Talisker Bounty Boat back on Australian soil

by Emily Dwiar on 1 Jun 2010 April 28, 2010 marked the 221st anniversary of the Mutiny on the Bounty, when Fletcher Christian cast William Bligh and 18 of his men adrift in a 23ft open boat, which marked the beginning of one of the greatest open boat voyages in maritime history. During the following seven weeks, Bligh and his men sailed over 3,700 nautical miles, in an overloaded boat, with little food or water and no charts, from Tonga to Kupang in Timor.

Australian adventurer Don McIntyre, and his three other crew, are reliving Bligh’s nightmare, by attempting to sail the same voyage under similar conditions, no charts, no toilet paper, not enough food or water, in an 18th century traditional open timber whale boat.

34 days since leaving the sparkling shores of Tonga, the Talisker Bounty Boat crew are back on Australian soil at Queensland’s Restoration Island. The National Park, about 800km North of Cairns, will provide the exhausted crew with a much needed two day break from what has been both a physically and emotional challenging voyage so far.

The crew, who are in the midst of recreating Captain William Bligh’s journey from Tonga to Timor, has survived for over a month in cramped and soaking conditions in a 25ft wooden boat that is continually filling with water. They have encountered a knock down, a poor and unpleasant diet consisting largely of sea biscuits and tinned corned beef, near misses with coral reefs and surreptitious sand cays, and a captain hit with gout and kidney stones.

Staying true to Bligh’s account, the crew will now spend two days on the Island that Bligh himself aptly named ‘Restoration Island’, partly due to the plentiful native fruits and oysters found there that aided his crew’s recuperation. The Talisker Bounty Boat crew will instead be celebrating the milestone moment by tucking into some much anticipated boiled chicken stew!

The crew are due to leave Restoration Island at first light this Thursday 3rd June and will tackle the tip of Cape York Peninsula before continuing the last leg of their ambitious journey towards Kupang in Timor. But with crew member Dave Wilkinson threatening to make Restoration Island his last stop, it looks like it could be ‘man down’ for the Talisker Bounty Boat Crew.

Don McIntyre commented; 'If that is Dave’s decision then I truly believe that we will be OK. Dave Pryce is my right hand man and a true tower of strength and young Chris Wilde has more than proved himself, so we will continue to be a strong team'.

Don McIntyre and the crew are also attempting to raise over $250,000 for The Sheffield Institute Foundation for Motor Neurone Disease (SIF) which is building the world’s first research Institute into Motor Neurone Disease (MND), Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s.

For the location of the Talisker Bounty Boat and to follow the crew’s blog visit www.taliskerbountyboat.com

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