Day 1 Attempt to Cross the Bar

What an amazing site to see some 238 years later in history.
On April 8th 1795 David Zeisburger missionary to the Delaware Indians in North America wrote in his diary "The trader, McKenzie, brought news of his uncle who had arrived in Detroit.This man had travelled northwest as far as the sea, a journey which took two years. He had taken Indians from one nation to another. He reckons he got to the sea by northern California. The sea was full of ice and he marked many trees there. The Indians in those distant areas have never seen white people and are dressed in skins. They hunt with bows and arrows and use earthen pots to cook with which they make themselves. Among the many strange things he brought were Otter skins. The otter is black and,without its tail, measures six feet in length. The local indians told him that some years ago they had seen a great machine on the sea. That could have been Cook who sailed along that coast. The traveller was taking his news to England.
Excerpt from the Fairfield Diaries 1792-1813 translated and edited by Linda Sabathy Judd. Copywright the Champlain Society 1999.
It was without doubt a time of great adventure that has led to our world as we know it today.

The Endeavour Replica came around the southern Flagstaffs Headland and waited for instruction from the local coastguard. About an hour later the decision was made to attempt the crossing.

Hundreds of Local Hastings Valley Residents turned out to witness the Replica enter the Breakwalls at Port Macquarie only to see it turn around and head back to sea due to the heavy currents around the entry.

You must wonder what the local Biripai people thought when they saw this strange object sailing past the Hastings Valley in 1770. Cook had seen the mountains just south of here near current day Laurieton and had called them the three brothers just as Aboriginal legend refers to them.

After appearing in the waters off Port Macquarie around midday on the 22nd September 2009 the Endeavour Replica attempted to cross the Bar at around 12.56pm. It was an unsuccessfull attempt as the Captain decided to return to see and await the following day for better conditions.