The Bounty

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I am engrossed in this relatively new book written by caroline alexander, an exhaustive account of the events and surrounding circumstances of The Bounty.

I find myself alarmed at the parallels with a sea voyage i am considering myself.

The book explains that Bligh was not actually made a captain, on account of the small size of the vessel, but referred to as Captain merely as a token of respect. As is well-known, the so-called captain was of below average height, and something of miserable unpleasant git.

By complete contrast, Fletcher Christian was "above-average height, with positive outlook of Attractive youthful and Strong compexion".

The account proceeds to relate that the Bounty was "woeful cramped" and that even by the standards of the say "seamen were expected to live for the duration of the voyage in stifling, stinking squalor"

As a final remarkable coincidence, the Bounty had of course only the slightest clue of her whereabouts at any given time, relying on "earlier hand-drawn charts of her Intented Destination, and a RAC Road Atlas". Hm.
 
Bligh Love In

You take the breadfruit. I'm off with these three topless girls in grass skirts. You can see how mutinies come about.
 
Re: curiouser and curiouser - \"John M\"

And by recent Pitcairn court accounts the topless girls are still being entertained - who was it who just said they'd leave the breadfruit? :-)

John
 
eventually there was just a smile where the cat had been

Also lads we'll leave the ship's cat on these two big islands in the middle of nowhere, south east of Van Diemen's Land. With any luck it will take two hundred years for the locals to invent rugby and leave. Surely he'll be dead by then.
 
Re: eventually there was just a smile where the cat had been

But there is no breadfuit there - so the ships cat will be forced to resort to the topless ones too. Life is so hard :-(

John
 
Re: eventually there was just a smile where the cat had been

You could always teach them rugby, then invent the outrigger canoe with sail.

Whatever, it should be a wonderful life. If rugby is too much, mud wrestling is another option.
 
Of far more interest to us mariners is the book about the voyage by Bligh in the small boat after the mutiny. This is a story that defies belief, especialy with the lack of equipment and knowledge of where they were. Whatever else you may think of Bligh, his seamanship was astounding.
 
Coincidence strikes

Aha .. I've just finished reading a book about Tilman and a very unhappy voyage cos his crew were complete tossers..
 
Re: That boat

Bligh did indeed pilot the 23footer almost four thousand miles, and returned via various ships to the UK.

The following year the Pandora set out from the UK to bring back the mutineers and having found some of them it ran aground off australiarish or thereabouts - and hence they all had to go off to new guinea or wherever - again in small boats.

One of the crew from the bouty who also went with the pandora did both flippin trips...
 
Re: That boat

Apparentlt the Bounty was named after the effect of the coconut shells on the wobbly bits of the no-longer topless maidens.
 
Re: Coincidence strikes again

Aha, so praps you can now return to your favorite book (again) about Crowhurst who made up a load of rubbish waypoints and then chucked himself overboard?
 
If anyone is interested there is a quite short and easy to read book of the mutiny and the open boat voyages (Bounty's and Pandora's) in text form on Project Gutenberg http://www.gutenberg.org/.

Its title The Eventful History of the Mutiny and Piratical Seizure of H.M.S. Bounty: Its Cause and Consequences is just about as long as the book and was written by Sir John Barrow around 1830 (who himself seems quite an interesting fellow - was Second Secretary to the Admiralty, discovered Antarctica, exiled Napolean to St Helena and was apparantly a friend of Fletcher Christian's family).

The last section on the trial is a bit tiresome but the rest is easy to read.

John
 
Re: That boat

When the forum was down I found a site which listed various long distance voyages in small boats, it may have been on A Guide to Sailing and Cruising Stories at http://cruisenews.net/index.php
Soprinio (spelling?) is in there along with my hero Charlie Stock
Right at the top was Captain Bligh
Amazing to follow the smallest length of boat crossing the pond,
sitting room only now! They seem to cheat a little by towing their supplies though.

Regards Briani
 
There is a great trilogy of books written by Messrs Nordhoff and Hall, called, The Bounty Trilogy. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif They have been published in paperback in a single volume, still available from Amazon. It tells the story from three points of view - the mutiny itself, the voyage of Bligh and co in the longboat, and the troublesome life on Pticairn. It may not be entirely factual, but it is a great read /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
A good few years ago, when we were crossing the Pacific, we visited Pitcairn for a few days. The highlight for me was to dive on the wreck of the Bounty herself. That was a big thrill to actually see and touch the bones of the Bounty.....
John
 
Re: That boat

Cos when the dusky maidens complained that the cocunut hair was irritaing their bouncy bits ... Bligh repliied .... "Well................................... its bound tae!"
 
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