The Ship: Retracing Captain Cooks Endeavor Voyage
by Simon Baker
Category: History

First there was Blue Latitudes, now there is The Ship, which tells the remarkable story of Captain James Cook's voyage on the Endeavour, describing what happened when a team of volunteers boarded a magnificent replica of the ship to retrace a dramatic stretch of its route from Cape Grafton in Australia to Jakarta in Indonesia. Simon Baker, author and seaman, begins by taking a fresh look at Cook and the origins of his first voyage - how it turned from a scientific expedition to observe an eclipse into a far-reaching quest for the Great Southern Continent. Drawing on original journals, he re-examines Cook's motives and reputation, revealing a more complex character than the hero that history has handed down to us. The replica Endeavour provided a unique opportunity to 'test' the achievements of Cook and his company within an authentic 18th-century environment. This involved living on the same diet as Cook and his men, hauling ropes, scrubbing decks, and cleaning cabins. The specialists on board - historians, navigators, a botanist and an artist - replicated the work of their 18th-century counterparts and came to fascinating conclusions about their contributions to science, and navigation. The Ship features: - Spectacular photographs of the replica ship and the places it visited on the voyage. - Journal entries from eighteenth- and twenty-first century participants, giving a dual perspective on the innovative voyage. - Historic maps and charts drawn by Captain Cook and other early explorers. - Original drawings of plants and people by artists past and present who traveled on the Endeavour First there was Blue Latitudes, now there is The Ship, which tells the remarkable story of Captain James Cook's voyage on the Endeavour, describing what happened when a team of volunteers boarded a magnificent replica of the ship to retrace a dramatic stretch of its route from Cape Grafton in Australia to Jakarta in Indonesia. Simon Baker, author and seaman, begins by taking a fresh look at Cook and the origins of his first voyage - how it turned from a scientific expedition to observe an eclipse into a far-reaching quest for the Great Southern Continent. Drawing on original journals, he re-examines Cook's motives and reputation, revealing a more complex character than the hero that history has handed down to us. The replica Endeavour provided a unique opportunity to 'test' the achievements of Cook and his company within an authentic 18th-century environment. This involved living on the same diet as Cook and his men, hauling ropes, scrubbing decks, and cleaning cabins. The specialists on board - historians, navigators, a botanist and an artist - replicated the work of their 18th-century counterparts and came to fascinating conclusions about their contributions to science, and navigation. The Ship features: - Spectacular photographs of the replica ship and the places it visited on the voyage. - Journal entries from eighteenth- and twenty-first century participants, giving a dual perspective on the innovative voyage. - Historic maps and charts drawn by Captain Cook and other early explorers. - Original drawings of plants and people by artists past and present who traveled on the Endeavour