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HMS Resolution
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Cook's second voyage began on July
13, 1772 from Plymouth, England. He took two Whitby colliers
(refitted coal ships), the Resolution and the Adventure.
The Adventure measured 97 feet in length with 80 crewmen
and scientists aboard. The Resolution, Cook's flagship,
was 111 feet in length with 110 crewmen and scientists aboard.
His orders were to find the southern continent. He plan was
to search for the continent and circumnavigate the globe.
He was bound to find the fabled continent this way. |
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Prior to Cook's day, an accurate measurement
of longitude was virtually impossible. There was no way
to determine the exact time of day, the ship's position,
and the exact time at a fixed point on shore. After 1735,
a device invented by Englishman John Harrison made this
possible. He invented a sea clock called a chronometer,
which kept perfect time under rough sea conditions. Because
of this instrument, Cook was one of the first ship's commanders
to know his exact position on the globe while sailing uncharted
seas. He carried four chronometers aboard the Resolution
and the Adventure.
The ships headed south around the Cape of
Good Hope and toward Antarctica. They crossed the Antarctic
circle for the first time in January, 1773. Too much ice
blocked Cook's way to find the continent of Antarctica and
eventually his ships headed for warmer waters to the east.
After stops in New Zealand and Tahiti, Cook discovered more
islands in the south Pacific. By November, 1773, the Resolution
was underway once again in search of the southern continent.
After reaching the Antarctic Circle in January, 1774, Cook
had sailed farther south than any other explorer. But he
never sighted the continent of Antarctica. Having been separated
from its sister ship, the Adventure made its way
back to England. Cook returned to warmer waters and continued
explorations of the Pacific. He arrived back in England
on July 29, 1775.
Courtesy of: The Mariners Museum
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