The Tall Ships have arrived in Victoria. Here in the Inner Harbour is the replica of the HMS Bounty that became infamous under the command of William Bligh when his crew mutinied and cast him adrift in a small boat. The crew, under the command of Fletcher Christian, went on to settle on Pitcairn Island, where many of their descendants still live. Bligh, then only a lieutenant, was set adrift with 18 of his loyal crew members in a 23 foot launch. Without charts or a compass he then sailed over 6,000 km of open ocean in 47 days to reach Timor, a "remarkable act of seamanship." He went on to become a Vice-Admiral in the Royal Navy.
Above is another shot of the Bounty approaching the Inner Harbour with the condominiums of Vic West in the background.This Bounty was built especially for the film, "Mutiny on the Bounty," with Marlon Brando and Trevor Howard.
Beautiful! I love those old ships and would love to get in one some day (none like these in the Philippines!). Thank you for the interesting info too.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful picture!
ReplyDeleteWish we could have seen her here in Ilwaco, but she wasn't able to make it.
We love tall ships!
The last ship my great grandfather sailed as Captain was the Watson A. West. Way back in 1923, it was bound for Los Angeles from San Francisco with a load of milled lumber. Once there, it was to be used in a silent film version of "Mutiny on the Bounty". Unfortunately, it wrecked on San Miguel Island before reaching its destination. But all hands survived, and safely navigated through the night to land at Santa Barbara harbor. We were that close to becoming "movie people"! ;^)
ReplyDeleteThese are all fantastic photos. Your images are always so lush and detailed.
Thanks all for your kind remarks.
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Elaine, you may not have become "movie people" but you were "nautical people," more of an accomplishment in my estimation. The Watson A West must have been a glorious ship to see - a four masted schooner. There's a nice little writeup about her on the Maritime Heritage website.
I saw the Bounty in Tahiti many years ago and again in Sydney a few years back. Lovely to see her again here ! (the hull used to be dark blue though)
ReplyDeleteBenjamin, thank you for finding that! I had seen that webpage about five years ago, and talked with one of their archaeologists. I imagine there is still no discovery news to report. There used to be a photo of Captain Sorensen on deck in those pages somewhere as well. Sorensen was born in Denmark, and started his seafaring life at age 14. His father was a carpenter (boats) in Aarhus. Sorensen married another Danish immigrant in San Francisco, and that's where my grandmother was born and raised.
ReplyDeleteElaine, there still is a photo of Captain Sorenson here.
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