June 16^th
"Sighted the Island at daylight and at 11.30am anchored in Honolulu. Whilst proceeding to anchorage the Endymion ran into the Phoebe and Charybdis doing a great deal of damage to each ship."

"The island is very uninteresting looking as seen from the ship but there are some pretty rides about especially to the Pali a precipice about six miles from Honolulu where some king is said too have driven a whole army of his enemies over - it is a thousand feet high."	King Kari Kouri V
"But the island is not the fairy island some believe it to be. I think the natives a fine race of people. We used to go to a pool in a neighbouring stream and bathe during the heat of the day and see the native women dive from a rock about 30 ft high into the pool."

Queen Emma	"Queen Emma gave up her palace to us for a picnic given by the English residents which we enjoyed very much. The King also held a levee which was attended by the admiral and the captains."
	"The missionaries hold great sway in the island and no liquor is allowed to be sold on Sundays. Horses are very plentiful so we had no lack of rides. It was on one of these islands of the group poor Captain Cook was killed. There is a large extinct crater here 9 miles in circumference called Diamond Head. A great portion of the population are chinamen. The Kings income is about 40,000 a year. He is a tremendous great man."
	"The harbour was too small to admit us so we all lay outside the reef where we rolled about as if we were at sea and the water so clear that you could see your anchor and cable laying at the bottom. All the officers used to bathe till they caught a shark on board the flagship twelve and a half feet long. The boats used to bring plenty of fruit especially marsh melons."

June 23^rd

"Sailed from Honolulu with the fine trades shaping course to the south."

June 24^th
"Wind fell light � caught a shark."

June 25^th
"Bowling along 6 knots. The flagship lost a man overboard. Winds have been very favourable as yet, no sooner losing the NE trades than we picked up the SE trades."

June 30^th
"Caught two sharks that had been swimming around the ship all day. Flagship hove too. Captain went onboard to dine with Admiral."

"Our ship is quite a farmyard since we left Honolulu. The officers have 80 sheep for their own consumption, five tremendous great bullocks for the men besides any amount of turkeys, ducks, fowls etc."

Hawaiian warriors in olden times	July 4th "At 6pm crossed the line in long 157 1 w".
	July 5th "Flagship hove to. Captains went onboard to dine with Admiral. I also went on board the flagship to see some of the officers (came back rather tight!)."
	July 7th "We had a sailing race in which the Liffey won easily."
	July 8th "We gave a sort of penny reading to the men. Old Croker, our chaplain giving a scientific lecture mingled with a great deal of blarney."
	"We have now lost the SE trades in Lat 18 and have light variable winds with a heavy SW swell. "

"We have another penny reading and we are to have these once a week till we arrive at Valparaiso."

July 20^th
"In about 30 degrees of S lat we had a strong gale of wind from the NE bowling along about 10 knots an hour. My Tasmanian cousin Cheri is in very good health and spirits at present."

July 27^th
"We had amateur theatricals on board when Black Eyed Susan was acted by our Officers."

1^st August
"We are now 2000 miles from Valparaiso and have northerly winds. The weather is gradually getting colder. There are three dogs on board: a large black Newfoundland, an Australian dingo and a little terrier. These beasts are continually skylarking about the decks. Our sails are nearly worn out every little squall some sail splits, but we expect to get a new suit at Valparaiso to round the horn.

"The westerly winds are still strong."

Friday 5^th
"We had more penny readings and the men acted box and cox."

Sunday August 7^th
"850 miles off Valparaiso, wind light.

August 10^th
"Passed about 30 miles from Juan Fernandez where the memorable Alexander Selkirk spent four years of his life." ¹

August 11 ^th
"More amateur theatricals"

¹     Alexander Selkirk was the inspiration behind Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe. Born of Scottish parentage in 1676, Selkirk ran away to sea and quickly joined the English privateers, pirates sanction by the English government to prey on enemy country's merchant ships. Falling out with his Captain, Selkirk demanded to be left on the Island of Juan Fernandez 400 miles from the cost of Chile. Alone and with meagre provisions Selkirk survived for four years until rescued by a British vessel in 1709.

© Copyright Charles Fountain May 2002

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