Wednesday, May 4, 2016

His Majesty's Bark Endeavour

A full size 'replica' of HM Bark Endeavour at Castlegate Quay in Stockton-on-Tees. (Source)
Apparently James Cook's ship Endeavour, in which he made his first voyage of discovery to Australia, has been found in the waters off Little Rhody. She was scuttled in 1778 during the Revolution along with a number of other ships to prevent access to Newport Harbor.

 I will be following this tale with a great deal of interest. The Daily Mail has an interesting article on the old ship here. She started life in 1764 as the civilian ship Earl of Pembroke and was later acquired by the Royal Navy and renamed Endeavor in 1768.

 She went back into civilian service in 1775 but was re-acquired by the Royal Navy for use as a troopship with yet another name, Lord Sandwich. (I always heard it was bad luck to rename a ship. What do I know? I was in the Air Force.)

 Eventually she ended her days,  as many ships do, at the bottom of the sea. It will be interesting to see what they plan to do with her as she was a well traveled, historical ship.





That's all I've got today, I am under the weather both mentally and physically. But this too shall pass...
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24 comments:

  1. SCOTTtheBADGERMay 4, 2016 at 5:42 AM

    Spring blahs can be the worst blahs, as they are in such contrast with the weather.

    ReplyDelete
  2. juvatMay 4, 2016 at 6:08 AM

    Hope you feel better soon! (also hope whatever you and Tuna got flew over "flyover" country and didn't stop.)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. OldAFSargeMay 4, 2016 at 6:56 AM

      It's not a "sick" thing. More of an aches and pains thing. My body likes to remind me from time to time that I'm not 25 anymore. Not even close.

      Delete
  3. (not necessarily your) Uncle SkipMay 4, 2016 at 7:32 AM

    There's a little weather over us out here, too.
    Prolly too much agricultural activity on our part.

    ReplyDelete
  4. ColoCommentMay 4, 2016 at 7:42 AM

    By sheer coincidence, I recently looked up [well, Googled around - "looked up" is sooo old-style library card-catalog research-like phrasing] about renaming ships. In sum it seems that, yes, it may bring bad luck UNLESS you prepare adequately by doing various voodoo-type rituals to expel the nasty things that linger [where? in the bilge?] from the former name. I may have some of that slightly wrong [heh], but that's the gist of it. Just Google "rename ship".

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. OldAFSargeMay 4, 2016 at 9:39 AM

      Wow. Many stories out there regarding the renaming of a ship / boat.

      I guess it's a process. Interesting stuff!

      Delete
    2. PrairieAdventureMay 7, 2016 at 9:57 AM

      For a good story about renaming a ship look to USS Squailfish SS-192.

      Delete
  5. snuffynyMay 4, 2016 at 9:13 AM

    Have nothing much to add here, except . . . your first photo of Endeavor, berthed at Stockton-on-Tees, struck a memory. My wife (at the time) and I spent a week there many years ago. We were house guests of Friedelind Wagner. She was the daughter of German opera composer Siegfried Wagner and his English wife, Winifred Williams and the granddaughter of the composer Richard Wagner. My wife had been a grad student attending one of her "Master Classes." They became friends. I only met the lady two or three times. She owned a small estate (?) on the river there. The main house had a tower with a glass-wrapped cupola. I liked to take my morning coffee up there and watch the day begin below. I was often accompanied by Friedelind's little black Poodle. Apparently, he liked to watch the world from up there too.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. OldAFSargeMay 4, 2016 at 9:41 AM

      How Wagnerian.

      Or something like that. (Great story, as I have come to expect from you.)

      Delete
  6. Well Seasoned FoolMay 4, 2016 at 1:16 PM

    The cynic in me wonders how many palms were crossed with lucre each time that ship was sold.

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    Replies
    1. OldAFSargeMay 4, 2016 at 1:17 PM

      No doubt the taxpayers felt the pain. (Or "The Bern," if you will.)

      Delete
  7. (not necessarily your) Uncle SkipMay 4, 2016 at 1:58 PM

    Upon further thought, His Mahesty's Bark is also an underhanded way of calling someone an SOB.
    (Don't ask me where that cvame from)

    ReplyDelete
  8. Old NFOMay 4, 2016 at 6:53 PM

    The 'tween decks' were low, and I can't imagine trying to work there, much less in moderate seas!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Murphy's LawMay 4, 2016 at 7:00 PM

      Is that an observation based on personal recollection? ;-)

      Delete
    2. OldAFSargeMay 5, 2016 at 4:20 AM

      Cajun - I noticed that in the video, not a lot of head room!

      Delete
    3. OldAFSargeMay 5, 2016 at 4:21 AM

      He wouldn't know that Murph, no flight deck on an Endeavour-Class bark.

      Delete
  9. Murphy's LawMay 4, 2016 at 7:00 PM

    Seriously cool.

    ReplyDelete
  10. HMS DefiantMay 4, 2016 at 11:43 PM

    Don't even think of pulling an Exile in Portales lateral move to heaven.

    See your doctor.

    Get better in accordance with the best doctor advice and drugs.

    As usual, good post.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. OldAFSargeMay 5, 2016 at 4:23 AM

      Oh dear no, Cap'n. I wouldn't think of that. I'm just having a case of the blahs. Colleagues have made life "interesting," as in I'm doing multiple face palms a day. Adds a bit o' stress to an otherwise pretty good gig.

      Thanks.

      Delete
  11. PrairieAdventureMay 7, 2016 at 10:00 AM

    Hope you're feeling better Sarge. Wish I could bottle and send some prairie awakening your way. I've not found a better blah cure.

    ReplyDelete

Just be polite... that's all I ask. (For Buck)
Can't be nice, go somewhere else...

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