The Charlotte was a First Fleet transport ship, built on the River Thames in 1784, and weighing 345 tons. She was a heavy sailer, and had to be towed down the English Channel for the first few days of the voyage. Her master was Thomas Gilbert, and her surgeon was John White, principal surgeon to the colony. She left Portsmouth on 13 May 1787, carrying eight-eight male and twenty female convicts, among them the later-to-be-famous Mary Bryant, and arrived at Port Jackson, Sydney, Australia, on 26 January 1788. She left Port Jackson on 6 May 1788 bound for China to take on a cargo of tea, under charter to the East India Company. On her return to England on 28 November 1789 she was sold to a firm for the London to Jamaica run, and was lost off Newfoundland in November 1818. The First Fleet is the name given to the 11 ships which sailed from Great Britain on May 13th 1787 to establish the first European colony in New South Wales. ... The Thames (pronounced //) is a river flowing through southern England, and one of the major waterways in England. ... 1784 was a leap year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... Satellite view of the English Channel The English Channel (French: (IPA: ), the sleeve) is the part of the Atlantic Ocean that separates the island of Great Britain from northern France and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. ... Master Mariner is the official title of someone qualified to command a ship; the qualification is colloquially called a Masters Ticket. The term was introduced in the mid 19th century, and is usually held by the chief officer/first mate as well as the captain). ... Thomas Gilbert Was The Captain Of The Charlotte in the first fleet ... John White may refer to: John White (d. ... For other places with the same name, see Portsmouth (disambiguation). ... May 13 is the 133rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (134th in leap years). ... Year 1787 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... Mary Bryant (1765 - ?) was a Cornish convict sent to Australia. ... Sydney Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge located on Port Jackson Port Jackson, containing Sydney Harbour, is the natural harbour of Sydney, Australia. ... This is about the city of Sydney in Australia. ... January 26 is the 26th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1788 was a leap year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... May 6 is the 126th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (127th in leap years). ... 1788 was a leap year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... Tea leaves in a Chinese gaiwan. ... The British East India Company, sometimes referred to as John Company, was one of the first joint-stock companies. ... Motto: (French for God and my right) Anthem: God Save the King/Queen Capital London (de facto) Largest city London Official language(s) English (de facto) Unification    - by Athelstan AD 927  Area    - Total 130,395 km² (1st in UK)   50,346 sq mi  Population    - 2006 est. ... November 28 is the 332nd day (333rd in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1789 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... For other uses, see Newfoundland (disambiguation). ...

==Popular culture== An early scene of the film National Treasure depicts the lead characters discovering the Charlotte frozen in an Arctic wasteland. The obvious mystery of how the ship ended up so far off-course is explained through technobabble. National Treasure is a 2004 movie from Walt Disney Pictures written by Jim Kouf, Cormac Wibberley and Marianne Wibberley, produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, and directed by Jon Turteltaub. ... The red line indicates the 10°C isotherm in July, commonly used to define the Arctic region border Satellite image of the Arctic surface The Arctic is the region around the Earths North Pole, opposite the Antarctic region around the South Pole. ... Technobabble (a portmanteau of technology and babble) is a form of prose using jargon, buzzwords and highly esoteric language to give an impression of plausibility through mystification and misdirection. ...

Further reading

• Gillen, Mollie, The Founders of Australia: A Biographical Dictionary of the First Fleet, Sydney: Library of Australian History, 1989.
• Bateson, Charles, The Convict Ships, 1787–1868, Sydney, 1974.