Captain James Cook, RN 1728-1779
Cook's ships on his second expedition were Resolution and Adventure. The stamp shows both ships hove-to to take on ice for drinking water in 61°S 30°E on 17th January 1773, close to what is now known as Enderby Land. They were the first ships known to have crossed the Antarctic Circle.
Expeditions: Three naval voyages. Endeavour: 1768-71, Tahiti for the Transit of Venus; Resolution and Adventure: 1772-75, Farthest south 30.01.74. Resolution and Discovery: 1776-80, Alaska, Bering Straits, attempted Northwest Passage and death of Cook, Hawaii. Discoveries: New Zealand and the east coast of Australia (Botany Bay), Endeavour 1772; New Caledonia, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, Resolution and Adventure 1775; Hawaii, Resolution and Discovery, 1778.
HMS Resolution, Length 110 feet, beam 35 feet, 462 tons. Built 1770 Fishburn's Yard, Whitby as the 3-masted barque Drake, a North Sea collier. Purchased by the Royal Navy and renamed Resolution 1772. Naval Service 1772-82. Polar Voyages: Cook 1772-75 and 1776-79; RN transport 1780. Captured by French, E Indies 1782, remains possibly at Newport, Rhode Island, US.
HMS Adventure, Length 97 feet, beam: 28 feet, 336 tons. Built 1771 Fishburn's Yard, Whitby as the 3-masted barque Raleigh a North Sea collier. Purchased by the Royal Navy and renamed Adventure 1772. Naval Service 1772-83. Polar Voyages: Cook 1772-75 (under command of Tobias Furneaux ). Used by RN as a store ship in North America. Broken up 1783.
Detail from BAT Philatelic
SG 2008?