The U.S. Coast Guard is continuing efforts to search for Robin Walbridge, the captain of the HMS Bounty, Tuesday, after they rescued 14 members from the sunken ship early Monday morning. One member of the HMS Bounty crew, Claudene Christian, 42, did not make it, according to the ship’s website.
According to reports from the U.S. Coast Guard the owner of the ship contacted the Coast Guard Sector North Carolina after losing contact with the crew Sunday evening. The 5th Coast Guard District in Portsmouth received a distress call from the crew late Sunday evening and sent a Coast Guard search airplane to the scene and immediately established communication with the crew.
The ship was 90 miles south of Cape Hatteras in North Carolina battling 18ft seas and 40 mph winds. Reports from the HMS Bounty website said at 0400, Walbridge ordered crew members to abandon ship.
The U.S. Coast Guard reported that two rescue helicopters they had launched from Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City arrived on the scene at 0630 to find fourteen members of the crew had divided among two 25-man lifeboats. The crew members were all wearing cold weather survival suits and life jackets.
The HMS Bounty has sunk but the mast is still visible above the water, according to the U.S. Coast Guard. The 180 ft boat is one of the most famous ships in the world, and is a replica of the original British transport vessel built for the 1962 movie Mutiny on the Bounty.
For more information on the HMS Bounty visit the ship’s website at tallshipbounty.org
For more information regarding the U.S. Coast Guard, or their rescue, visit uscg.mil
Photo courtesy of the U.S. Coast Guard
