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A Community Devoted to the Preservation and Practice of Celestial Navigation and Other Methods of Traditional Wayfinding
Re: HMS Bounty
From: Doug Royer
Date: 2004 May 17, 18:26 -0700
From: Doug Royer
Date: 2004 May 17, 18:26 -0700
Robert, You bet.It's a real interesting read so far and Bligh was a very educated person.A great navigator.The book goes into some detail of his voyage after the mutiny.There are pictures of a page of his daily log and some sight data.I haven't gotten that far in the book yet but sneaked a peek forward and read a small amount of the transit.I read the 2 volumn account many years ago(I was a teen) but at the time I wasn't interested in navigation as now.This should be quite interesting.As for Bligh's bad rep I believe most of that came from Hollywood.They needed a villan to be opposite Marlon brando or Mel Gibson. I aggree with Worsley's feat as also the best example of navigation.I get shivers up my spine whenever I read or hear about that whole expedition and its'great ending for all.What an accomplishment for shakleton and Worsely.One thing I didn't like was that the boatmaker never got his medal because of his argument with Sir Ernest.He should have been awarded it. -----Original Message----- From: Navigation Mailing List [mailto:NAVIGATION-L@LISTSERV.WEBKAHUNA.COM]On Behalf Of Robert Eno Sent: Monday, May 17, 2004 17:31 To: NAVIGATION-L@LISTSERV.WEBKAHUNA.COM Subject: Re: HMS Bounty Thanks Doug, Captain Bligh is one of the most misunderstood and perhaps the most unjustifiably slandered Captain in history. The last book that I read about this man was "Captain Bligh: The Man and His Mutinies" by Gavin Kennedy. Bligh was, according to this book, one of the more humane Captains in the British Navy. Unfortunately for him, he was a nit picking perfectionist and demanded 110% of his officers. If he did not get that, he would often berate them in a barrage of blue smoke. As far as his men, he was always concerned with their health. Apparently made them take their ascorbic acid and do calisthenics on deck to keep them in shape. Bligh was also a superb navigator. It irks me to no end that he continues to be depicted as a tyrant. If you like Shackleton (as I do) then you may have already read the book "Shackleton" by Roland Huntford and "Endurance" by Alfred Lansing. I consider Frank Worsley's navigation from Elephant Island to South Georgia Island to be the greatest ever feat of navigation. The funny thing is, whenever I think about it, it is not the 100 foot monster waves, the fear, the hunger and the deprivation that gets to me. It is the thought of Worsley's sextant being subjected to a continual bathing of salt spray without the benefit of a nightly cleaning. It makes me squirm. When you finish reading the book on Bligh, perhaps you would be so kind as to give us a book review. cheers, Robert ----- Original Message ----- From: "Royer, Doug"To: Sent: Monday, May 17, 2004 3:07 PM Subject: HMS Bounty > All, > I obtained a hardbacked copy of a new(2003) Mutiny on the Bounty story. > It is called "The Bounty" by Caroline Alexander.She also wrote the book "The > Endurance" a few years ago that was very well researched and written.I > picked that book up because as I explaned to G. Huxtable a while back > Shackleton was one of my boyhood heroes. > This new book(I only started it,now on pg 59)is very interesting and > somewhat differant from the story I read as a kid.This book is very well > researched and may shead some new light on what happened to Bligh and all > involved. > Just thought I would share the above if anyone is interested. > >