As the close of the surveying season in Newfoundland waters approached, Grenville managed to leave the Bay of Islands on the west coast of Newfoundland on 27 September, 1767. Cook had filled in the surveying gap between his work in 1764 and in 1766.
On 13 October, Grenville rounded Cape Race and anchored that evening in St. John’s Harbour.
At 7pm got under weigh and turned up the Harbour. pm came to in 6 fathoms water with the small bower and best bower and moored with the kedge anchor. Found riding here Commodore Palliser in the Guernsey with the Merlin sloop and Hope schooner.
A mast was replaced during the stopover. Grenville took on board some artifacts that Captain Andrew Wilkinson,1 Niger, had acquired for Joseph Banks. The brig left on 23 October, and on 7 November they were south of Portland Bill, in the English Channel.
23 October. am Hove up and came to sail. At noon Cape Spear WSW about 5 miles.
7 November. 12 noon Spoke with an English ship who informed us Portland bore N 8 leagues distance.
Two days later they picked up a pilot at the Downs, and entered the mouth of the Thames. Disaster struck on the afternoon of 10 November. During “a hard storm of wind with excessive heavy squalls and showers of rain” Grenville slipped her anchor, and was driven onto the Knock shoal, with dire results.
10 November. At 4pm anchored above the Nore Light (it bearing ESE) in 7 fathoms water. At 6 the best bower parted and we trailed into shoal waters. At 7 she struck very hard. Got a spring upon the small bower cable and cut the cable in order to cast her head to the southward and get her under weigh but the spring gave way and she cast to the northward directly ashore upon the shoal called the Knock. Got the topsails and crossjackyard down upon deck and she lay pretty easy until the flood made when the gales still continuing she struck very hard and lay down upon her larboard bildge. Hoisted out the boats and hove everything overboard from off the deck and secured all the hatchways. At 12 at night there being no prospect of the gale ceasing took all the people away in the boats. The cutter made the best of way to Sheerness for assistance.
11 November. At 10am the weather being moderate came on board with proper assistance from Sheerness Yard in order to get the vessel off and found she had received little damage. Began to lightening her by heaving out shingle ballast and pigs of iron ballast and to lay out anchors to heave her off. At high water pm the vessel floated. Hove her off and made sail for Sheerness. At 5 anchored between Sheerness and the Nore Light.
12 November am Employed clearing the decks and putting the hold to right. pm Got from the Yard 2 topsail yards and a crossjack yard and such stores as we wanted. Discharged the Deal pilot and took on board a river pilot.
Cook hastily sent off two letters to the Admiralty describing his plight. He was able to get underway again at noon on the 13th, having swapped the Downs pilot for a river pilot. They moored at Deptford two days later.
15 November. At 9 lashed along side the William & Mary Yacht off Deptford Yard.
Among the items lost overboard or jettisoned in the panic was a canoe, one of the items sent by Captain Wilkinson for Joseph Banks. Wilkinson told Banks about the loss, and suggested he get in touch with Cook. Whether or not he did was not recorded.
On his return to Britain, Cook did some survey work for Palliser at his property, The Vache in Buckinghamshire.
Mr Pownel has promis'd to fix a day when Mr Cook may go to the office to take a Sketch of our Estates, from the large plan, and I will apply for a Coppy of the conditions &c.2
When Cook arrived home at Mile End, he found no new additions to his family. Daughter Elizabeth was a year old, and the two boys, James and Nathaniel, were now four and three, respectively.
Cook’s work from 1767 is represented by a manuscript chart in the Admiralty Library at Taunton. It is MS C54/1 covering from Cape Anguille to Point Ferolle. Cook submitted this chart in late 1767 and it was published in 1768.
Cook was not to know that he would not be returning to Newfoundland. The work that he had accomplished over the previous five years had impressed the powers-that-be in the Admiralty so much that, when a man was required to lead an expedition to the Pacific, Cook was the obvious choice. Cook was probably torn between taking on the challenge of the Pacific voyage and the promotion, and finishing the task of completing the charting of Newfoundland. His deputy in 1767, Matthew Lane, would be given that task.
The Cook family as at December 1767
James Grace John Mary Samuel
Cook = Pace Blackburn = Smith = Batts
James = Elizabeth
Cook ________________│____________________ Batts
│ │ │
James Nathaniel Elizabeth
Cook Cook Cook
Originally published in Cook's Log, page 8, volume 40, number 4 (2017).
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