Adventure (ship) - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Adventure was a sloop

Sloop

A sloop is a sail boat with a fore-and-aft rig and a single mast farther forward than the mast of a cutter....

Maritime Fur Trade

The Maritime Fur Trade was a ship-based fur trade system that focused on acquiring furs of sea otters and other animals from the indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast and natives of Alaska. The furs were mostly sold in China in exchange for tea, silks, porcelain, and other Chinese...

ship built by the crew of Captain Robert Gray on his second voyage to the Northwest Coast of North America

North America

North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...

. The 45-ton sloop was built to allow the trading venture to access smaller inlets the Columbia
Columbia Rediviva
Columbia Rediviva was a privately owned ship under the command of John Kendrick, along with Captain Robert Gray, best known for going to the Pacific Northwest for the maritime fur trade. The "Rediviva" was added to her name upon a rebuilding in 1787...

could not reach. At the end of his second voyage Gray sold the ship to the Spanish Navy

Spanish Navy

The Spanish Navy is the maritime branch of the Spanish Armed Forces, one of the oldest active naval forces in the world. The Armada is responsible for notable achievements in world history such as the discovery of Americas, the first world circumnavigation, and the discovery of a maritime path...

. It was renamed Orcacitas (also spelled Orcasitas or Horcasitas) and served the Naval Department of San Blas

San Blas, Nayarit

San Blas is both a municipality and municipal seat located on the Pacific coast of Mexico in the state of Nayarit.-City:San Blas is a port and a popular tourist destination, located about 100 miles north of Puerto Vallarta, and 40 miles west of the state capital Tepic. The town has a population of...

for some years.

Construction

The skeleton of the craft was brought with the Columbia when it sailed from Boston

Boston

Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...

in 1790. At Clayoquot Sound

Clayoquot Sound

Clayoquot Sound is located on the west coast of Vancouver Island in the Canadian province of British Columbia. It is bordered by the Esowista Peninsula to the south, and the Hesquiaht Peninsula to the North. It is a body of water with many inlets and islands. Major inlets include Sydney Inlet,...

the crew of the Columbia built the winter quarters that were named Fort Defiance

Fort Defiance (British Columbia)

Fort Defiance was a small outpost built by the crew of the Columbia Rediviva during the winter of 1791-1792. The crew under the command of American merchant and maritime fur trader Captain Robert Gray built the establishment on Meares Island in present day British Columbia, Canada.-History:In early...

and also began construction of the Adventure. The keel was laid on October 3, 1791 on Meares Island

Meares Island

Meares Island is one of the many islands surrounding the Village of Tofino, British Columbia, Canada. Its name was given in 1862 by George Henry Richards, captain of HMS Hecate, in honor of John Meares...

. Over the winter the ship slowly began to take shape. Then on February 23, 1792, the ship was launched, but not without first getting stuck half-way down the ramp. Thus the first American built vessel on the Pacific was launched. The first non-indigenous vessel built on the Pacific Northwest

Pacific Northwest

The Pacific Northwest is a region in northwestern North America, bounded by the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains on the east. Definitions of the region vary and there is no commonly agreed upon boundary, even among Pacific Northwesterners. A common concept of the...

coast was the North West America, constructed in 1788 by Chinese labourers employed by British captain John Meares

John Meares

John Meares was a navigator, explorer, and maritime fur trader, best known for his role in the Nootka Crisis, which brought Britain and Spain to the brink of war.- Career :...

. Spain had been building ships on the Pacific coast of Mexico since the 16th century.

First voyage

On Monday, April 2, 1792, the Adventure set sail for its maiden voyage. The captain was Robert Haswell

Robert Haswell

Robert Haswell was an early American maritime fur trader to the Pacific Northwest of North America. His journals of these voyages are the main records of Captain Robert Gray's circumnavigation of the globe...

, the First Mate of the Columbia. Also assigned to the small ship was Abraham Waters, who became the mate on the Adventure. He had been Fourth Mate on the Columbia. Ten others were assigned, giving the ship a total crew of twelve men.

Only a few weeks after departing from the Columbia, the Adventure rendezvoused on April 17 and transferred 500 skins to the larger ship before separating again. After this the 45-ton ship sailed northward. In July they reached as far north as Sitka Sound

Sitka Sound

Sitka Sound is a body of water near the city of Sitka, Alaska. It is bordered by Baranof Island to the south and the northeast, by Kruzof Island to the northwest and by the Pacific Ocean to the southwest...

in Russian-America. After continued trading, including stops in the Queen Charlotte Islands

Queen Charlotte Islands

Haida Gwaii , formerly the Queen Charlotte Islands, is an archipelago on the North Coast of British Columbia, Canada. Haida Gwaii consists of two main islands: Graham Island in the north, and Moresby Island in the south, along with approximately 150 smaller islands with a total landmass of...

, the Adventure and crew re-joined Gray and the Columbia near Port Montgomery on September 3, 1792.

Spanish vessel

Shortly after his departure as commandant of Nootka Sound, Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Quadra

Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Quadra

Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Quadra was a Spanish naval officer born in Lima, Peru. Assigned to the Pacific coast Spanish Naval Department base at San Blas, in the Viceroyalty of New Spain , this navigator explored the Northwest Coast of North America as far north as present day Alaska.Juan...

met Gray in the Columbia with the Adventure in company. The two captains had previously discussed the idea of selling the Adventure, and agreed to discuss it further at Neah Bay

Neah Bay, Washington

Neah Bay is a census-designated place on the Makah Indian reservation in Clallam County, Washington, United States. The population was 794 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Neah Bay is located at ....

, a Spanish outpost in the process of being abandoned. They sailed in convoy to Neah Bay, arriving on September 26. In addition to the Columbia and Adventure, Neah Bay was occupied by the Spanish vessels Princesa
La Princesa (1778)
La Princesa was a Spanish frigate or corvette built at the Spanish Navy base at San Blas and launched in 1778. She is sometimes called a frigate and sometimes a corvette...

, Activa, under Salvador Fidalgo

Salvador Fidalgo

Salvador Fidalgo y Lopegarcía was a Spanish explorer who commanded an exploring expedition for Spain to Alaska and the Pacific Northwest during the late 18th century.-Early career:...

and Bodega y Quadra, and the American vessel Hope
Hope (ship)
The Hope was an American brig class merchant ship involved in the Maritime Fur Trade along the northwest coast of North America and discovery in the Pacific Ocean...

, under former Columbia First Mate Joseph Ingraham

Joseph Ingraham

Joseph Ingraham was an American sailor and Maritime Fur Trader who discovered several islands of the Marquesas Islands while on his way to trade along the West Coast of North America...

. Bodega y Quadra and Gray soon agreed to a sale of the Adventure. The bill of sale, dated September 28, 1792, indicates the price was "Fifteen hundred Dollars in kind". The phrase "in kind" meant sea otter pelts. According to Captain Robert Haswell, 75 skins of superior quality were paid by Bodega. John Boit of the Columbia calculated the price as "72 prime Sea Otter Skins worth 55 Dollars each in Canton which is to 3960$, which at 50 per Cent advance at home is 7440 Spanish Piasters, which is a good price." Bodega renamed the sloop Orcacitas, one of the names of the Count of Revillagigedo, Viceroy of New Spain. Bodega did not need the vessel himself, but thought it would be useful to the Naval Department of San Blas. Command of the Orcacitas was given to Gonzalo López de Haro

Gonzalo López de Haro

Gonzalo López de Haro was a Spanish explorer, notable for his expeditions in the Pacific Northwest in the late 18th century....

, and it sailed in convoy with Bodega's Activa to Monterey, California. They left Neah Bay on September 29.

Construction

First voyage

Spanish vessel

See also