GB200CC Special call
2018 marks the 250th anniversary of one of the greatest voyages of exploration in history. It has been likened to the 18th century’s equivalent of NASA’s Apollo missions. However, unlike the NASA missions, this voyage was going into the unknown, with no possible hope of help if disaster struck.
It was the First Voyage of discovery by Lt. James Cook RN. A Lieutenant in the Navy, he had risen from a humble background through the ranks, something extremely rare for those times.
Originally sailing on Whitby colliers he learnt his trade in the North Sea. Surprisingly he then left and joined the Navy. In Quebec, during the war with France, he learnt surveying techniques, made an accurate survey of the St. Lawrence River and reported astronomical observations, which brought him to the attention of the Admiralty who were looking for someone to command a venture to the South Pacific.
The Royal Society (RS) had approached the Admiralty for a ship to sail to Tahiti and view the Transit of Venus in 1769, a rare astronomical observation. The Admiralty insisted that the Captain should be from the Navy, and not a civilian as the RS had demanded. James Cook was chosen.
This was the first scientific voyage of discovery. The gentlemen scientists included Dr. Daniel Solander (naturalist), Charles Green (astronomer), Sydney Parkinson and Alexander Buchan (artists) and Joseph (later Sir Joseph) Banks (naturalist) and his secretary Herman Spöring.
The Admiralty also had secret orders for Lt. Cook. Once the observation had been completed, he was ordered to search for the Great Southern Continent, a fabled land that was supposed to exist in the South Pacific.
As to the ship, a Whitby collier, “The Earl of Pembroke” was chosen, renamed HM Bark “Endeavour”, and, on 25th August 1768, she sailed into legend.
There is far too much about this voyage to write about here, but there are numerous books available and you can visit the Captain Cook Society website, www.captaincooksociety.com for further information of this extraordinary explorer and voyage.
PDARS are pleased to announce that they have been given the Special SES callsign GB25ØCC to mark this voyage. We can hold a Notice of Variation (NOV) to my licence for a period of 28 days. We intend applying for a NOV for this call to coincide with key moments in the voyage, and make contact (if possible) with the Pacific islands that Cook was visiting 250 years earlier. The first NOV is 23/8/2018 to mark the sailing from Plymouth. Hopefully Ofcom will continue to allow us NOVs for this callsign for the next 3 years until the Endeavour returned home.
QSL via G0BPK direct, LOTW, eQSL or via GB250CC Buro.
Ads for direct QSL:
Nigel P. Ferguson, Royd Moor, Badsworth, Pontefract, Yorkshire, WF9 1AZ, England.
