The replica of one of the most famous ships in the history of maritime exploration is being prepared for a new voyage along the North York Moors coast to Whitby. In August a partnership led by Whitby businessman Andrew Fiddler purchased HM Bark Endeavour, one of only two full-scale replicas in the world of the ship commanded by explorer Captain James Cook for his voyage to Australia and New Zealand.
The partnership’s auction bid of £155,000 safeguarded the replica’s future as a North East visitor attraction, having beaten competing bids that could have seen the ship moved to Portsmouth, London or Dubai. Mr Fiddler now plans to spend nearly £750,000 refurbishing and repairing the 33-metre long Teesside-built ship and then relocating it next year from its current berth at Stockton-on-Tees to Whitby, where the original Endeavour was built in 1764.
The ship will remain in Stockton over winter to undergo extensive refurbishment and much-needed repairs. This will involve the huge logistical operation of moving the vessel from its current position on the river Tees and into a dry dock to enable the refurbishment programme to be carried out. Mr Fiddler intends re-opening HM Bark Endeavour as an historic tourist attraction and centre of learning for schools and colleges, with the aid of product development and business support from the Coastal Communities Fund project being delivered by the North York Moors National Park Authority.
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