Cook Landing Site (Waimea) Cook Landing Site (Waimea) The Cook Landing Site in Waimea on Kauai island in Hawaii, is where Captain James Cook landed at the mouth of the Waimea River on January 20, 1778. Cook was the first European reported to have sighted the Hawaiian Islands, and the January 20 landfall on southwestern Kauai was his first arrival upon Hawaiian soil. Cook Landing Site was registered as a National Historic Landmark on December 29, 1962. Hofgaard Park is a small county park in Waimea, a few blocks from the actual landing, that commemorates the historic events of Cook's landing. It is suspected
GRV James Cook was in poor condition and made its last voyage under power from Nelson to Wellington in 1997. It was purchased by James Cook Shipping for use as a charter boat in Fiji. It was stripped of most of its equipment in July 2004. It suffered damage after breaking free from its moorings in October 1998 and again in August 2007. It was also set on fire by vandals several times. The hulk was scuttled in the former explosives dumping ground about southwest of Cape Palliser on 2 December 2007. GRV James Cook GRV "James Cook" was a research vessel of