Endeavour II
History
Canada
Name
  • Monte Cristo
  • Endeavour II
OwnerRon Craig
Launched1968
FateWrecked 22 February 1971 34°31′24″S 173°00′36″E / 34.523247°S 173.009949°E / -34.523247; 173.009949
General characteristics
Length140 feet (43 m) oa
PropulsionGMC Jimmy 6-71 diesel
Sail planThree-masted barque

Endeavour II was a three-masted auxiliary barque built in Vancouver in 1968 and originally named Monte Cristo.[1] She was built along the lines of the brigantine Albatross as published in Uffa Fox's Second Book of Boats.[1]

In late February 1971 she was embayed during a full gale and, after attempting to beat her way out for several days, on 22 February was driven onto the bar of Parengarenga Harbour, a few miles south of North Cape, New Zealand,[1][2] and wrecked.

Construction

Her hull was constructed of mahogany planking on heavy fir frames with spars of Sitka spruce.[1] Her three-sectioned mainmast rose 84 feet (26 m) from deck to truck.[1] Her deck measured 94 feet (29 m) which bowsprit and jibboom extended to almost 140 feet (43 m) length overall.[1]

She was rigged as a three-masted barque with square sails on the mainmast and foremast, a gaff rigged fore and aft spanker on the mizzenmast, four jibs and a variety of staysails for a maximum of seventeen sails set totalling 9,000 square feet (840 m2).[1] The sails were controlled by around 5 miles (8.0 km) of running and standing rigging, all of natural manila rope and galvanised wire.[1] There were no mechanical winches, all hauling being by block and tackle and man power.[1]

The auxiliary engine was a GMC Jimmy 6-71 diesel.[1] The only electronic aid to navigation was a marine VHF radio.[1]

Ownership

Originally owned and built by a consortium of business men (Fred Kolowrat, Frank Perner, Alex Brigola) keen to recreate the great days of sail she quickly became the sole property of Ron Craig, a Canadian businessman.[1]

Voyages

Initially, as Monte Cristo, she worked her way down the western seaboard of the United States giving costumed on-board tours to paying visitors at each port of call.[1] On 22 July 1969 she had to be towed into Port Townsend, Washington in thick fog after suffering engine trouble.[3] She had a number of movie roles and on 9 November was briefly involved in the occupation of Alcatraz.[2][4]

After being renamed Endeavour II, she sailed across the Pacific to Sydney to take part in the bicentenary re-enactment on 29 April 1970 of James Cook's landing at Botany Bay, Sydney.[1][5] She subsequently cruised up the eastern seaboard of Australia to Brisbane, giving costumed on-board tours to paying visitors at each port of call, and then sailed for Auckland, New Zealand, under American skipper Jeff Berry.[1]

This proved to be her final voyage and she encountered a number of delays.[2] Soon after sailing she was becalmed and carried southwards by a freak seventy-mile-a-day current.[2] In the Tasman Sea the crew sighted distress flares and searched for over twelve hours without success; the consequent depletion of fuel reserves was to prove crucial later.[2] On rounding North Cape she encountered a full gale and failed to make the intended Houhora Harbour.[1][2][5]

Wreck

After rounding North Cape, New Zealand, Endeavour II found it impossible to keep position in 40-knot easterly winds when fuel ran out, and she tried to anchor. Her anchors dragged and she was driven onto the bar of Parengarenga Harbour, a few miles south of North Cape, in the early hours of 22 February 1971.[1][2][6] By 1pm she had settled on her side and began to break up. The crew of thirteen men and one woman reached the shore without loss.[1][5]

She was the first square-rigged sailing vessel wrecked on the New Zealand coast for more than fifty years.[2][5] Her masts are preserved, fitted to the converted sugar barge Tui in Paihia.[7]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Taylor, Roger (1 February 2008). Voyages of a Simple Sailor. Waltham Cross: The FitzRoy Press. ISBN 978-0955803505.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Hammond, Don. "The Loss of the Endeavour II". Don Hammond Image. Retrieved 19 February 2014.
  3. ^ "Sailing ship towed after engine trouble". Port Angeles Evening News. 23 July 1969. Retrieved 21 February 2014.
  4. ^ Johnson, Troy R (1996). The Occupation of Alcatraz Island. Urbana/Chicago: University of Illinois Press. p. 59. ISBN 0-252-06585-9.
  5. ^ a b c d Ingram, CWN (1984). New Zealand Shipwrecks 1795-1982. Wellington: Reed Publishing. ISBN 0589015109.
  6. ^ Haigh, Val (2009). Tryste and the sea : the last two voyages. [S.l.]: Trafford On Demand Pub. p. 45. ISBN 978-1-4251-8659-3.
  7. ^ "The Old Chelsea Sugar Boat". Shippey's. Archived from the original on 26 February 2014. Retrieved 21 February 2014.
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