The outfitting of Investigator in early 1801 prior to her departure from the United Kingdom for Terra Australis included five bower, two stream and two kedge anchors.

Flinders' intention was "to stop a day or two" at the Archipelago of the Recherche for "the purposes of procuring geese for our sick people, seal oil for our lamps, and a few casks of salt from the lake on Middle Island."

[4] The visit to Middle Island also allowed the burial of the sloop's boatswain, Charles Douglas, who had died on 18 May 1803, to take place on dry land.

[5][6] On departure during the morning of Saturday, 21 May 1803, Flinders discovered that Investigator was in danger of being driven aground on Middle Island by a freshening breeze, before the sails could be loosed.

[7] In 1972, Seton, a scuba diving enthusiast, planned an expedition to find and recover the anchors with the assistance of fellow members of the UEC: Terry & Helen Drew, Peter & Rosalie Koch and John Summers, and residents of Esperance: Don Gulvan, Don McKenzie and Tony Moore of Cape Arid Farm.

He was supported by sponsors BP, a boating business known as Lawton Agencies, and the Adelaide newspaper, the Sunday Mail.

[11] As pre-arranged with the then Commonwealth Department of Shipping and Transport, the lighthouse supply tender, MV Cape Don, arrived on 19 January to lift both anchors off the seabed and convey them to Fremantle for conservation.

Flinders circumnavigated Australia and confirmed its island status after many years of conjecture and uncertainty.The positive public response to the successful UEC expedition was a major driver in the creation in 1974, by Seton and others, of a dedicated amateur maritime archaeology organisation, the Society for Underwater Historical Research (SUHR).

[20][21] Many of the approaches used by the UEC during the expedition, such as seeking major corporate sponsorship, engagement with both political leaders and local communities, and the pro-active use of print and electronic media, were continued in the work of the SUHR, particularly on projects concerning the Loch Vennachar and Water Witch shipwrecks.