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Crew from Historic Replica HMS Bounty Forced to Abandon Ship, Some Crewmembers Missing — Read the Captain’s Last Message

Oct. 29, 2012 10:16am Liz Klimas

The crew aboard the HMS Bounty 90 miles southeast of Hatteras N.C., in the Atlantic Ocean had to abandon ship, according to the U.S. Coast Guard. Fourteen members crew were rescued from open water early Monday, while a few still remain missing.

HMS Bounty Crew Abandons Ship 90 Miles from North Carolina Coast, 14 Rescued

HMS Bounty reportedly began taking on water Sunday evening causing the crew to abandon ship. Most were rescued Monday but a few remain missing. Numbers of those missing conflict in reports. (Image: Facebook)

The Coast Guard’s news release stated the life-jacket-wearing crew boarded two life boats among 18-foot seas with 40 mile per hour winds.

The Associated Press reported the crew being composed of 16 members, two of which remained missing. But the Facebook page for the ship says the crew included 17, meaning three would still be unaccounted for. The rescue took place at 6:30 a.m. Monday.

The director of the HMS Bounty Organization, Tracie Simonin, said that the tall ship left Connecticut last week for St. Petersburg, Fla. She said the crew had been in constant contact with the National Hurricane Center and tried to go around the storm. The Coast Guard’s news release stated that the ship lost communication late Sunday evening, but it was reestablished by the air crew from Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City aboard an HC-130 Hercules aircraft, which was dispatched at the ship’s distress call.

According to the Facebook page, this was the last communication from Capt. Robin Walbridge on Sunday:

Good evening Miss Tracie

I think we are going to be into this for several days, the weater looks like even
after the eye goes by it will linger for a couple of daysWe are just going to keep trying to go fast and squeese by the storm and land as
fast as we can.I am thinking that we will pass each other sometime Sunday night or Monday morningAll else is well
Robin

Captain Robin Walbridge (Image: Facebook)

According to the HMS Bounty’s website (via Business Insider), it is a replica of the 1789 British transport vessel that has a rumored mutiny surrounding it. The Bounty has been featured in documentaries and other films such as the “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest.” The ship usually ”sails the country offering dockside tours in which one can learn about the history and details of sailing vessels from a lost and romanticized time in maritime history.”

Update: Bounty is reported to have broken up in the storm claiming the life of one crew member. The captain of the ship remains missing.

Editor’s Note: This is a breaking story and the details differ on some accounts. We will update if more up-to-date numbers become available.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Comments (55)

zoro51
Posted on October 29, 2012 at 7:37pm
uh a 3 hour tour they said…. GILLIGAAAANNNN

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- JHS
  Posted on October 30, 2012 at 4:40pm
  OMG what a jackass
  
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thegreatcarnac
Posted on October 29, 2012 at 4:58pm
Perhaps it was scuttled due to a mutiny? (Just being aggravating)….I hope everyone survives.

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- flntlok1949
  Posted on October 29, 2012 at 5:47pm
  According to the Bounty Web site, the ship is still afloat; why is everyone saying it is sunk? Somebody wasn’t thinking straight to head that ship into the path of even a minor Hurricane. This just proves that modern tech is no match for manpower: 200 years ago the Bounty would have had a larger crew of competent Seamen using sail to get the ship and crew to safety!
  Prayers for those missing and hopes that the USS Constitution is safely docked! Sure as heck hate to lose the original!!!
  
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- The0bserver
  Posted on October 29, 2012 at 7:39pm
  There’s a news report that says that the Coast Guard says the ship is sunk, but the mast is still visible.
  
  http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2012/10/29/hurricane-sandy-ship-abandoned-ship-coast-guard/1665339/
  
  Maybe this is why people are saying it is sunk.
  
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Gdalts
Posted on October 29, 2012 at 3:31pm
Neither ship or crew loss could have occurred.. Sailors who travel hurricane country seek out whats called Hurricane Holes. These can be land locked water harbors, swamps, rivers, or any water blocked from direct ocean egress. Plan is to get boat/ship in there some times run her hard into a mud bottom, anchors out behind, ropes to strong points ashore, no mud then use anchors let her float. This system has been used for hundreds of years by small ships with success. You do not tie to any wharf thats exposed to waves in a storm..This was a loss caused by inexperience. GD (60 yrs small boats on a big ocean)

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RedheadedStepchild
Posted on October 29, 2012 at 3:18pm
It was docked in mine as well and I have been aboard. It saddens me not only that some of the crew is lost but the ship it gone. God Bless our sailors! My dad being a sailor, I full understand the bravery of these men and women.

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The0bserver
Posted on October 29, 2012 at 1:12pm
I took a picture of this ship in August as it was going through the Cape Cod Canal.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/eyespypittsburgh/8135319527/

I pray they find the 2 missing alive and OK.

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- The0bserver
  Posted on October 29, 2012 at 7:42pm
  Update: All but one of the survivors have been found. One of the missing is a woman who they say is unresponsive after 10 hours in the water and is on her the way to a hospital. The remaining missing persion is, apparently, the captain.
  
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Robert Hawk
Posted on October 29, 2012 at 1:12pm
Tough to hear this for the crew and their family. I pray they eventually find the other crew members. Putting out to sea is the best alternative to riding out a storm in port. Any ship in rough seas is problematic. Our heart goes out to the families of those lost at sea.

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COFemale
Posted on October 29, 2012 at 12:45pm
Call me crazy, but I don’t think I would have taken a ship out in an approaching hurricane. I guess that is from living in Florida for 20 or so years.

Not too long ago a dive boat in the Caribbean docked itself in Belize during a hurricane thinking that was the safest place since the storm was suppose to hit landfall away from them. However the storm turned and hit Belize straight on. The boat sank in the harbor and many on board went with her to their watery grave. It hit them in the middle of the night. Hurricanes are not forgiving.

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- Jinglebob
  Posted on October 29, 2012 at 5:15pm
  A very big question has not been answered to my knowledge. Why was the Bounty in open water after days, weeks for warnings. I can’t believe they couldn’t find a sheltered mouring someplace. To have loss of life and this beautiful gone is just stupid. Big insurance exposure here for sure.
  
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mark
Posted on October 29, 2012 at 12:45pm
Sad to hear of the loss of the replica H.M.S. Bounty. Pray for those lost at sea. Believe me, I’m no expert on sailing, but perhaps she was too undermanned to handle the problems that may have caused her to take on water. Alas, she was a beautiful 50 year old ship.

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ProbIemSoIver
Posted on October 29, 2012 at 12:37pm
I have been on that ship. It was docked in my hometown for years. It was on it’s way back.
Disturbing.

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focusonquality
Posted on October 29, 2012 at 12:33pm
Add your comments

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Salamander
Posted on October 29, 2012 at 11:27am
She was in the best quadrant to beat the storm! Might have thrown a plank? Things happen fast at sea! Pray that all are rescued!

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thegoldman
Posted on October 29, 2012 at 11:27am
Some people don’t have the brains they were born with…

You don’t take a wooden boat into a storm for fun which is what she did…

Tug boats go around or tie up for a storm, and they can lock up tighter than a drum also made of steel not wood !

Her license is gone the deaths are her fault…

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- RealLiibertarian
  Posted on October 29, 2012 at 1:34pm
  You are cluless and heartless. Any tall ship sailor knows that the best way to ride out a storm is at sea, not being battered against the dock. She was on the far side of the storm and should have been fine. Obviously, something went wrong, terribly wrong. But that is the chance that tall ship sailors take. They know it, they accept it. The tall ship community experienced a great loss today, something the landsmen will never understand.
  
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- The0bserver
  Posted on October 29, 2012 at 7:44pm
  The ship lost power and the pumps were no longer able to “dewater” the ship, according to the official website of the ship.
  
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diverdan
Posted on October 29, 2012 at 11:19am
My wife and I were long distance off shore sailors and, from experience I can tell you that 40 mph winds are not normally a problem (we have been in much stronger) although 18 foot waves are a different story. I can also tell you that the loss of a vessel rarely occurs because of a single big mistake but rather several small ones that combine. This vessel should have been able to handle the weather conditions so something else happened. It will take a while to figure it out but it will come down to equipment failure or the “multiple small mistake” scenario.

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bikerdogred1
Posted on October 29, 2012 at 11:06am
Have the captain give one good reason why he placed his ship and crew in harms way.

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- G-WHIZ
  Posted on October 29, 2012 at 11:13am
  You just watched all the commie/Progressive/Democrats jump-ship…cause it’s “TOOO-HARRRD!!”.
  
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- Polarized America
  Posted on October 29, 2012 at 11:17am
  I hope no children were on board
  
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- Salamander
  Posted on October 29, 2012 at 11:34am
  He didn’t! He was competently avoiding a storm in conditions that were manageable. Something failed and the ship was lost. Apparently the decision to abandon ship was as well thought out (and that’s a compliment) as the course to safely pass the hurricane! This is a BIG storm, but NOT a violent one, as far as hurricanes go! The damage to land will be from swells, waves and tides, and maybe flooding from the rains! Ships rise and fall with the tides and 40kts abeam or aft are quite normal for ocean passages. The Gulf Stream can interact with Northeasterly winds to send ‘square waves’ down on you, but it doesn’t appear to be foolhardy to put a ship to sea rather than let it be battered to splinters at dockside! The U.S. Navy made the same choice!
  
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DadRocked
Posted on October 29, 2012 at 11:01am
While living on St Pete Beach from ’79-’88, I had the pleasure to see her at The Pier across the peninsula in St Petersburg on the bay. Walked her decks dozens of times She was a tourist attraction. Story went that Bounty was to be burned at the end of filming, but Brando was firm to walk off the set in protest, so MGM kept it and berthed her in St. Petersburg. When Ted Turner bought the MGM films in ’86 the Bounty with it.

I remember being told by one of her crew that they had been in 20-25 foot seas and that she had an even roll. She had an engine when sailing would be considered dangerous or impossible to sail.

Ironic that she was abandoned where historic tall ships had sunk. Most notable is Blackbeard’s Queen Anne’s Revenge which had sunk by Morehead City NC, a mere 80+ nautical miles SW of The Bounty.

As 80MESH said below: “Lord watch over these mariners…amen.” AMEN!

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- Jinglebob
  Posted on October 29, 2012 at 11:05am
  Why was this ship out there? They had days of warnings before hand. No excuse.
  
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- DadRocked
  Posted on October 29, 2012 at 11:15am
  Makes little sense right now doesn’t it JingleBob. Reports are that she had left New London CT. Why not keep her berthed there then head south after the storm. She survived strong wind and storms during her berth in St Petersburg for over 25yrs. Go figure.
  
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Jenny Lind
Posted on October 29, 2012 at 10:51am
All that is running through my mind is sorrow for lost ones and the Mariners verse of “Almighty Father”, which any sailor knows. God bless their families, and welcome the lost ones.

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daxbrady
Posted on October 29, 2012 at 10:48am
Kind of a bad time to go out for a sail!

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IMCHRISTIAN
Posted on October 29, 2012 at 10:43am
My thoughts and prayers for them all.

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- Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
  Posted on October 29, 2012 at 10:48am
  Amen.
  
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Alky
Posted on October 29, 2012 at 10:39am
I was a fan of that ship, she’s been on my desktop for a couple of years now, I shall miss her!

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- orkydorky
  Posted on October 29, 2012 at 11:55am
  Hmmmm, something looks mighty familiar!!!!
  
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- GBTVFan_Non_American_Overseas
  Posted on October 29, 2012 at 6:31pm
  I’m actually starting to build a model of the HMS Bounty. My prayers are for them.
  
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fertlmind
Posted on October 29, 2012 at 10:36am
The crew is the main concern…
as for the ship,…..it is a replica !!!
Hopefully they had REAL LIFEBOATS and dry suits,… handheld marine radios,….etc.

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- Obama Snake Oil Co
  Posted on October 29, 2012 at 10:47am
  They did have drysuits and proper safety gear. We in NC got that from our USCG. Reports coming from the USCG, all on board were rescued. She settled in the Graveyard of the Atlantic at 8:45 am. We still have no word as to why it sank, waves, damage yet.
  
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- Gonzo
  Posted on October 29, 2012 at 10:54am
  Wow Snake Oil. Thanks for the update. Glad they are OK, shame about the ship.
  
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- AvengerK
  Posted on October 29, 2012 at 11:04am
  So we can rule out Tahiti for the crew and a lifeboat for the captain…thanks SNAKE OIL.
  
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NancyBee
Posted on October 29, 2012 at 10:31am
Praying for the crew!!!

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yougottabekidding
Posted on October 29, 2012 at 10:31am
It’s really a shame we can not predict these types of storms ahead of time!

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- hauschild
  Posted on October 29, 2012 at 10:42am
  Crazy, ain’t it??? Who’da thunk a ship would have issues in a tropical storm or hurricane???
  
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- GlennaBeckski
  Posted on October 29, 2012 at 10:46am
  I do hope and pray all are alive but isn’t it kinda like trying to outrun a train? Rarely does that turn out well.
  
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- Pouncing Porcupine
  Posted on October 29, 2012 at 10:52am
  Good one!
  Yeah, cuz if they could, then they’d issue some sort of “warning” or something.
  
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- wboehmer
  Posted on October 29, 2012 at 10:57am
  They “tried to go around the storm???” Someone surely wasn’t using their brain!
  
  The National Hurricane Center says this could be the largest tropical storm ever in the Atlantic Ocean. Hurricane Sandy already has surpassed Hurricane Lili in 1996 as the second largest Atlantic storm in 24 years of storm-size record keeping.
  
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- Gonzo
  Posted on October 29, 2012 at 11:01am
  It does certainly seem like it could have been avoided.
  
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- Polarized America
  Posted on October 29, 2012 at 11:15am
  More than a week ago they did predict that Sandy would hug the East Coast.
  
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mike_trivisonno
Posted on October 29, 2012 at 10:30am
This is terrible news.

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NancyBee
Posted on October 29, 2012 at 10:30am
Off topic…..Arkansas 3.9 earthquake…..my whole house shook

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- Tigress1
  Posted on October 29, 2012 at 10:37am
  I live in Memphis. What time did it happen? I didn’t feel anything over here.
  
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- momrules
  Posted on October 29, 2012 at 10:58am
  A 7.7 off the coast of Canada yesterday with aftershocks in Hawaii. Increasing number of them in Texas too. The Dallas area had three over one weekend not long ago.
  
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- NancyBee
  Posted on October 29, 2012 at 3:48pm
  It happened at 7:38 am………………..5 miles from Parkin, Arkansas…….
  
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80mesh
Posted on October 29, 2012 at 10:27am
Lord watch over these mariners…amen

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- QuincySmith
  Posted on October 29, 2012 at 10:35am
  Amen
  
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