Malolo Lailai Bound.
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Part 1. |
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By
Peter Andrews, © 1998. |
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From the bowsprit of the Bounty, mid South
Pacific. A similar image taken by myself, was published in a
sailing publication without consent. The image was taken with
one of a number of other camera's I had taken out to the end
of the bowsprit to capture this image. The bowsprit is considerably
the worst place on the ship to fall overboard. Considering the
bottom of the ship is relatively flat, a person falling from
the bowsprit could be drawn along the length of the ship's keel
and into the path of the rotating propellers. One person who
was not prepared to take the risk, wrote a small article about
the voyage and sent it along with the image I had taken with
their camera, to a sailing magazine for publication. Considering
the lack of consent or any acknowledgement for the image, I contacted
the editor of the publication and successfully enforced copyright
regulations to receive payment, accreditation and an apology,
published within an editorial of a later issue. |
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"It
must have been blowing at least fifty knots, a wind squall that
seemed endless yet lasted for five or six minutes. There were
only two, Nathan and I aloft, to furl the fore upper topsail...
Yet this was not Cape Horn or the stormy North sea, nor a mid
Atlantic hurricane or anywhere in the region of the Roaring Forties.
No, just Rose Bay in Sydney Harbour on an Autumn day". |
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Abstract.
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What commences with
a reflection of a miserable wet day on the barquentine 'Svanen'
on Sydney Harbour, the story shifts back to mid 1990 and a two
week voyage across the South Pacific on the Bounty Replica. The
voyage from Norfolk Island to Malolo Lalai in the Fijian Yasawa
group of islands, was subjected to severe tropical storms and
a large number of problems -- stemming from the condition of
ship. Added to this was a significant communication breakdown
between the master and the entire crew, one that ultimately led
to a walkout while the ship was on a slipway in Suva. Yes, another
mutiny on the Bounty story, but one that was quite funny for
those who were there. Back at sea, three yachts were missing
and 36 shipping containers were floating around in the South
Pacific. The containers just simply fell over the side of a ship
during the first of two storms encountered by the 'Bounty' on
the way to Fiji. Despite the drama, there are also some wonderful
and exciting moments and of course, an interesting tale of a
very sick Zodiac rubber tender. |
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The Barquentine
Svanen arrives at Wollongong, mid 1998. This ship built in 1922,
arrived in Australia in 1988 as one of the First Fleet Re-Enactment
vessels. Now based in Sydney, Svanen regularly makes offshore
voyages including one to Wollongong each year to slip for maintenance. |
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"The
'Bounty' at sea is an incredible experience. However at the time,
she unfortunately had been allowed to get into quite a run down
state. During the voyage quite an alarming number of things broke
down... and motoring through the tropics as the master was alleged
to have some fear of the wind, was of no further help to the
situation". |
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The constant happy smiling faces of Cathrine
from Norway (right) and Jane from the United Kingdom, preparing
some potatoes for an evening meal on the Bounty. |
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"The
wind was now howling along between forty to forty five knots
and the ship was surfing down three to four metre swells". |
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Taken from a cliff top on Norfolk Island,
the Bounty at anchor. For a couple of days, the ship had to seek
shelter in the lee of Norfolk Island from stormy conditions,
before any crew change and a restock of provisions could take
place. |
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"When
the ship returned to Sydney, news filtered out that the crew
had walked off the ship in Suva -- another 'Mutiny on the
Bounty' story. This one however was quite amusing and has been
recited many times over in various bars, taverns, parties and
reunions all around the world by those who were there". |
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Life on deck between watches. When the
weather was calm, lazing about on deck under the warmth of the
South Pacific's Winter sun was bliss. |
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"It
must have been hell of a good party as one of the guy's who flew
back with the mate landed at Sydney's Kingsford Smith with his
face firmly planted to the tray table and I believe it was quite
an effort to get him off the plane and through customs". |
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