Shropshire Star

Wreck found off Rhode Island could be Captain Cook’s Endeavour

The ship was scuttled off the US coast during the Revolutionary War to blockade the French navy.

Published
HM Bark Endeavour replica

The head of Australia’s navy has described a wreck found off the Rhode Island as “very exciting” as researchers seek to establish whether it is Captain James Cook’s ship, the Endeavour.

Experts have identified a site off the coast of US state Rhode Island.

The Rhode Island Marine Archaeology Project, which is leading the search effort, and the Australian National Maritime Museum identified the site in the harbour near Newport, Rhode Island.

Archaeologists were meeting on Friday in Newport to talk about their recent fieldwork.

New Royal Mail stamps
A postage stamp featuring Captain Cook and HM Bark Endeavour (Royal Mail/PA)

“Early indications are that the team has narrowed the possible site for the wreck of HMB Endeavour to one site, which is very promising,” said Kevin Sumption, director and chief executive of the Australian National Maritime Museum.

The Rhode Island Marine Archaeology Project also described the site as promising but said it will still take a lot more work and money to identify it.

Nearly 250 years ago, Cook ran aground on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef during a voyage to the South Pacific.

His ship was the Endeavour, an awkward little vessel that improbably helped him become the first European to chart Australia’s east coast.

HM Bark Endeavour replica
HM Bark Endeavour sails into Whitby (Danny Lawson/PA)

He used the Endeavour to claim Australia for the British during his historic 1768-1771 voyage.

Vice Admiral Michael Noonan, chief of the Royal Australian Navy, said he went diving at the Rhode Island site with researchers.

He measured one of the cannons so the dimensions can be compared to historical records, and they took samples of the wood.

He is hopeful the wreck is the Endeavour.

“Certainly it’s a very exciting discovery in absolute terms,” he said on Friday.

“They’re very, very confident that the Endeavour is in the site.”

HM Bark Endeavour replica
HM Bark Endeavour, a full-scale replica of Captain Cook’s ship (Danny Lawson/PA)

The Endeavour was also part of the fleet of 13 ships the British scuttled during the Revolutionary War in 1778 to blockade Newport Harbour from the French.

It was listed in the records under a different name, the Lord Sandwich.

The non-profit Rhode Island Marine Archaeology Project located documents in London identifying the groups of ships in that fleet and where each was scuttled.

It has been studying the wrecks in Newport Harbour since 1993.

It announced this week that it had narrowed the search for Endeavour to one, or possibly two, archaeological sites.

Sorry, we are not accepting comments on this article.