The famed H.M.S. Bounty , led by Captain Robin Walbridge and a crew of 18, will arrive in Cobh at the Port of Cork on Thursday evening the 17th, 2009. The ship will be available and open for the touring public from Saturday the 19th through the 20th. For her entire schedule please go the web site www.tallshipbounty.org. The Bounty has spent the last six months sailing the East coast of the Unites States, Halifax Nova Scotia, Belfast Ireland, Delfzijl, Leith and Greenock, Scotland. Bounty will be underway and on her way to Cobh on the 14th for an arrival on the 17th weather permitting.
Tours on board the Bounty are self-guided with crew assistance. The ship will be open to the public from 10am–5pm unless otherwise specified. Admission charges are 7.50 for adult’s children 4 and under are free. Bounty is one of the few ships that allow you to step below where the crew lives and work. You may step into the sailors’ cabins and see where Marlon Brando once stood along with other famous people. The tour begins on the Weather Deck where you are greeted by a crewmember and introduced to the ship, her working parts and history. The tour continues down the Main Companionway below to the “Tween” Deck where you are self-guided with signage that elaborates on the ship’s life both past and present.
During the summer months, Bounty offers a 6-week sail-away program for youth ranging from 12 – 18 years old. This program promotes all aspects of the ship from casual classes teaching sail theory, celestial navigation, Marlinspike seamanship and maritime history. Bounty also provides sail-training voyages for youth and adults as part of a leadership-learning program that promotes square-rigged sailing. Youth and adult passages are always available between all of Bounty’s ports of call.
The Bounty has also returned to her Hollywood roots. Originally built for the 1962 film Mutiny on the Bounty, as a replica of the ship in the famous 1789 mutiny against Captain William Bligh, she is now being used for many types of film productions. The Bounty has just completed her filming of Pirates of the Caribbean II and a Lone Wolf Production Group documentary on Blackbeard. The ship was used in 2003 for a documentary on Captain Bligh for the History Channel, and the new Sponge Bob Square Pants movie, which was released in November 2004. Bounty can also be seen in an episode for MTV that was shown in September 2004.
