The Best of 2012: HMS Bounty Memorial

How do you say goodbye to a ship built to look like a legend and ended up becoming a legend? How do you say goodbye to a new friend you did not get to know nearly as well as you wanted? How do you write the final chapter of such a beloved piece of American history?

The first time I saw the HMS Bounty I was just a boy. I did not see her again till this summer. Little did I know that I would help her write the last chapter of her amazing story.

The story of the HMS Bounty is filled with excitement, intrigue and exotic places. Built at Blaydes Shipyard in Hull England in 1784 the original Bounty started her sailing career as the collier Bethia. In May of 1787 she was purchased by the Royal Navy and refitted for a special mission. She was armed with 4 canon and 10 swivel guns and renamed HMAV  Bounty. For this special mission the captains great cabin was torn out and the ship was outfitted with equipment to carry her special cargo, “Breadfruit!” potted breadfruit plants.

The Royal Navy had purchased the Bounty for a single mission, an experiment. She was to travel to Tahiti where the crew would collect potted breadfruit plants and carry them to the West Indies in the hope that they would grow well there and provide a cheep food source for the slaves there.

William Bligh a 33 year old Lieutenant in the Royal Navy was appointed the command. On December 23 1787 Bounty set sail from Splithead, England en-route to Tahiti with a crew of 45. The trip from England to 

Tahiti was long and hard.

Bounty spent five months in Tahiti collecting Breadfruit plants and caring for them till they were big enough to survive the long voyage to the West Indies. During this time the crew lived ashore to care for the plants. Many of the men formed connections with the people of this Pacific island paradise.   April 4th, 1789 the Bounty set sail from Tahiti with her cargo of 1015 potted breadfruit plants.

Friction between the Captain and the men and been growing through out the voyage due to Bligh’s harsh treatment of the men and officers of the Bounty. On April 28th, 1789 about 1200 miles west of Tahiti mutiny broke out on the Bounty! Eighteen discontent officers and men took over the ship, breaking into Captain Bligh's cabin and holding him a the point of a knife. Though there were strong words uttered on both sides the ship was taken with no bloodshed.

Bligh and those loyal to him were placed in a open longboat and sent away. Bligh and his men managed to sail 3500 nautical miles to the Dutch port of Coupang where the boarded a Dutch ship back to England.

The mutineers ended up on Pitcairn Island which did not appear correctly on the Royal Navy's maps. There they spent the rest of their days. Though the navy searched for them for years those on Pitcairn Island were not discovered.

After returning to England Captain Bligh was put in charge of a second expedition to Tahiti to to finish the job he had started. He collected 2000 breadfruit plants and delivered them to the West Indies only to have the slaves refuse to eat them.

The story of the modern HMS Bounty is also filled excitement, intrigue and exotic places. She was built in 1960 in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia for the MGM Film Studios movie, “Mutiny on the Bounty” starring Marlon Brando. The Bounty was built using the traditional methods from the original ships plans, except that she was built one third bigger than the original Bounty and carries two diesel motors.

MGM had planned to burn the ship after the filming was finished, however Marlon Brando found out about their plans and threatened to walk off the movie if they pursued that plan. MGM decided to keep Bounty around. Ted Turner aquired the Bounty when he purched the MGM movie library and used her during the filming of “Treasure Island” with Charlton Heston in 1989.

Bounty Has changed hands several times since than. She also stared in “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Mans Chest” and “Pirates of the Caribbean: At Worlds End” introducing her to a whole new generation of movie goers.

I came to meet Captain Robin Walbridge when the Bounty docked in Belfast Maine. The HMS Bounty spent 2011 touring Europe and the plan was to spend 2013 in the Great Lakes, but, this year was spent on the east coast. Captain Robin told me that they spend 9 months a year sailing the oceans of the world with a crew of 20-25. For the last 20 years Captain Robin Walbridge has been a the help of this historic tall ship.

In September HMS Bounty was scheduled to be hauled out at the Boothbay Harbor Shipyard for maintenance and some refit. It's not often that great moments happen on such a beautiful day and even more rare when you have a front row seat. Today the tall ship HMS Bounty, star of many movies, was brought ashore in Boothbay Harbor, Maine.

Tucked away on a quaint winding street lined with small shops is the Boothbay Harbor Shipyard. Today it is the host to one of the worlds most famous and beloved tall ships, the HMS Bounty. For fifty two years the Bounty has thrilled young and old, staring in “Mutiny on the Bounty”, “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Mans Chest' and “Pirates of the Caribbean: At Worlds End” as well as in person around the world. This is Bounty's third visit to the Boothbay Harbor Shipyard in her lifetime.

The haul out is scheduled for 11:00Am. We arrive at the shipyard a little after 10:00Am to find the Bounty Tied up at the dock ready for her big day. Just after 11 the cradle starts to move out toward the Bounty. It is no small task to haul a 180' 400 ton ship out of the water. Two hours of pushing, pulling, checking alignment and pushing and pulling some more, before the Bounty is ready for her journey to dry land.

It is after 1:00pm before the railway starts to move slowly toward the land. If you have not seen a ship of this size hauled out there is no was to describe the feeling as she comes out of the water. I have seen many a historic boat hauled out, but the Bounty is by far the largest. There was a cheer and applause as the railway came to a stop and Bounty was safely on dry land. Over the next month the work was completed and she was ready to relaunch. I will never forget the thrill of seeing the HMS Bounty slip into the water. As I watched the crew tie up to the dock I remember thinking that this would be the last time I would see Captain Robin and the Bounty for a long time. It was hard to leave that afternoon. It would be the last time she would visit Maine. Three days after she was launched she headed south for the winter.

With Hurricane Sandy headed up the coast the decision was made to take Bounty to sea. To the non sailor this would seem a strange decision, but it is deeply rooted in seafaring tradition. This would not be the first hurricane the HMS Bounty had weathered. In the end it seems that a mechanical failure set in motion the events that eventual brought down the Bounty. Maybe a fitting end to an exciting career for the Bounty, but she will be sorely missed. The loss of Claudine Christian and Caprain Robin Walbridge will forever leave a hole in our hearts.