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Captain Cook's tour of the Great Barrier Reef. Among British explorers, Captain James Cook is one of the most famous and one of the greatest. He made three voyages to the South Pacific region and mapped the area with scientific accuracy and remarkable precision. One of the truly extraordinary navigators. Cook rarely found himself in trouble with his ship, But he once had a very close call. In May, 1770 he was exploring Australia's east coast, charting the passage between the Australian mainland and the Great Barrier Reef. He reached what he thought was the southern entrance to the passage one day about dusk Then, deciding to wait for daylight, he headed back to deeper water. What he didnt know was that he was already inside the passage. A few minutes before eleven that night his ship, the'Endeavour!' struck a coral shoal. It took thirty-six hours to get the "Endeavour' off the reef and beached, and another six weeks before the ship was made sea- worthy again. But Cook refused to turn back and his mastery of navigation saved the day. Guiding the ship from the masthead, he con- tinued through the series of reefs until he reached the last barrier; a gigantic reef, with a v-shaped notch, ^ through which ran powerful tidal currents. He could turn around or take a chance, know- ing that a single error would wreck the ship on the rocks on either side of the reef. He made it, and this feat is regarded as a spectacular triumph of navigation. Cook who had discovered Hawaii in 1777. was killed there by the islanders when he returned in 1779- This advertisement, prepared by Gulf Oil, a leading supplier of quality marine fuels and lubricants, is one of a series paying tribute to the great explorers of the sea. It is published in the interest of the shipping industry and those associated with it. - [\ I 1 1 mmmm
