Due to the frequency of the sightings of The Schooner Tall Ships, sloop-rigged, and square riggers here in Washington I have included photos of them to add to our feature. The “Lady” Lady Washington, is essentially a floating museum, a full-scale replica of an 18th Century brig. The largest square rigged sailing vessel currently operating on the West Coast, it is owned and operated by the Grays Harbor Historical seaport Authority. Its mission is to “enhance the public’s understanding of the importance of the voyages of Captains Gray, Cook and Kendrick and their significant contribution to the state of Washington, Oregon, the Pacific Northwest and the United States.” (photos by Lea)

In recognition of Hawai'is statehood's 45th Anniversary: Hawai'i was admitted as the 50th state of the United States of America on August 21, 1959. A bit of a history lesson.

On our last boat trip to Victoria B.C. I learned more about Captain Cook. His connection to the Hawaiian Islands and inevitable demise.

Captain James Cook, R.N. – 1778

I had the ambition to not only go farther than man had gone before, but to go as far as it was possible to go.
- Captain Cook

1778 Great Britain's explorer, Captain James Cook, reached Nootka Sound and became the first white man to set foot on British Columbian soil.

On December 30, 1776, Cook and Clerke sailed away from the island for New Zealand. This was Cook's last contact with the Antarctic region. Cook was advised to wait until the summer of 1778 before starting his search for the Northwest Passage. On January 18, 1778, Cook made his last great discovery...the Hawaiian Islands. For the following month, the two ships sailed north up the west coast of America. Several unsuccessful attempts to locate the passage were tried along the coasts of Canada and Alaska. After sailing through the Bering Strait and crossing the Arctic Circle, Cook abandoned his search and turned both ships south for the Hawaiian Islands.                           

 Click on Thumbnails

 In the spring of 1778 Captain James Cook, R.N., became the first known European to set foot on what is now British Columbia. Permanent European settlement, long delayed, was brought about by the gradual overland penetration of the fur trade companies towards the Pacific Coast. On March 13, 1843, Chief Factor of the Hudson's Bay Company James Douglas, accompanied by the pioneer Roman Catholic missionary Father J.B.Z. Bolduc, anchored off Clover Point in the "Beaver." The next day he selected the site for Fort Victoria. By mid-June Chief Factor Charles Ross was busy at work constructing the new post. The positioning of the statue of Captain Cook>

 in the inner harbor of Victoria, facing the Empress Hotel, underscores his centrality to a European

understanding of the land that Victoria was constructed on.

His remarkable voyages of exploration came to an abrupt end when, due to an unfortunate misunderstanding with his former Hosts, he was killed trying to prevent his men from firing at an angry crowd of Hawaiians.

They reached the islands at the end of November and in the middle of January, 1779, Cook anchored at Kealakekua Bay where he was greeted by thousands of cheering natives. In this picturesque bay, Hawaiians and Europeans had their first prolonged encounter when Capt. James Cook visited. Kealakekua was a Hawaiian political and religious center, and the chiefs and priests may have believed that Cook was the god Lono. (After all, Cook arrived under full sail, and legends foretold that Lono would appear on a "floating island" under streamers of white tapa cloth.)

 Upon returning to his ship on February 10, Cook discovered a native had stolen one of their boats. Cook went ashore on the 14th with a squad of marines to take the king back to the ship as a hostage. The king was even willing to go but when they reached the water's edge, a large group of natives stopped them and urged the king not to go. Up the shoreline, a chief was killed while trying to leave the beach and suddenly the mood became very hostile. A native approached Cook in a threatening manner and Cook fired at him. The natives attacked and the marines fired back with guns and bayonets. The battle only lasted a few minutes but when it was over, Cook lay dead on the beach.

James Cook died near the end of the third voyage. He was killed by Hawaiian islanders possibly because of an incident in which one of his lieutenants shot and killed one of the island's chiefs. He died in February 1779. The Captain was 50 years old.

 Later on, when tempers cooled, his remains were returned to his crew and he was buried at sea. A Naval Warship from Great Britain stops by each year to take care of his memorial near Kona on the Big Island of Hawaii. The small white obelisk stands on one of the only two pieces of Sovereign Territory left in America. This small patch of land is technically a part of England.   

 Captain Cook Monument, near Napoopoo on the north side of sheltered Kealakekua Bay, ("the pathway of the god") stands where famous British explorer Captain Cook landed and met his death in 1779. The spot is marked by a submerged plaque that can be read through the water and is best seen by taking one of the boats that cruise the bay.
Along the bay rises Pali Kapu O Keoua, a 600-foot-high sea cliff wall with lava tubes in front of the vessel's mooring which are sacred burial sites for the "alii" or Hawaiian chiefs. It was believed that the power of the royal person was in the bones, so they went to great lengths to insure the secrecy of the burial sites...to preserve their power or "mana." The process was to lower the remains of the royalty and a chosen person would bury the late chief and then the person would be cut loose to fall to his death taking the location of the site with him. This was considered an honor to bury your chief.

On the far side is Kaawaloa, a flat, lava peninsula where top chiefs resided. Cook was killed here, and the white obelisk of Captain Cook's Monument stands among kiawe trees.

                                                                              Wyland Whale Wall

http://www.geocities.com/TheTropics/7557/3death.html 

http://www.geocities.com/TheTropics/7557/ 

http://www.city.victoria.bc.ca/business/about_his.shtml  Victoria

Photos by Lea

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in any fashion or other website, without written authorization from Danny Couch and Lea Cook, web-owner.

Site Contrived Jan. '01 Launched Apr. '02