land", believed to be a huge continent the size of Europe, which was thought to balance the globe.
Instead, Captain Cook reached the southern coast of New South Wales in 1770 and sailed north, charting Australia's eastern coastline and claiming the eastern portion of the Australian continent for the British Crown.
Cook's epic journeys proved that he was one of the greatest navigators in history. And without a chronometer, his maps had incredible accuracy.
James Cook's HMB Endeavour, built in Australia, is one of the world's most accurate maritime replica vessels.
This beautifully crafted ship has 30 kilometres of rigging and 750 wooden blocks or pulleys. The masts and spars carry 28 sails that spread approximately 10,000 sq feet (930 m2) of canvas.
Below decks, in the galley, there is a huge stove called a firehearth and a relica of the Great Cabin where Cook worked and dined, along with famous botanist Joseph Banks.
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| Replica of the Duyfken, Sydney, NSW |
In 1606, the Duyfken ("little dove"), constructed in the Netherlands under the command of Willem Janszoon, was the first European ship to reach the Australian coastline.
The charting of some of Australia's coast allowed all of the world's inhabited continents to appear on a single map for the first time.
In 1999, the replica Duyfken undertook an expedition to Banda in Indonesia and sailed on a reenactment voyage to the Pennefather River in Queensland.
Janszoon encountered and then charted the shores of Australia's Cape York Peninsula and made landfall at the Pennefather River in the Gulf of Carpentaria. This is the first authenticated sighting of Australia by Europeans.
There was violent conflict between the Duyfken crew and Aboriginal people, and a number of crew members died.
The Duyfken replica was built in Fremantle in the late 1990s.
Today, you can cruise Sydney Harbour on the Duyfken replica.
The Duyfken sailing experience is for adults and not children. Children 12 years of age or over are welcome, if accompanied by an adult.
More information on Duyfken cruises here
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