by Heinz Schiller
Categories:
- Build type: [Kit]
- Material: [Wood]
- Subject Type: [Transport]
- Era: [1700-1815]
- Nationality: [England / United Kingdom]
- Propulsion: [Sail]
About the Vessel
HMS Bounty was a merchant vessel (the collier Bethia, built in 1784) that the Royal Navy purchased for a botanical mission. She was sent to the Pacific Ocean to collect breadfruit plants and transport them to the West Indies, where an attempt would be made to cultivate them.
The Bounty reached Tahiti on 26 October 1788, after ten months at sea. The Bounty set sail for the West Indies after five months collecting breadfruit and preparing it for the long journey.
A mutiny broke out on the return journey. The mutineers ordered Bligh, two midshipmen, the surgeon’s mate, and the ship’s clerk into the ship’s boat. Several more men voluntarily joined Bligh rather than remain aboard.
In a remarkable feat of seamanship, Bligh navigated the dangerously overcrowded boat on a 47-day voyage to the Dutch colony of Timor, equipped only with a sextant and a pocket watch. He recorded the distance as 3,618 nautical miles. While struggling to survive, he kept a log and produced highly accurate charts and surveys of the seas and the terrain, such as the Fijian Islands and the northeast coast of Australia.
Model Image
Links
- Wikipedia
- Model of Bounty by HRSMS member Ulrich Guenther
- Model of Bounty’s launch, by HRSMS member Dennis Hobbs