I was shocked to hear that the HMS Bounty was lost at sea during Hurricane Sandy especially considering that it was only a few weeks ago when I watched it sail into Plymouth Harbor. Reports indicate that she went down in high winds and heavy seas approximately 90 miles south-east of Cape Hatteras, NC. The Bounty was making its way from Conneticut to Florida when it began to take on water and lost propulsion sometime during the night on Sunday, October 28th. The crew was forced to abandon ship early on Monday morning and the 14 souls that made it into the life rafts were rescued by the USCG helicopters. Sadly, the body of crew member Claudene Christian was later recovered and Captain Robin Walbridge remains missing at sea. My thoughts go out to the members of the crew and their families:
Eternal Father, strong to save,
Whose arm hath bound the restless wave,
Who bidd’st the mighty ocean deep
Its own appointed limits keep;
Oh, hear us when we cry to Thee,
For those in peril on the sea!
The Bounty, which was built for the 1962 movie “Mutiny on the Bounty” and later stared in “Pirates of the Carribean: Dead Man’s Chest”, had spent the year touring the Eastern seaboard of the US. I was lucky enough to make some photographs of this stunning tall ship when it visited Plymouth this past August. Here’s one of my favorites…
…May she forever rest in that peaceful palace beneath the waves.
-Kayak Dave