BEST OF 2013: HMS Bounty Hearings: Into The Eye Of the Storm

HMS Bounty Hearings: Into The Eye Of the Storm
Doug Mills
Maritime Editor
RCN America Network
Feb. 20, 2013


Today was a very busy day at the HMS Bounty hearings.  We heard from two Bounty hands and three captains of other tall ships.
First up today was Anna Sprague Deckhand on the bounty.  Much of her testimony was the same as we have been hearing.  She spoke of how long it took to get the first person into the life raft.  It took nearly an hour to get 6 people into the raft.  Anna stated that at one point she could hear a cry for help “Help me I’m caught”  But they were too farr away to get to.
There was continued questioning astute bilge pump systems and how there were concerns about the pumps before the ship set out for Florida.
We also heard from Jessica Black the cook on the Bounty.  She joined the crew the day before they sailed.

The rest of the day was given over to three highly experienced tall ship captains. The first was Captain Moreland from the Picton Castle.  Captain Moreland has over 40 years of experience most of that time in wooden sailing ships.  Master of the Picton Castle for the last 10 years.
On October 19th they were scheduled to sail south from Lunenburg, Nova Scotia but due to the weather forecast for the next days they postponed their departure.  As the storm developed the decision was made to prepare for heavy weather at the dock in Lunenburg.
When asked his reaction to finding out that Captain Walbridge had taken the HMS Bounty into the hurricane, Captain Moreland said that if he had found out sooner he would have personally called  him and even yelled at him for making such a decision.
He stated he could not imagine heading out into that storm, he could not believe it, it was shocking.

Next to testify was Captain Miles of the Pride Of Baltimore II.  Questions about caulking and the need to have it done by experienced caulkers.  Both Captains were asked about the products used to seal the seams after the caulking had been done.  Both Captains stated that they would never consider using a product like Dap, as the Bounty had used.
When asked “ What was your reaction to the Bounty sailing into the teeth of a hurricane, Captain Miles stated that he could not understand, “I was rather stunned!”  They should have stayed in port or possible moved to New Bedford which was better protected.  He stated he could not understand a reason to sail into that kind of weather.  Mariners should avoid as best they can a hurricane.   “It was reckless in the extreme!”

The last witness of the day was Captain Bailey of the Gazela Primeiro and the replica of the HMS Rose which appeared in the movie Master and Commander. When asked about Captain Walbridges decision to sail he stated he could not understand what would cause him to do such a thing.

BEST OF 2013: HMS Bounty Hearings Continue: Nightmare at Sea

Bounty Hearings: Nightmare at Sea
Doug Mills
Maritime Editor
RCN America Network

Scheduled to tesitfy on Feb. 18:

Matthew Sanders - Second mate of Bounty
Christopher Barksdale - Engineer of Bounty
Douglas Faunt - Deckhand/radio officer of Bounty

Matthew Sanders

A lot of time was spent questioning about the pumps and generators in great detail.  Matt Sanders the Second Mate spent Sunday night in the engine room keeping the pumps going.  During that last night the generator kept cutting out.  He struggled , replacing fuel filters and just trying to keep the generator and the pumps working through the as the water continued to rise.  The water finally reached the starboard generator and shorted it out.  Working in now waist deep water he attempted start the port generator.  After 1-2 hours, it was hard to keep track of time under those conditions, of changing fuel filters and bleeding the system he was able to get it running and restore power for the pumps and the radio.  It ran for about 3 hours before it to was overcome by the ever rising water.

Douglas Faunt

At this time the engine room had to be abandoned due to the height of the water and the shorting electrical equipment!  Preparations were being made to abandon ship.
All hands were brought up on deck and as they were moving to a position on the stern the bow went under and the Bounty was struck by a wave that rolled her onto her side.  In a nightmare of debris, rigging, wind and waves all hands were thrown overboard.  This was the last time that Captain Robin was seen being thrown back and forth on the deck.
Matt found himself in the water being forced under several times by the masts and rigging.  He was able to swim free away from the dangers of the pitching boat.  He spotted an life raft and managed to swim to it.  Still not safe as he could not get himself into the raft!  Some other crew members were able to enter from the other side and eventually did pull him in.  Than they waited for the morning.

Christopher Barksdale

Testimony from Bounty’s engineer, Christopher Barksdale stated that he had ordered replacement fuel filters when they left Boothbay to be delivered in New London.  When they were delivered they delivered the wrong filters.  It is not known if this affected the operation of the boat.  They did have a lot of problems with fuel filters during the height of the storm.

We may never know what caused that tragedy.

Captain Robin Walbridge overseeing Bounty's relaunch just 10 days before she went down.

One thing that seems abundantly clear was that this was an exceptional professional crew.

BEST OF 2013: HMS Bounty Hearing: The Last Hours of The Bounty

In hearings today Daniel Cleveland - Third mate of the Bounty testified, as did Laura Groves - Boatswain of Bounty
Much of the questioning was about the condition of the boat.  When the Bounty was in dry dock in Boothbay, Maine there was rot found in some of the frame of the boat.  After the dry dock period a watch for any leaks showed the bilge area to be exceptionally dry.  There were questions about ships procedures and emergency drills which the Bounty held on a very regular basis.  When questioned about the decision to sail south rather than ride it out at the dock Daniel Cleveland stated he did not thing that the crew would be safer at the dock as the storm surge was great enough to have put the boat onto the dock.

The Last Hours of the HMS Bounty

Thursday 25th…Bounty sails from New London, Ct. after determining ,as with most large vessels, it is better to weather a storm at sea.  The plan was to run hard South and East and try to cut back in toward the west once there was no chance of the storm also turning west and driving them into the land.
Things were calm the weather was actually quite nice.  Time was spent battening down anything that could break loose when  they did get into some heavy seas.

Friday 26th…Started off calm.  Continued storm preparations.

Saturday 27th … The seas start running 8-12 feet and the wind starts to increase.  One of the two onboard generators starts to give problems, smoking and occasionally loosing power.

Sunday 28th …The storm continues to intensify.  Lifelines are rigged both below deck and on deck.  There have been no injuries however there has been some seasickness.  Fatigue becomes an issue as the day wares on.
Early on the seas reach 30’ with winds of 90 knots.  The storm sail ripped out and had to be replaced be another storm sail, however, it was impossible to walk on deck due to the wind.  The work had to be accomplished on their hands and knees.
Water starts coming in through a seem in the engine room.  The bilge pumps are having a hard tome keeping up.
Around 1600 Captain Robin Walbridge ordered them to heave too due to the fact that they are loosing the battle with the water coming into the bilges of the boat.  From this point on crew was kept off the deck as much as possible for their safety.  Water was continuing to come into the engine room.
At midnight they completely lost power for a short time.  Crew tried to use an emergency gas powered pump but were unable to keep it running.  The water continued to rise and the crew had to abandon the engine room,.  The crew continued preparations for the possibility they would have to abandon ship.  Emergency supplies flotation deveses and survival suits were prepared.
At some point Captain Robin Walbridge fell and injured his back.  During this tome Captain Robin and other crew were on the radio and phones to the Coast Guard to try to get generators delivered and to report their condition to rescuers and to the boat owners.  It soon became apparent that the generators could not be delivered in time to save the ship it was time to give as much of the crew time to rest with a few continuing to work the gas powered pump but to no avail.
Abandon ship… with survival suits on the crew is brought on deck and mad their way to the stern on their hands and knees where the life rafts were located.  At this point the bow went under water and the ship pitched over 90 degrees throwing the crew into the sea.  The crew grabbed whatever they could and tried to swim away from the boat.  The ship continued to pitch over sending the masts and spars into the waters where the crew were desperately trying to swim away from the ship.  Six of the crew grabbed a large grate.  One of the life rafts was spotted but the were unable to catch up to it.  They did eventually find a life raft that had not been inflated and were able to inflate it.  With their survival suits on they were unable to grab the ropes and had to grab onto the raft with their teeth.  After a while they were able to get the crew into the raft.  All this in the dark around 4AM.
Once in the raft they were in good spirits but not out of the woods.  The waves were so strong that they were threatening to collapse the life raft.  Something before dawn a large wave totally flipped the raft.  Fortunately the Coast Guard Rescue Helicopter arrived and they all got back into the water and were lifted to safety.
The last time that Captain Robin and  Claudene Christian were seen was on deck before the ship pitched over.

 

BEST OF 2013: Tall Ships and Warm Breezes

HMS Bounty just days before it sailed south into history.

Tall Ships and Warm Breezes
On A Cold Winters Day
By Doug Mills
RCN America Network

Victory Chimes, "The mother ship"

In the midst of a long cold winters day

I will fly on the wings of my memories

To a place with warm breezes

Filling the sails in the warm summer sun

And I will sail on my dreams

Till I am refreshed and ready to face

The day ahead.

    I have tried several times to write this story, but I think I needed to get a little further down the road first.  As a child I grew up around the historic sailing fleet on the coast of Maine.  I would watch the three masted schooner Victory Chimes and dream of sailing away on her.
    As a child I planned on being an artist when I grew up.  Upon finishing high school it was nearly impossible to break into the art world.  It was not till I was 55 that I was able to realize that dream.  Little did I know that accomplishing one dream in my life would lead to the accomplishing of the other of my lifelong dreams to sail the on the Victory Chimes and many other of these historic ships.
    This past year of sailing was a bittersweet year.  It started early with such an early spring the boats started being hauled out early.  One by one the boats were brought to the North End Shipyard in Rockland and brought ashore for inspection, maintenance and a new coat of paint.  By Memorial Day many of the boats were starting their sailing season.

Pilot schooner Timberwind haul out.

 

    July is the busiest time for me starting with my annual photo workshop onboard the Victory Chimes.  This past sail was an amazing week.  The weather was perfect and the moon was full.  I will never forget the spectacular scenes that unfolded as the full moon rose over Burnt Coat Harbor in Swans Island, and the following evening as the fleet anchored in Wooden Boat Cove under the full Moon!  The end of the week the

Historic schooners before The Great Schooner race.

 whole fleet assembled in Rockland Harbor for The Great Schooner Race.  What an amazing site to see and be a part of this kind of history.  Many of the boats involved in the race were over 100 years old and two were 141 years old.  The race itself took about three and a half to four hours and the Victory Chimes was the overall winner this year!

Getting underway for The Great Schooner Race.

    The following weekend I sailed aboard the Angelique “The Angel of Penobscot Bay” ,out of Camden, for the Maine Windjammer Parade in Rockland.  Again the whole fleet was assembled along with others ,like the Harvey Gamage, for the parade of classic tall ships which the Maine Windjammer Association hosts each year in Rockland.  I remember it was so warm and the sky and ocean were the deepest blue you can imagine.

Timberwind coming across the bow of Angelique.

Harvey Gamage under full sail.

 

Following the Bowditch into port.

 
    It was just a few days later that I came to meet Captain Robin Walbridge and the HMS Bounty for the first time.  The day was warm and the lines were long to have a chance to board the HMS Bounty.  I had setup the interview with Captain Walbridge weeks in advance.  I am not sure what I was expecting but found Captain Robin to be very easy to talk with.  I was left with the impression that here was a man I would like to get to know much better.  I thought this would be my only chance to see this legend, but I was to find out that our paths would cross again.

Friendship Sloop Days in Rockland, Maine

    Next came the Friendship Sloop Days.  The Friendship Sloop seems to be a miniature version of the schooners I love so much.  It was again a perfect weekend for sailing, sun and warm breezes.  There are no more beautiful sailing grounds then Penobscot Bay.  During the summer other of the tall ships would slip into Rockland,  Amistad and the Pride of Baltimore 2.

A Maine Coast Sunrise

 

The schooner Amistad at Rockland.

 
It was in September that HMS Bounty again became part of my experience.  I was able to shoot her as  she was hauled out for maintenance at the Boothbay Harbor Shipyard.  This has only happened a few times that the Bounty was hauled out of the water and I was able to be on the railway to document the occasion.  Little did I know that this would be the last time that the Bounty would ever be hauled out.  A month later I was back for her relaunch.  What a site to see that great ship slip back into the Atlantic.  I remember the sense of sadness as I had to leave her that day thinking that it would be some time till I would see her again.  A few days later she sailed south into history.
 

HMS Bounty on the railway.

My last view of the HMS Bounty, taken only days before she sailed into history.

The year may have ended on a sad note, but life goes on.  It is up to us to hold and treasure all that is good and to bring those warm memories back to mind to help us through the cold and icy times in our lives.

HMS Bounty "The Last Refit"

Doug Mills

Rcn America Network

It is hard to believe it has been a year since the HMS Bounty left her dock at the Boothbay Harbor Shipyard and headed south into the history books. 

Here is a reprint of the gallery that was published when she was relaunched in Boothbay Harbor Maine after her last drydock refit.

Early on launch day.

Bounty prepared for her return to the sea.

As the sun climbs into the sky, the Bounty starts her journey to the sea.

Under the watchful eye of the Boothbay Harbor Shipyard staff the cradle moves slowly into the water.

The Bounty settles into the water.

Lines are tossed and secured.

The watchful eye of Captain Robin.

Captain Robin has mastered Bounty for nearly 20 years!

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