Danger on the High Seas

Endeavour. Does that name bring up any memories for you from grade school history class?

With the recent problems on cruise ships, I was thinking about how terrible it is when people are stuck at sea with no way to get help. People are truly at the mercy of others (as well as mother nature) in those situations and, fortunately, most of the time everyone is saved.

But, look back in history and you will see how treacherous ocean travel used to be. We have quite a few books on old ships and charts for making models of them and one of my favorites is “Captain Cook’s Endeavour” by Karl Heinz Marquardt. The ship was built in 1764 and was used for a voyage of discovery with James Cook as the commander of the expedition. Something I had forgotten was the specific mission of the Endeavour. The Royal Society wanted to send astronomers to the South Pacific to observe the transition of Venus between the Earth and Sun on June 3, 1769. It was going to be a rare event, not to be repeated for over 100 years. They believed the observation would bring a great deal of new understanding to the existing world of astronomy and the science of navigation.
The ship transported several scientists, astronomers, and artists and a crew of about 90 men.

Now, here is what I find very interesting. The ship’s log with daily entries telling of activities and hardships is fascinating. It makes the recent cruise ship problems seem like a piece of cake.

A few examples:

12/2/1768 Intended date of departure from Rio. The seaman Peter Flower fell overboard and drowned. Hired a Portuguese seaman as replacement.
1/16/1769 Anchored in the Bay of Success to take in wood and water. Mr. Banks and several men went on land to gather plants, etc. Unable to come back the same day and Thomas Richmond and George Dorlton froze to death overnight.
4/17/1769 Alexander Buchan, landscape artist in Banks’ retinue, died of epilepsy.
7/9/1769 Marines Clement Webb and Samuel Gibson deserted
7/11/1769 Deserters back on board. Punished with 20 lashes.
8/28/1769 Boatswain’s mate John Reading died from excessive drinking.
In the first 3 months of 1771, 24 men died, probably from bad water brought on board. At one point, there were only about 20 able bodied men to handle the ship. The rest were either sick, dying, or dead.

Although most of the men on the voyage were hired on or volunteered for the trip, some were ‘Shanghied.’ Can you imagine being stuck on a ship, doing hard labor, for 3-4 years with no hope for rescue? The gentleman that died from excessive drinking may have found his only way out. Better than being swept overboard or freezing to death I guess.

This isn’t the only area of hardship people suffered to bring scientific discovery to our world. I often think of the trials of Lewis and Clark and their team members. I am grateful to the people, past and present, that have put their own lives on the line to bring knowledge to us. They faced tremendous hardships, were deprived of the comfort of home and family, and often lost their lives in far away places or uncharted waters. My sympathy is with the cruise ship victims but my heart, admiration, and respect are with the brave adventurers of the Endeavour.