Captain Cook's ship may have been found, say researchers

The ship that Captain Cook sailed to Australia may have finally been found, researchers have said.

The Rhode Island Marine Project (RIMAP) will confirm tomorrow whether they have found the vessel, but believe it is among a group of five ships that were scuttled in Rhode Island.

Captain James Cook charted the Endeavour from 1768 to 1771, and used it to map the southwest Pacific Ocean as well as discovering Australia and New Zealand and claiming them for the crown.

In 1775, the ship was sold into private hands and then renamed the Lord Sandwich, after the first lord of the admiralty.

The Lord Sandwich was used to transport British troops during the American War of Independence, and then scuttled in Newport Harbor in 1778, along with 12 other ships.