Australia. Endeavour sails for Perth 2011

Endeavour, the magnificent replica of Captain James Cook?s ship, HMB Endeavour, was escorted out of Sydney Harbour by a fleet of Olympic class Laser yachts to mark the vessel's flagship role in Fremantle during the Perth 2011 ISAF Sailing World Championships in December.

Fremantle will be one of 18 ports that Endeavour will visit as part of a first ever circumnavigation of Australia, heading north from Sydney. Other ports of call in Western Australia include Broome, Exmouth, Geraldton, Bunbury and Albany.

In each port before her arrival in Fremantle, Endeavour will help promote the Perth 2011 ISAF Sailing World Championships and the Olympic sport of sailing. Ten Olympic class world titles are being contested in Perth in December and the world championships will also decide 75 per cent of national qualifications to compete in the London 2012 Olympic Games.

Endeavour?s visit will add grandeur to the Sailing World Championships, with the wooden replica providing a dramatic contrast to the modern fibreglass and carbon fibre Olympic class boats. During the Fremantle visit, Perth 2011 is organising day sails, corporate dinners and cocktail parties which will give guests the chance to learn about day-to-day life on an 18th century vessel.

Having overseen the building of Endeavour and her first circumnavigation of the globe, John Longley, Event Director for Perth 2011, is delighted that the people of Western Australia will have an opportunity to once again connect with Endeavour.

?It?s over ten years since the ship was last seen in the waters off Fremantle, so this visit will be the first time that many people see this magnificent sailing ship,? John Longley said. ?Guests to the ship during the Sailing World Championships will feel they are in a ?virtual museum?, as the ship is built to the exact specifications of Captain James Cook?s original, which sailed on Australian waters 230 years ago.?

Working with the Australian National Maritime Museum, Perth 2011 is a significant event partner in the circumnavigation voyage. As part of the arrangement with the Australian National Maritime Museum, Perth 2011 agreed to charter Endeavour for the three week period of the ISAF Sailing World Championships this December.

From December 2 ? 18, Perth 2011 will make the ship available for three spectacular packages...

? Endeavour Day Sails.
? Endeavour Cocktail Parties
? Endeavour Great Cabin Dinners

Each package provides a unique corporate hospitality experience over the 2011 Christmas period. For more details on Endeavour opportunities, contact peter.bowman@perth2011.com.

Round the world sailor Jessica Watson enthralled a group of Brisbane school children with stories of sailing and the sea when she joined them on a visit to Endeavour, the replica of Captain James Cook?s ship now in Brisbane after the first leg of her circumnavigation of Australia.


Jessica was visiting the Endeavour in her role as an Ambassador for Perth 2011 ISAF Sailing World Championships being held this December in Western Australia. Endeavour will be a centre piece attraction of the world championships while berthed in Fremantle Harbour.

Children from schools in Brisbane had the opportunity to talk with Jessica after going on board the replica of the HMB Endeavour. which was built in Fremantle. In her Perth 2011 ambassadorial role, Jessica spoke to them about sailing as an Olympic sport and explained how Endeavour would be in Fremantle during the largest international sailing event of the year.

?This incredible vessel is going to be a major attraction when she gets back to Fremantle and the place where she was built?, Jessica said. ?This is Australia?s biggest ever international sailing event and it?s fantastic that an Australian favourite like the Endeavour will be there.?

As an ambassador for the 2011 ISAF Sailing World Championships, to be held in Perth in December, Watson is doing what she can to put the sport in the spotlight.
?I think sailing is something that does sort of get forgotten about when it comes to sport and the Olympics," she told WAtoday. "It's a highly competitive and quite amazing sport.?

?You're going to have lots of spectators, great events on the land, and also the competition out there," Watson said. "I mean, it's the world's best Olympic sailors who are going to be out there, so it's going to be quite exciting.?
Among the questions Jessica was asked by the children in Brisbane was whether she would be competing in Perth. ?I will leave that to the Olympic sailors,? she said.
The Olympic sport of sailing will be promoted to young people throughout the Perth 2011 ISAF Sailing World Championships with displays of Olympic class sailing boats, features on learning to sail and a ?build-a-boat-in-a-day? competition for school children.

Endeavour is due to depart Brisbane 8 May for Gladstone on Queensland?s northern coast. The ship will promote the Perth 2011 Sailing World Championships at each port of call before reaching Fremantle.
Sailors from 80 nations will be competing in World Championships in December, which will also determine the 75 per cent of the qualifications next year?s London 2012 Olympic Games sailing competition.

BYM Sailing & Sport News