NavList:
A Community Devoted to the Preservation and Practice of Celestial Navigation and Other Methods of Traditional Wayfinding
"The Bounty"
From: Doug Royer
Date: 2004 May 27, 10:27 -0700
From: Doug Royer
Date: 2004 May 27, 10:27 -0700
This is a very good read.I recommend it to listmembers not for the navigation info included but for the background info of the affair. It delves mostly into the personnal histories,family connections,conditions of the times and court martial proceedings of the day. A few navigation procedures,equipement and results are discussed. Mainly while on Otihiate(Tahiti) when the quartermaster allowed the ship's Keller Chrono to wind down(he received 18 lashes for this).It didn't quite stop and Bligh and another officer had to rerate it.they did this by simultanious observations of the noon transit and early the next morning the transit of a planet. As for the equipement allowed Bligh and the launch on the 3,100 mi journey after the mutiny all involved state they received: Bligh's personnal octant,a good ship's compass,all the astronomical publications needed to reduce sights and a damaged,unreliable sextant Master Frye smuggled on board.There is also a good paragraph of Mr. Christian's navigation while in search of Pitcairn. There are a few suprises(at least to me)about this affair and its aftermath.I won't go into them because they spice up the whole story and actually make the book worthwhile reading.I will not state the reason given for the mutiny as it is intwined through out the story. Peter Heywood was involved in the mutiny but was connected politically and by marrage and family ties to both Lord Hoods and Lord Howe.His family used this influence and hired a respected barrister(Malcolm Graham)to position the court martial board into the verdict it gave on his involvement and the subsequent royal pardon.Much as O.J. Simpson did in his actuittal. It was Heywood's family as much as Christian's family who spread the rumors to discredit Bligh. Bligh was shown as one of the most progressive naval officers in the english navy at the time.In his victualating of the vessels,his handleing of diplomecy,his restricted use of corporal punishments and the health of the men under his command.He was human and had his faults.Berateing his officers in front of all at any time for any offense,saving the victuals for a "rainy day" while the men were on restricted rations for extended time. He was a highly decorated officer in his later carreer.He served with distiction under Lord Nelson at Copenhagen and was rewarded and recognised by both Nelson and the Admiralty for his actions. An interesting side note: During the Copenhagen confrontation The English Admiral hoisted the signal to withdraw.Lord Nelson stated he didn't see the Admiral's signal and charged ahead,directly supported by Bligh's vessel,and won a great victory.At the hearing on this matter it was shown Lord Nelson placed the scope to his blind eye thus he didn't see the signal. Bligh ended his carreer as a Rear Admiral of the Line.He was directly involed in 3 seperate mutinies.Bounty,Nore and New S. Wales. Peter Heywood ended his carreer as a decorated Post Captain. The book explains about the discovery and stories of all the people on Pitcairn Island.Some interesting info in this part of the story. I recommend reading this book if you have the time and/or interest.