The Best of 2012: HMS Bounty

By Doug Mills
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 4^th, 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 28^th, 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.

HMS Bounty at Belfast Maine

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.

She now sails the world with a crew of 25 introducing generations to sailing history. Her captain is now Captain Robin Walbridge who has been at her helm for nearly 20 years.