First Fleet Re-enactment Voyage

The First Fleet Reenactment Voyage (also known as the Second First Fleet) was a project to assemble a fleet of tall ships to sail from England to Australia in a historical reenactment of the First Fleet that colonised Australia in 1788. The reenactment was first conceived in 1977 and organised to commemorate Australia's bicentenary of colonisation. Despite opposition and minimal funding from the Australian government, the project attracted the support of high-profile adventurers Thor Heyerdahl, Alan Villiers, and Sir Edmund Hillary, as well as former Australian political figures and the British Royal Family. Several corporations offered to sponsor the fleet as a whole or individual ships, and additional money was raised by selling "training crew" berths for the various legs of the voyage.

Seven ships—Søren Larsen, R. Tucker Thompson, Anna Kristina, Amorina, Tradewind, Our Svanen, and Bounty—sailed from Portsmouth in May 1987, following a fleet review by Queen Elizabeth II. Attempting to follow the route of the original First Fleet, the ships sailed for Australia via Tenerife, Rio de Janeiro, Cape Town, and Mauritius. The initial funding ran out when the ships reached Rio de Janeiro, and the captains planned to call off the voyage until a radiothon on Australia's Macquarie Radio Network raised $A900,000 and further corporate sponsorships were secured. The seven ships were joined by One and All off Rio de Janeiro. While crossing the Atlantic to Cape Town, Anna Kristina's first mate was lost overboard. The fleet arrived at Fremantle in early December, where Eye of the Wind was added to the fleet before they crossed southern Australia.

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