IT was a voyage that changed the course of history, and now one of Captain Cook's ancestors is hitching a lift home in a replica of the legendary seafarer's ship.

Jon Preston felt the pull of home when the Endeavour sailing ship docked 500 yards from his apartment in Fremantle, near Perth, Western Australia, on Saturday, where the North-East man has been living for the past few months.

Jon, who has family in Wolsingham, County Durham, and Gosforth, Newcastle, was seconded to Australia from the North-East last July by employer Oracle, and is due to return home at the end of next month.

So when he heard that the replica of the Endeavour - in which his ancestor Captain Cook discovered the vast continent - was returning to Whitby, North Yorkshire, in February, he could not believe his luck.

Speaking from Australia, Jon, 39, said: "It's bizarre, my apartment is 500 yards from where the Endeavour docked and it's taking me back to my doorstep, from where I live in Australia to where I live in England. It's all very strange, especially with my Captain Cook ancestry."

Jon won a place onboard the ship after entering a competition in Australia, which asked people to write an interesting application that would warrant a place on board. The IT consultant described his links with the great seafarer.

He said: "Captain Cook's six children all died before they had children themselves, so there are no direct descendants. Margaret Cook, who was Captain James Cook's sister, is my great-grandmother, times five."

He discovered his famous ancestry after setting out to disprove his grandfather's frequent claims that the family was descended from Cook.

The ship will arrive in Whitby on June 21 and Jon has been given six months' leave for the trip by Oracle, where he advises businesses on installing software.

Jon will be one of 40 volunteers who have paid several thousand pound to be part of the crew and will fill his time climbing the rigging, hoisting the sails and knotting and splicing.