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Through theHurst Narrows:HMS BountyFor almost 480 years, Hurst Castle hasstood sentry over the western Solent, itsbrooding walls witness to many a historicship that has passed through the HurstNarrows. In this, the first of a series ofarticles, Tricia Hayne takes a look atarguably the most famous of them all,HMS Bounty.Artist unknownOriginally a collier by the name of Bethia, the215-ton Bounty was built in 1784 at Kingstonupon Hull, but within three years she hadbeen snapped up by the Royal Navy for£1,950. Her future role, to collect breadfruitplants from Tahiti as a possible source ofcheap food for slaves in the West Indies, wasa far cry from her industrial beginnings.After weeks of frustrating hold ups, WilliamBligh finally set sail from Spithead on 23December 1787, with a crew of 45 men. Thethree-masted vessel under his command,equipped with four four-pounder cannonsand ten swivel guns, must have looked quitea sight in full sail as she passed the castle,but it’s unlikely that Bligh had time for suchniceties. His relief at finally weighing anchormay well have been tempered with concernfor conditions on his cramped ship, whichhad been refitted for the mission, and aboutwhat lay ahead. His concerns were morethan justified. Attempting to round CapeHorn, he and his crew battled torrential rainand heavy seas for 30 days before concedingdefeat and changing course for the Cape ofGood Hope. With a refit in southern Africa,it was to be a full ten months before theyarrived in Tahiti.Life in the South Pacific may sound prettyidyllic, and certainly the crew enjoyed someof their time ashore, but faith in theircaptain was waning fast. By the time thatthe Bounty left the island with her cargo ofbreadfruit on 6 April 1789, the mood wasalready sour, and within barely three weeks,under the leadership of the master’s mate,Fletcher Christian, it had turned mutinous.Taken by surprise, Bligh was cast adrift with18 men. That he made it back to England isa credit to his seamanship. The rest of thecrew, however, returned to Tahiti on boardthe Bounty before finally making their homeon Pitcairn Island. And there, havingremoved everything of value from the ship,they set it alight.Although random relics of the ship wereremoved during subsequent expeditions, thewreck itself lies slowly rotting in the shallowwaters off Pitcairn Island, where it remainedundiscovered until 1957. It was to beanother 41 years before the last of the ship’sfour-pounders was recovered byarchaeologists from James Cook University.A splendid model of HMS Bounty has beenkindly loaned to the Friends of Hurst Castleby the family of the late Fred Mann, whospent two years building his scale replica tothe finest detail. Keep an eye out for it inthe castle’s west wing when this is finallyre-opened to the public.The Friends of Hurst Castle was formed in1986 to support this historic building, whichis owned by English Heritage. Why not joinus? For details, contact Tricia Hayne attrjhayne@gmail.comPlease mention Your Village when responding to advertisements11