Adopted 6 November 1934 on Hydrographic Chart #3645 as established on British Admiralty Chart #569, 1866.

Source: BC place name cards & correspondence, and/or research by BC Chief Geographer & Geographical Names Office staff, file N.2.33.

HMS Resolution, the larger of Captain James Cook’s two expedition vessels, was repaired here in 1778 during the explorer’s month-long stay on the BC coast. Cook named the site Ship Cove. The 419-tonne, 12-gun sloop was built at Whitby in north Yorkshire in 1770 as the North Sea collier Marquis of Granby and was purchased by the Admiralty a year later. The vessel was rebuilt to accommodate naturalist Joseph Banks and his entourage, but the changes were found to affect its seaworthiness and were reversed. Banks then refused to accompany the expedition and was replaced by Johann and George Forster. Cook commanded this ship on both the second (1772-75) and third (1776-80) of his great voyages, calling it “the fittest for service of any I have seen.” When he arrived at Nootka Sound, both his vessels were in urgent need of refits after being buffeted by near-continuous Pacific gales. Masts and yards were replaced using timber from local forests. After its return to England in 1780, the Resolution was converted to a transport and sailed to the east Indies, where it was captured by the French, sent to Manila and never seen again. Various reports have circulated concerning the fate of this famous vessel (that it foundered, was recaptured by the British or ended up as a coal hulk at Rio de Janeiro), but none have ever been confirmed.

Source: Scott, Andrew; "The Encyclopedia of Raincoast Place Names"; Harbour Publishing, Madeira Park, 2009.