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The eleven ships of the fleet under the command of Captain Arthur Phillip RN took their leave from Portsmouth, England early on Sunday 13 May 1787 bound for a virtually unknown shore eight long months and half a world away.
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"..AT 4 AM FIRED GUN AND MADE THE SIGNAL TO WEIGH, WEIGH'D AND MADE SAIL, IN COMPANY WITH THE HYAENA FRIGATE, SUPPLY ARMED TENDER, SIX TRANSPORTS AND THREE STORE SHIPS, AT 9 FIRED A GUN AND MADE THE SIGN'L FOR THE CONVOY TO MAKE MORE SAIL."
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The first port of call was to be the town of Santa Cruz on Teneriffe in the Canary Islands, there to take on fresh water and vegetables.
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"Stormy seas were succeeded by warm weather and favourable winds. Land was sighted on 2 August 1787, and by 6 August the even ships in the Fleet were anchored in the harbour at Rio de Janeiro".
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The eleven ships of the fleet sailed from Rio de Janeiro on 4 September 1787
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The eleven ships of the fleet sailed from Rio de Janeiro on 5 September 1787. Ahead was their third and final civilised port of call en route. It took more than five weeks for the fleet to complete the crossing from Rio to the Cape.
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Land was sighted early on the morning of 13 October, and by dark all eleven ships were anchored in Table Bay.
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On 12 November 1787 the Fleet set sail once more. Ahead was Botany Bay, visited previously only by Cook and the crew of the Endeavour'.
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Adventure Bay, Van Diemen's Land (now Tasmania)
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As it happened, 'Supply' arrived at Botany Bay on 18 January.They arrived at Botany Bay after sailing south of Van Diemen's Land, then north to New South Wales. It was decided that Botany Bay was not a suitable site for the settlement because water supply and soils were poor. The Fleet sailed on.
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The second part of the Fleet followed within twenty-four hours, and the remainder of the Fleet made its appearance on the following day.
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By nightfall on 26 JANUARY 1788 Phillip's convoy was safely at anchor in Sydney Cove, named in honour of Lord Sydney.
