The crew of a replica to the HMS Bounty was attempting to sail around Hurricane Sandy, but had to abandon ship and be rescued by the Coast Guard. 2 sailors are missing.
http://video.foxnews.com/v/1931754453001/
Paul in PA
Bligh would have rode it out..............
That seems like a foolish thing to do. Sail around a hurricane, that is. Not rather than through it, but not worth attempting IMO.
For all the bad PR Bligh received, history records he was an exceptional navigator and leader. His skills returning to London after being set adrift to die are phenomenal, to say the least.
Taking on water? That ship should have ridden out those conditions if it had been handled properly and the tarps were properly secured over the gratings and hatches. She was motorized so not totally dependent on sail and even if the top hamper and the wind was making it difficult to keep her heading quartered into the sea, they had lots of material for a sea anchor. If the hull was sound and the crew made up of seamen, they should have been fine. Be interesting to find out what really happened, my observations may be way off base. Whatever, it was a shame she sank, but it sounds like that if the seas don't tear her up she could be salvaged, her masts are visible with her lying on the bottom. If not, there may never be another built. Two crewmen are missing and probably won't be recovered.
jud
That journey is an epic story and one of the greatest sailing achievements ever!! He would have rode out the storm...
"Men Against The Sea" had to be one of my favorite books, but the Mutiny trilogy was a great book set anyways.
I remember from the movie "Perfect Storm" them pulling people off a smaller sailboat. The owner wanted to ride it out, but a couple of the other people on board wanted off. The coast guard made them all leave the boat, which washed up on shore a couple of days later, still intact. I imagine if you are on the ship, riding out a bad storm, it seems pretty bad. Its tough to say if the ship was going to sink, or if they gave up too early.
This brings to mind one of my ideas:
Place a number of balloons in and around the ship. In case of capsizing or danger of sinking, you inflate the balloons. These will prevent sinking or capsizing.
Later, I found the same idea in Popular Science or Mechanics.
~Peter
Do you suppose Netflix has a major call for The Perfect Storm right now?
Update
NBC - 1 hr. ago, 11:45 PM EST:
"..Claudene Christian, 42, was pulled from the water unresponsive
and transported to Elizabeth City Hospital, the Coast Guard said.
She was later pronounced dead. Crews continue searching for the
remaining missing person, identified as the ill-fated ship's
captain, Robin Walbridge, 63."
Apparently all souls are accounted for except the Captain. He perished with his ship.
God rest his soul.
Update 2
Even more interesting about the woman who died.
"Claudene Christian, who died in hospital Monday night after the tall ship Bounty went down earlier in the day, was in Nova Scotia in August for the tall ships festival.
The great-great-great-great-great granddaughter of Fletcher Christian, the master’s mate who took command of the original Bounty from William Bligh in the mutiny of 1789,"
