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General News    H4'ed 10/29/12

Hurricane Sandy Sinks Tall Ship "Mutiny" Bounty, 1 Dead, 1 Missing

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Bounty Underway
Bounty Underway
(Image by tallshipbounty.org)
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The Tall Ship Bounty was lost in Hurricane Sandy on Oct. 29. It sank off the coast of North Carolina.

Bounty's location
Bounty's location
(Image by tallshipbounty.org)
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The ship was a replica of the original  Royal Navy HMS Bounty and was built in 1960 for the MGM movie, "Mutiny on the Bounty."

Bounty (Tall Ship, 1960)
Bounty (Tall Ship, 1960)
(Image by tallshipbounty.org)
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According to the ship's website and Facebook pages, there were 16 crew members aboard when the vessel started taking in water faster than the pumps were able to dewater, and the crew prepared to abandon ship.

The captain and two other crew members were washed overboard. One of them made it to a life raft. 
14 of the 16 crew members have been rescued by the Coast Guard. Another was found, unresponsive, and later declared dead.

Captain Robin Walbridge
Captain Robin Walbridge
(Image by tallshipbounty.org)
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The US Coast Guard is still searching for the captain, 63-year-old Robin Walbridge. The crew was wearing orange survival suits with strobe lights.


Claudene Christian, Facebook image
Claudene Christian, Facebook image
(Image by facebook.com/claudene.christian)
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The dead crew member has been identified as Claudene Christian, 42. She is believed to be a descendant of Fletcher Christian, the master's mate on board the original Bounty. In 1789 he seized command of the Bounty from the officer in charge, William Bligh. In the 1962  movie, "Mutiny on the Bounty," the role of Fletcher Christian was portrayed by Marlon Brando.

 According to the wiki ,  Bounty "was the first large vessel built from scratch for a film using historical sources." Bounty participated in OpSail 2012.

The tallshipbounty.org website posted:

UPDATED NEWS!!!!!!!! We received a distress call for Bounty at 1830 Sunday evening October 28th that the Ship lost power and the pumps were unable to keep up with the dewatering. At that time we immediately contacted the USCG for assistance. A C130 was sent to there position approximately 90 miles SE of Cape Hatteras. Sunday morning approximately 0400, the Captain ordered all hands to abandon ship. There were 16 Crew on board. The USCG dispatched helicopters to rescue the brave crew. At this time, 14 of the 16 crew members have been safely returned to land and are in good health. We are saddened to report that there is still one crew member missing and one crew member that did not make it. Our hearts and prayers go out to the family of the crew member that is no longer with us. The USCG is continuing their efforts to search for the missing crew member and we are praying for a safe return. Please keep them in your prayers! We will keep everyone informed as info becomes available.

Bounty Sails Away
Bounty Sails Away
(Image by tallshipbounty.org)
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Meryl Ann Butler is an artist, author, educator and OpedNews Managing Editor who has been actively engaged in utilizing the arts as stepping-stones toward joy-filled wellbeing since she was a hippie. She began writing for OpEdNews in Feb, 2004. She became a Senior Editor in August 2012 and Managing Editor in January, (more...)
 

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