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 Between
the years of 1791 and 1794, Captain George Vancouver, a British Officer,
commanded the HMS Discovery and its accompanying ships on an
exploratory voyage of the Pacific Northwest. While surveying the
northern Pacific Ocean, he and his crew were the first to record the
sighting of Mount St. Helens and the first to explore Puget Sound.
Following the coasts of
Oregon
and
Washington
and intending to explore every bay and outlet of the region, he sent men
in smaller boats to explore the Columbia River and enter the strait of
Juan de Fuca.
While the smaller
vessels explored the many channels and rivers along the coast, the larger
ships, including the Armed Tender of the HMS Discovery, called the
Chatham, often anchored in safe harbors. On April 29, 1792, the
ships entered the Straits of Juan de Fuca and anchored in the calm waters
of Discovery Bay. Utilizing the bay as a base, Vancouver and his men
explored the waters of Admiralty Inlet and Hood Canal.
After several
weeks, the Chatham began to sail north across the Straits of Juan
de Fuca to explore the San Juan and Lopez Islands. After
successfully doing so, the Chatham sailed southward in May to
rejoin the HMS Discovery and continue their explorations south.
The explorations
continued as far as Commencement Bay in Tacoma, before turning around and
returning north, where the waters were safer. Arriving at Puget
Sound, they found a storm raging with severe currents and tides.
Crossing an unknown channel, the Chatham was caught by a flood tide
and swept helpless. To slow her progress, her stream anchor was
dropped but the strain was too much and the cable snapped. However,
the Chatham survived and after sweeping the waters unsuccessfully
for the anchor, the ship rejoined the HMS Discovery.
Vancouver would write in his journal on June 9, 1792:
"We found tides here
extremely rapid, and on the 9th in endeavoring to get around a point to
the Bellingham Bay we were swept leeward of it with great impetuosity. We
let go the anchor in 20 fathoms but in bringing it up such was the force
of the tide that we parted the cable. At slack water we swept for the
anchor but could not get it. After several fruitless attempts, we were at
last obliged to leave it."
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