On 3rd November the Resolution reached her old anchorage in Ship Cove, Queen Charlotte’s Sound; but the Adventure was seen no more during the voyage.  Forster was much upset by the stormy weather, “the dreadful energy of the language” of the sailors, the absence of their consort which “doubled every danger,” the shortness of the table supplies and his own dislike to a further trip to southern latitudes.  Hoping the Adventure might yet come in, Cook pushed on with his refit, and thoroughly overhauled his stores.  About 4000 pounds weight of ship’s bread was found unfit for food, and another 3000 pounds nearly as bad; they were very fortunate, therefore, in getting a plentiful supply of scurvy grass and wild celery, and a small quantity of vegetables from the gardens they had previously laid out.

Any doubts that may have been felt about the cannibalism of the New Zealanders was set at rest by some of the officers who surprised a party engaged in a feast.  A human head was purchased from the feasters and taken on board, and a piece of the flesh being offered to a Maori, it was greedily devoured.  A South Sea Islander, Odidie, was intensely horrified, and refused to touch the knife with which it had been cut, nor would he be in any way friendly with the eater.  Cook firmly believed that only enemies killed in battle were eaten, and did not think the custom arose from any shortness of food.

Enclosing in a bottle, which was buried under a marked tree in the garden, a memorandum giving the dates of his arrival and departure, the direction he intended to steer, and other information he thought might be useful to Furneaux, Cook sailed on 25th November, and as they passed through the straits, guns were continually fired, and a sharp lookout kept for signs of the Adventure; but nothing was seen, and as no other rendezvous had been appointed, Cook gave up all hope of her rejoining him.  The Resolution, when clear, bore up for the south-east, but had the course at the first been north of east, the two ships might possibly have met, for the Adventure was then on her way from Tolago Bay and arrived in Ship Cove four days after the departure of her consort.  Cook says his crew were in good spirits, and in no way dejected, “or thought the dangers we had yet to go through were in the least increased by being alone.”  They were quite ready to go, “wherever I might think proper to lead them.”  Even Mr. Forster had to admit at a little later date, that: 

“notwithstanding the constant perils to which our course exposed us, in this unexplored ocean, our ship’s company were far from being so uneasy as might have been expected.”

Armour of ice.