Captain Frank Allica at the helm of the HMB Endeavour which has sailed from Tauranga to Gisborne. Photo / Andrew Warner
Captain Frank Allica at the helm of the HMB Endeavour which has sailed from Tauranga to Gisborne. Photo / Andrew Warner
When it comes to the magnificent replica of Captain Cook's sailing ship Endeavour, it's truly like two worlds have collided.
The Australian HMB Endeavour entered Tauranga Harbour last Friday and sailed for Gisborne at 3 pm yesterday with 19 professional crew and 27 non-professional crew onboard.
The Endeavour replica willbe part of a six-vessel flotilla, including traditional Māori waka, and will travel to more than a dozen sites of significance to Pacific voyaging and the first onshore encounters between Māori and Pākehā in 1769.
The HMB Endeavour will arrive in Gisborne on October 8 to join the Tuia 250 commemorative events before heading to Auckland on October 11.
While the HMB Endeavour spent time in Tauranga, the Bay of Plenty Times got the unique chance to have a guided tour by Australian-born Captain Frank Allica.
Captain Frank Allica at the helm of the HMB Endeavour which has sailed from Tauranga to Gisborne. Photo / Andrew Warner
Allica is quick to say he's married to a Kiwi and they live in the Bay of Islands.
There is a lot of bending down as we descend below the main deck to the lower decks including to the faithfully reproduced 18th-century deck.
Captain James Cook and botanist Sir Joseph Banks' rooms were tiny, to say the least.
Captain James Cook's cramped sleeping quarters. Photo / Andrew Warner
Cook's and Banks' sleeping quarters was only about 10 foot by five foot in size and there is only enough room for a bed or a hammock and a few personal belongings.
"Cook was 6 foot 2 and Banks was 6 foot 4. Banks' body would have overhung his bed by a least a foot. Banks also travelled with his two dogs," Allica said.
Part of Cook's quarters was also given up to Banks and the other botanists to use during their voyages to carry out their scientific work.
The 93 other crew onboard the original Endeavour were allocated about a half a metre of space between each other in one of the lower decks to hang their hammocks, and part of the ceiling space was less than five foot high.
It takes more than an hour to lower the anchor - the main anchors weigh 2.5 tonnes each and it takes about half an hour to get the sails ready to change course.
But there are modern features on HMB Endeavour including a navigation room, which includes GPS devices and radar.
On the 20th century deck where once would have been stored three years' worth of food supplies stretching 33m of the ship, now houses an engine room, a generator, a galley, refrigeration, and other modern-day conveniences.
All the lines and ropes on the magnificent vessel look like huge piles of spaghetti, but we're told each one has a very important purpose.
The replica of Captain James Cook's Endeavour may not have all the luxuries of a modern sailing vessel, but two Tauranga men jumped at the chance to crew on it.
Excited Tauranga Coastguard volunteers Chris Newton (left) and Brian Ewald onboard HMB Endeavour. Photo / Andrew Warner
Tauranga Coastguard volunteers Brian Ewald and Chris Newton cannot believe their luck.
"I have been on lots of old sailing ships but I'm absolutely thrilled to get the chance to sail on HMB Endeavour. It's been a dream of mine for a long time. It's like winning Lotto," an excited Ewald said.
Newton, who is also a member of Tauranga Coastguard operations crew, said he had only found out on Monday he was joining the voyage.
"It's an exciting opportunity. It will be an absolutely fantastic experience," he said.
"She [HMB Endeavour] is a very faithful replica and beautifully made, and I feel honoured to captain her and to be part of this quite special event," Allica said.
