Mutiny On The Bounty

221 years ago, the sailors of the “Bounty” mutinied and kicked Captain Bligh and 18 crew members off the ship in the middle of the South Pacific.

“Bligh navigated the 23 foot (7 m) open launch on a 47-day voyage, first to Tofua and then to Timor in the Dutch East Indies. Equipped with a sextant and a pocket watch and with no charts or compass, he recorded the distance as 3,618 nautical miles (6710 km). He was chased by cannibals in what is now known as Bligh Water, Fiji and passed through Torres Strait along the way, landing in Kupang, Timor...”

Two days ago, “skipper Don McIntyre and his three companions were dropped into the water yesterday, at the same spot, and at the same time as Bligh, they had just two weeks worth of water, very little food, and a complete lack of any luxury items, including charts to navigate by or even toilet paper. Over the next seven weeks, they hope to cross the same 4000 mile stretch of open water as the Bounty's crew, surviving in much the same fashion.”