November 2012 MAINE COASTAL NEWS Page 5. HURRICANE SANDY CLAIMS HMS BOUNTY
It was no secret that the East Coast of the United States was going to be hit by a massive hurricane, known as Sandy the end of October. The news fl ashed for days as the hurricane made its way through the West In- dies and then turned and headed up the East Coast. Weather forecasters were saying that this storm was going to be one of the most devastating in decades to hit the Northeast. A number of times the weather people build us up and the storm fails to live up to its billing, but this one did for too many areas. As the storm warnings were issued,
Captain Robin Walbridge made the decision to take HMS BOUNTY out into the Atlantic and head south for the winter. BOUNTY, with 16 persons on board, 11 men and 5 women, left Connecticut for St. Petersburg, FL on 25 October.
Some were worried about BOUNTY being out in the hurricane and a post on Face- book tried to quell the worriers by saying, “Rest assured that the BOUNTY is safe and in very capable hands. BOUNTY’s current voyage is a calculated decision ... NOT AT ALL ... irresponsible or with a lack of fore- sight as some have suggested. The fact of the matter is ... A SHIP IS SAFER AT SEA THAN IN PORT!”
The messages being posted on Face- book then took a turn for the worst as the storm pummeled the vessel and mid-Mon- day morning the post read, “Please bear with us ... There are so many confl icting stories going on now. We are waiting for some confi rmation.” BOUNTY had developed a leak, which was being taken care of by the two 375-hp John Deere generators and pumps. Despite several feet of water in the hold the crew was still confi dent that they could keep her afl oat. Unfortunately, when the generators stopped so did the pumps and the fate of the vessel was sealed. With water increasing in the ship’s hold there was no choice but to issue a distress call. This was done Sunday evening, but later rescinded. As the water increased there was no choice but to aban- doned ship. At this point the crew members dawned their survival suits and climbed into the two canopied life rafts. Thirteen of the crew members made it into the life rafts, but three were swept off the deck with just one getting to a life raft.
The Coast Guard arrived on scene, which was 90 miles off the North Carolina coast, with a C-130 and a helicopter. When the U. S. Coast Guard helicopter arrived they witnessed BOUNTY about to make her fi nal plunge with masts still visible. The Coast Guard helicopter pilot said that the waves were about 30 feet in height, but another source thought they were 18 feet. Coast Guard rescue swimmer Randy Haba, said that those were the biggest seas that he had ever been in. He assisted four crew members
off of life rafts and another, who was in the water. They were able to rescue all 14 peo- ple on the life rafts. When the rescued crew members returned to the mainland, some were wrapped in blankets and others were still wearing their red survival suits they had put on to prevent hypothermia in the chilly waters. They received medical attention and then were debriefed by the Coast Guard as to what happened for their investigation. Those rescued did not talk to reporters. Unfortunately, there were still two crew members who were not accounted for. As the search continued the Coast Guard located another person in the water several hours later and was able to get them on board the helicopter. Unfortunately, they were unresponsive. The unresponsive crew member was found about 9 or 10 hours after having abandoned ship. Rescuers performed CPR but were not successful. She was fl own to Albemarle Hospital, Elizabeth City, NJ, hospital where she was pronounced dead. She was 42-year old Claudene Christian from Southern California, who claims to be related to Fletcher Christian who was the leader of the crew that mutinied against Captain William Bligh and taking control of HMS BOUNTY in 1789. Claudene graduat- ed from USC in 1992, a former Miss Teen Alaska and was owner of the Cheerleader Doll Company. The family has set up a me- morial fund to help defray funeral costs for Claudene. For those who would like to make a donation, make checks out to Armstrong Bank, P. O. Box 435, Vian, OK 74962. The Coast Guard continued their search for the captain who was still unaccounted for. Captain Wallbridge learned to sail in his teens when he borrowed a sailboat. Within a few years he had purchased a 38-foot schooner and had obtained a 50-ton license. He worked on Miller houseboats in Florida and taught seamanship classes on the side. He ran day sailing programs at Governor Stone in Apalachicola, FL and earned his 100-ton license. He then went to work for Vision Quest on board the schooner BILL OF RIGHTS where he began helping kids get on the right course. In 1993, he worked on HERITAGE of Miami in Boy Scout programs. At the same time he was on- call mate for Sea Education Association’s WESTWARD and CORWITH CRAMER. He also took some time to sail on the 198- foot U. S. brig NIAGARA on Lake Erie, which sparked his love for square rigged sailing vessels. A little later he become the mate of HMS ROSE and obtained his 500- ton license and by the mid-1990s he earned his 1,600-ton license. In the mid-1990s he fell in love with HMS BOUNTY and had it not been for this love she would have rotted and sunk at her dock in Fall River, MA. It was Robin who worked hard to save her coupling her with aiding young adults. One
highlight that came for Robin in the late 1990s was training the crew of U.S.S. CONSTITU- TION and her sail in Boston harbor in Oc- tober 1997. BOUNTY has had several owners, made hundreds of port visits and played roles in a number of movies. Through it all, one of the mainstays for HMS BOUNTY was always Robin. He learned na- val architecture from David Wyman of Cas- tine, who has been in- volved with BOUNTY for a number of years. BOUNTY was built by Smith & Ruhland Shipyard of Lunenburg, Nova Sco- tia for the movie “Mu- tiny on the Bounty”.
HMS BOUNTY at the Pirate Festival in Eastport in September.
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