Bounty (1960 ship)
Bounty on Lake Michigan off Chicago, 2010
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History | |
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United States | |
Owner | HMS Bounty Organization LLC |
Builder | Smith and Rhuland Ltd, Lunenburg, Nova Scotia |
Launched | 1960 |
Homeport | Greenport, Suffolk County, New York, United States |
Identification |
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Fate | Sunk off the coast of North Carolina during Hurricane Sandy on 29 October 2012[1] |
General characteristics | |
Tonnage | |
Length |
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Beam | 31.6 ft (9.6 m) |
Height | 111 ft (33.8 m) |
Draft | 13 ft (4.0 m) |
Depth | 21.3 ft (6.5 m) |
Installed power | 2 × John Deere 375 hp (280 kW) diesel engines |
Sail plan | Full-rigged ship, sail area 10,000 sq ft (929 m2) |
Crew | 12–14 |
Bounty was an enlarged reconstruction of the original 1787 Royal Navy sailing ship HMS Bounty, built in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, in 1960. She sank off the coast of North Carolina during Hurricane Sandy on October 29, 2012.
The tall ship was often referred to as HMS Bounty, but was not entitled to the use of the prefix "
History
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Bounty was commissioned by the
Bounty was
The ship was also featured in an episode of Flipper titled "Flipper and the Bounty", which aired 11 December 1965.
The ship was featured in the 1983 film Yellowbeard, a comedy about pirates starring Graham Chapman, Peter Boyle and many other comedic stars, including Marty Feldman in his final role before suffering a heart attack during production.
In 1986, Ted Turner acquired the MGM film library and Bounty with it. The ship was used for promotion and entertainment, and was used during the filming of Treasure Island with Charlton Heston and Christian Bale in 1989.
Fall River, Massachusetts
In 1993, Turner donated the ship to the Fall River Chamber Foundation, Inc, which established the Tall Ship Bounty Foundation, Inc to operate the ship for educational "adventures" as well as a tourist attraction and celebrity promoter of Fall River, Massachusetts. Bounty summered in New England waters operating out of the Fall River Heritage State Park facilities and wintered in Florida operating out of the St. Petersburg Pier.
The ship was booked to appear in several feature films in the mid-1990s, such as a remake of the 1935 film Captain Blood which starred Errol Flynn, and a film about Anne Bonny, an 18th-century female pirate. Both projects were shelved before production began. The ship was set to appear in the 1997 Steven Spielberg film Amistad, but before her scenes were shot in Newport, Rhode Island, filming of the slave ship rebellion at the beginning of the film was moved to Puerto Rico and California. However, the ship did appear in several documentaries during her eight-year stay in Fall River.
In the mid-1990s, Marlon Brando, star of the 1962 version of Mutiny on the Bounty, showed interest in using the ship for a project in the area of his island in the South Pacific. However, he was surprised at what it cost to operate a ship with a crew on a weekly basis, and he passed on the idea.
While under ownership of the Tall Ship Bounty Foundation, the ship went into dry-dock twice and had major improvements to the ship's ribs and planks. During the second dry docking, Captain Robin Walbridge decided to permanently remove the copper cladding and in its place applied marine anti-fouling paint to repel the insects that bore into the wood. Due to lack of commitment to long term funding by the private and public sectors, the trustees of the Tall Ship Bounty Foundation, Inc. determined it was time to put the ship up for sale. Due to cash flow problems all the crew's contracts were terminated and volunteers kept a watch over Bounty at its dock at Fall River Heritage State Park. On 15 March 2001, the ship was sold to the HMS Bounty Foundation.
In 2005, while moored in St. Petersburg, Bounty was the shooting location of the "pornographic action-adventure" film Pirates.
Restoration and films
The ship's declining condition caused the vessel to temporarily lose her
In June 2005 the production company Digital Playground rented the Bounty to film the non-pornography related segments of the adult movie Pirates under the pretence they were filming a PG-13 movie. The filming took place while the Bounty was docked at the former St. Petersburg Pier.[5]
In April 2006, Bounty returned to Boothbay Harbor for further refit including repairs to her forward sections and decks. Following this work, Bounty was scheduled to repeat the famous voyage of the original Bounty.[6] During the 2006 refit, the ship was virtually rebuilt to make her appearance more similar to that of the original HMS Bounty, and make her more suitable for service as a sail training vessel. Her lower decks were cleared of most of their 18th-century-style furnishings and living spaces, including the great cabin, galley, and officers quarters.[citation needed]
List of film appearances
- Mutiny on the Bounty (1962)
- Yellowbeard (1983)
- Treasure Island (1990)
- The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie (2004)
- Pirates (2005)
- Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006)
- Flipper – one episode "Flipper and the Bounty" (December 11, 1965)
Post-restoration, thieves, and sale attempt
In August 2007, Bounty had just completed a US$3 million restoration and was making a seven-week UK tour prior to embarking on a world tour via South Africa and New Zealand to
On Saturday 12 September 2009, the ship was berthed at
Bounty's owners had offered her for sale since 2010.[8] The ship was for sale as of 2012 for US$4.6 million.[8] In winter of 2012, the ship was in San Juan, Puerto Rico. She took part in the Tall Ships gatherings 2012, and was in Halifax, Nova Scotia, in July 2012. On 12 August she was docked at Belfast, Maine. On 3 September, Bounty sailed from Gloucester, Massachusetts, to Eastport, Maine. After a stop at Maine Maritime Academy in Castine, she pulled into Boothbay Harbor, Maine for dry dock and maintenance. She was relaunched from the Boothbay Harbor Shipyard on 17 October 2012. Bounty left Boothbay bound for New York City early 21 October 2012.[9][10]
Loss in Hurricane Sandy
On October 25, 2012, the vessel left New London, Connecticut, heading for St. Petersburg, Florida, initially going on an easterly course to avoid Hurricane Sandy.[11][12]
The initial request for Coast Guard assistance was sent in an email by the captain to the vessel's organization.
This information was sent to a Coast Guard
The USCG aircraft made radio contact with John Svendsen, Bounty's first mate, as the HC-130 circled the ship in the early morning hours.[12] Bounty was listing at about a 45-degree angle on its starboard side. The HC-130 crew radioed instructions to Bounty, and the plane circled for hours while preparations were made. Meanwhile, helicopter crews from Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City were instructed to prepare for a very difficult rescue operation. At 4:45 am, Svendsen radioed to the HC-130 that the ship was sinking and the crew needed immediate assistance.[12] McIntosh flew the plane lower and readied his crew to drop life rafts and supplies. With the plane short on fuel, the HC-130 dropped life rafts but had to leave the vessel and crew on their own in rough seas and 50-knot (93 km/h; 58 mph) winds. It was more than an hour before the first MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter arrived on the scene to begin the dangerous rescue attempt around dawn.[12] One member of the Coast Guard crew received major injuries during the rescue.[12]
Vice Admiral Robert C. Parker, USCG,[14] reported the ship had sunk and 14 people had been rescued from life rafts by two rescue helicopters. The storm had washed the captain and two crew overboard; one of the crew had made it to a life raft, but the other two were missing. They wore orange survival suits complete with strobe lights; thus rescuers had some hope of finding them alive. Claudene Christian, one of the two missing crew members,[15] was found by the Coast Guard. She was unresponsive, and later pronounced dead at a hospital.[1][16][17][18]
The last missing person was long-time captain Robin Walbridge.[19] He was raised in Montpelier, Vermont, and later moved to St. Petersburg, Florida. He was a field mechanic on houseboats who worked his way up to obtaining a 1600-ton license in 1995, when he began working as a Bounty crew member.[20] Search efforts for Walbridge continued over an area of 12,000 square nautical miles (41,000 km2; 16,000 sq mi) until they were suspended on 1 November 2012.[21]
A formal investigation into the sinking was ordered by USCG Rear Admiral
Lawsuits
In May 2013, family members of Claudene Christian filed a $90 million civil lawsuit against the ship owners, alleging unseaworthiness and negligence.[26] The suit was settled out of court for an undisclosed sum.[27]
The boat's insurer, Acadia Insurance Company, sued HMS Bounty Organization, LLC and Robert Hansen in November 2014 for return of insurance proceed paid out under the relevant policies, alleging unseaworthiness, violation of good faith and other matters.[28] On April 11, 2022, the Eastern District of New York ruled in favor of defendants, holding the insurer had failed to prove its claims.[28]
Gallery
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Bounty in Belfast Lough
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Bounty off Greenock
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Bounty in St. Augustine, Florida
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The Coast Guard rescue of Bounty's crew
See also
- Bounty (1978 ship), replica built in New Zealand in 1978 for the Dino De Laurentiis film The Bounty (1984).
Notes
References
- ^ a b "HMS Bounty Sinks Off NC Coast, 14 People Rescued, Two Possibly Missing". WITN-TV. Archived from the original on 30 October 2012. Retrieved 29 October 2012.
- ^ a b After the Cameras Stopped Rolling; The Journey of the Bounty. Warner Home Entertainment 2006
- ^ Gilkerson, William, "Replicas: History of a Phenomenon", Wooden Boat, No. 172, May/June 2003, pp. 67-68.
- ^ Background Story Archived 1 November 2012 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Porn on the Bounty?". wtsp.com. 18 January 2006. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
- ^ Hoey, Dennis (2 May 2006). "This project would make Brando smile; The Bounty of movie fame in Maine for repairs". Portland Press Herald. p. B1.
- ^ "'Pirates' ship looted in Scotland". BBC News. 14 September 2009. Retrieved 29 October 2012.
- ^ a b "HMS Bounty, Replica". EasternYachts.com. Archived from the original on 2 November 2012. Retrieved 29 October 2012.
- ^ Bell, L. Jaye (1 November 2012). "Musings on the HMS Bounty". The Coastal Journal. Retrieved 31 December 2012.
- ^ "HMS Bounty launched at Boothbay Harbor Shipyard". WorkBoat.com. 22 October 2012. Archived from the original on 9 February 2013. Retrieved 29 October 2012.
- ^ Morgenstein, Mark (29 October 2012). "Sandy claims 'Bounty' off North Carolina". CNN. Retrieved 29 October 2012.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Sunk: The Incredible Truth About a Ship That Never Should Have Sailed, Kathryn Miles, 11 February 2013, Outside Online.
- ^ a b c d e f "NTSB/MAB-14/03 Sinking of Tall Ship Bounty" (PDF). Marine Accident Brief. National Transportation Safety Board. 6 February 2014. Retrieved 21 September 2016.
- ^ "Vice Admiral Robert C. Parker, USCG". Retrieved 29 October 2012.
- ^ Jonsson, Patrik (30 October 2012). "HMS Bounty casualty claimed tie to mutinous Fletcher Christian". Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved 31 October 2012.
- ^ Morgenstein, Mark (30 October 2012). "Famed ship sinks off North Carolina; two crew missing". CNN. Retrieved 29 October 2012.
- ^ "Hurricane Sandy: HMS Bounty Crew Rescued Off NC". Good Morning America. 29 October 2012. Retrieved 29 October 2012.
- ^ "Bounty crew member's body found, captain still missing". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. 29 October 2012. Retrieved 29 October 2012.
- ^ "Coast Guard continues search for missing captain of HMS Bounty" (Press release). United States Coast Guard. Archived from the original on 1 November 2012. Retrieved 30 October 2012.
- ^ "Biography – Captain Robin Walbridge". TallShipBounty.org. Archived from the original on 1 November 2012. Retrieved 30 October 2012.
- ^ "Coast Guard suspends search for missing captain of HMS Bounty" (Press release). United States Coast Guard. 1 November 2012. Archived from the original on 3 November 2012. Retrieved 1 November 2012.
- ^ Ware, Beverley (3 November 2012). "Bounty crew to testify at inquiry into sinking". The Chronicle Herald. Archived from the original on 5 November 2012. Retrieved 4 November 2012.
- ^ "US Coast Guard Media Advisory, January 10, 2013". US Coast Guard Newsrom. U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Archived from the original on 12 April 2015. Retrieved 31 January 2015.
- ^ Patterson, Thom (13 June 2014). "Coast Guard blames management, captain for sinking of HMS Bounty". CNN. Retrieved 20 June 2014.
- ^ Jeffery, Davene (11 June 2014). "Bounty sinking sparks U.S. review". The Chronicle Herald. Retrieved 12 June 2014.
- ^ "Family of killed Bounty deckhand sues shipowners". Thom Patterson, CNN, May 12, 2013. 10 May 2013. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
- ISBN 978-1459505445.
- ^ a b "Acadia Insurance Company against Robert Hansen and HMS Bounty Organization, LLC, 14-CV-06561 (DG) (AYS)" (PDF). Eastern District of New York, April 11, 2022. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
Further reading
- Freeman, Gregory A. (2013). The Gathering Wind: Hurricane Sandy, the Sailing Ship Bounty, and a Courageous Rescue at Sea. New York: NAL Caliber. ISBN 978-0-451-46576-4.
- Patterson, Thom (March 2013). "Life & Death on the Bounty". CNN.
- Schaer, Robin Beth (2 November 2012). "Falling Overboard". The Paris Review Daily: First Person. Retrieved 9 November 2012.
- Shaer, Matthew (27 February 2013). "The Sinking of the Bounty: The True Story of a Tragic Shipwreck and its Aftermath". The Atavist Magazine. No. 22.
- Tougias, Michael J.; Campbell, Douglas A. (2014). Rescue of the Bounty: Disaster and Survival in Superstorm Sandy. New York: Scribner. ISBN 978-1-4767-4663-0.