Another observation was the June 11, 1770 'discovery' that the Endeavour had been unknowingly threading through the Great Barrier Reef. This 'discovery' of what is now known as Endeavour Reef almost led to the demise of the ship and crew. Cook wrote ". . .the Ship Struck and stuck fast. Immediately upon this we took in all our Sails, hoisted out the Boats and Sounded round the Ship, and found that we had got upon the South-East Edge of a reef of coral rocks . . .". As usual, Banks was more dramatic and wrote "Our situation became now greatly alarming . . .", and "Now in my own opinion I intirely gave up the ship and packing up what I thought I might save prepard myself for the worst." Cook had the ship's boats carry the anchor out and attempted to heave the Endeavour off the reef to no avail. They jettisoned the cannons, ballast, casks and anything else they could get rid of. Fortunately, there was little wind, because they had struck at high tide and it was some 35 hours before the ship could be sailed off the reef.
The coral had put a large hole in the hull which the sailors stemmed by lowering a sail over the side of the ship and using it to 'fother' the leak, and coupled with frantic pumping by the crew, they kept the HMS Endeavour afloat long enough to sail into a river (now named the Endeavour River) and beach the ship in what is now Cooktown. They examined the hull and Cook discovered "A large peice of Coral rock was sticking in one Hole, and several peices of the Fothering, small stones, etc., had made its way in, and lodged between the Timbers, which had stopped the Water from forcing its way in in great Quantities." Banks wrote "The effects of the Coral rock upon her bottom is difficult to describe but more to beleive; it had cut through her plank and deep into one of her timbers, smoothing the gashes still before it so that the whole might easily be imagind to be cut with an axe." The coral had not only stopped the HMS Endeavour in its tracks, but the piece that had broken off had likely saved the ship. The unplanned stay to repair the hull allowed Banks and his team to collect and catalog numerous plants and animals as well as observe the natives.
