After a seven-week sea crossing, a miniature version of Captain James Cook arrived on board the Seatrade Blue in Sydney on Sunday, shipping company Seatrade and Mini-Europe announced in a press release.
The model of the legendary explorer was welcomed by the Belgian Ambassador to Australia and New Zealand, H.E. Michel Goffin.
The cruise set sail from Rotterdam on 22 March, passing through New York, Kingston and the Panama Canal. At the helm is Captain Valentin Doronin and the statuette of the famous British navigator.
Credit: Mini-Europe
254 years ago, on 29 April 1770, the real Captain Cook landed at Botany Bay, near Sydney, in full view of the Aboriginal Australian peoples on the shore. At the time, the Endeavour (Captain Cook's famous ship) took just over eight months to make the crossing.
"When James Cook cast off from HMS Endeavour in 1768, he had no idea that his miniature ship would be following in his footsteps several centuries later," the two companies said. "The fact that this slightly crazy and zany idea has become a reality is thanks to an unprecedented cooperation between Mini-Europe and the shipowner Seatrade."
At the end of this voyage, Captain Cook will take his place once and for all at the wheel of the scale model of HMS Endeavour – his own three-masted ship, which has been anchored in the waters of Mini-Europe, the Brussels miniature monument park, since last summer.
Credit: Mini-Europe
"The Endeavour is certainly one of the most beautiful miniature reproductions in our park," said the founder of Mini-Europe Thierry Meeùs. "Captain Cook represents an important episode in European history: during his explorations, he mapped New Zealand and Australia, providing Europe with a wealth of knowledge about these countries, but also paving the way for colonisation. The impact of these voyages is still felt today."
The Seatrade Blue will leave for Europe on Monday, returning to the port of Zeebrugge at the end of June.
