The Worst Episodes of Captain's Log: Charting New Zealand's Maritime Heritage

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1. #1 Worst Episode
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   #1 - 1 - Gisborne to Mercury Bay

   S1:E11/1/2001

   The first episode looks at Cook's first encounters with local Māori, on the east coast of the North Island. Some greeted Cook with pōwhiri; others took exception to the murder and kidnapping the Europeans brought despite their declarations of peace. Meanwhile in the third clip Elliott learns all about the P Class Yacht, and meets a young Tauranga sailor with blonde hair who bears a distinct resemblance to future America’s Cup skipper Peter Burling. "He was the ultimate really. What he was able to achieve way back then with the technology he had available just leaves me in awe." – Royal NZ Navy Commander Clive Holmes, on Captain James Cook

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   #2 - 2 - Mercury Bay to Cape Reinga

   S1:E21/8/2001

   The second episode heads from Mercury Bay to Cape Reinga. Elliott diverts from Cook’s wake to Waitemata Harbour to investigate New Zealand boatbuilding history, and sail a Team New Zealand America’s Cup yacht with Tom Schnackenberg. Elliott then boards HMNZS Te Kaha to "hoon" up the coast to rejoin The Endeavour's path. In the Bay of Islands he meets Waitangi waka paddlers, crews on tall ship R Tucker Thompson, and dives to the Rainbow Warrior wreck off the Cavalli Islands. "These days, of course, it's a depth sounder and fish finder and all the rest of it, which I'm actually quite grateful for at the moment." – Ferro captain Keith Pine on improvements in navigation since Cook's time, while crossing the Firth of Thames

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   #3 - 3 - Cape Reinga to Lyttelton

   S1:E31/15/2001

   In this third episode of Captain’s Log, Peter Elliott tracks Captain Cook’s journey down the west coast of the North Island. First he takes the Ranui down to Kaipara Harbour, before hitching a ride on the old kauri schooner Te Aroha to Queen Charlotte Sound. Elliott recounts the story of Cook’s realisation that a strait existed between the two islands, before a brief trip to Wellington on (now defunct) catamaran The Lynx. The episode's final stop is Elliott’s hometown of Lyttelton on the peninsula formerly known as Banks Island, where he takes a hair-raising dive on a lifeboat. "...He was almost certain that the charting that he'd done for the last three and a half months was in fact around an island. This discovery was so momentous that [Joseph] Banks insisted on calling this passage of water Cook Strait." – Presenter Peter Elliott, on James Cook's botanist Joseph Banks naming Cook Strait

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   #4 - 4 - Lyttelton to D'Urville Island

   S1:E41/22/2001

   This fourth episode of Captain’s Log sees host Peter Elliott journeying around the bottom of the South Island, tracing the end of James Cook’s first journey around New Zealand. The precarious Otago Harbour is navigated in an oil tanker, before a much smaller boat takes Elliott around the bottom of Stewart Island to Fiordland, where his captain Lance Shaw describes major conservation efforts in the area. A trip up the treacherous West Coast in a concrete carrier is cause for nerves, then a sail aboard Spirit of New Zealand offers a chance to reflect on the journey. "I'm immensely grateful to live in this glorious country. I've shared stories and heartfelt warmth from Māori and Pākehā, experienced fear and beauty, boredom and laughter, memories and tears." – Peter Elliott reflecting on his journey around New Zealand

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