A Tall Ship in Old San Juan- The HMS Bounty

Mutiny on the Bounty…

An epic tale of the high seas.. a true story of intrigue.  The kind great movies are made of.  But more about that, a little later on.

Having discovered the HMS Bounty was to ‘winter-over’ in Old San Juan again, it became a ‘must-see’ for this wannabe pirate.  A post on the Caribbean Business Website stated it would be on display through the end of March.  It’s open 6 days a week, but is randomly closed on one of the weekdays.  That might sound a little flaky, but they do this to accommodate cruse ship schedules and the occasional rainy day.  On Wednesday, the day we went, it was open from 11AM to 6PM, but hours can vary.

Instead of parking in Cataño and taking the ferry over to Old San Juan like we usually do, we drove directly to OSJ and found a parking garage.  We were there for less than 3 hours and it cost a little over $7 bucks to park.  More expensive than leaving the car in Cataño, but much more convenient.

The weather was great as can be seen in the photos.

On the drive in, I could see 2 cruise ships at port.  This means there would be a crowd, but it was not bad.  Saturdays are always crowded, Sundays are ‘elbow to elbow’.

Before heading down to the docks, we passed the plaza where a statue of Christopher Columbus stands.

It was a busy place with lots of vendors and colorful characters.  The ‘Scurvy Dog’ that caught me eye was Gerald Cramer, decked out in full pirate garb.  A crusty old guy with quite a story.  Seems he used to race dirt bikes on the mainland until he took a hard spill at 90mph and decided to do something else.  He has a book to his name as well- “Thief of Love”.

Everyone has a backstory.. his is pretty cool.

There was also a guy charging $2 bucks to take shots of his pet Iguanas dressed with jewelry.  These were smaller ones, not the 4 footers.  I tossed $2 at his bucket and he proceded to place the Iguana on me First Mate’s shoulder.  Not a good thing since the critter scratched her ear in the process.

I just wanted a shot of him holding it.

From there, we headed on down to the docks.  The HMS Bounty was located between Pier 2, where the Cataño shuttle launches from and the cruise ship docks.  Trolley Stop 14 is out in front of Pier 2 and will take you all the way to El Morro and back with lots of stops in between.

I have to say, the Bounty is not very big.

It looked down right small next to the Westerdam cruise ship.  Per Wikipedia, the ship was originally crewed by 46 officers and men.  Our intrepid guide Josh, said it is crewed with about half that now.  Josh is the real deal, having worked on the Bounty as crew.  He normally takes a break in the winter, but since the ship was to anchor in San Juan, he tagged along.  Quite the departure for his old job in a plywood factory.

In Perspective.. A Little History

The original HMS Bounty was a refit by the Royal Navy of the 3 year old ‘Bethia’.  It was a typical shallow bottom, bulk cargo ship of the period, perfect for negotiating reefs and sand bars.

The plan was to deck her out to go to Tahiti to collect breadfruit plants, then take them to the Caribbean to be used as a food source for slaves.  An experiment at best.  The captain’s cabin was converted into a makeshift green house to protect the plants in transit and collect fresh water from the runoff.  Because of these modifications, the captain was forced into a tiny cabin like the rest of the crew.

Part of the British Navy refit included adding several small
cannon.  Ships of this class were prime targets for well armed pirates.

It proved to be the HMS Bounty’s first and only voyage.

After a grueling 10 month jag to Tahiti and 5 months in paradise, most of the crew did not want to go on.  3 Weeks into the return voyage, 18 of the remaining 42 crew, mutinied.

They sent the captain off with his loyalists in the ship’s 23 foot open launch.  After trying to make a go of it in Tubuai, near Tahiti, the mutineers gave up and sailed to mis-charted Pitcarin Island where they burned the ship and made the island their home.  I’m summarizing here… a full account of the events can be read on the Wikipedia Website.

Mutiny on the Bounty, the Movie..

So it’s no surprise this story has been made into a movie.

Several, in fact.

Of the 3 most familiar ‘Mutiny on the Bounty’ movies, the last one with Mel Gibson and Anthony Hopkins (simply called- ‘The Bounty’– 1984) is considered the most historically accurate.  It was a Dino De Laurentiis Production.  The cinematography was stunning.  Daniel Day-Lewis and Liam Neeson were also in it.  There is actually a 2nd replica HMS Bounty and it was used to make this movie. More details can be seen in the comments below- Thanx- David T., Arrg!

The tall ship I had the pleasure of checking out was originally constructed for MGM Studios.  The 1962 version starred Marlon Brando and went way over budget.  I remember watching this movie as a kid, at the 4th Avenue Theater in downtown Anchorage, Alaska.  It was outrageous!

The square rigged ship itself cost almost a million to build.

The most expensive movie prop of it’s time (1960’s).  Though the ship is based on the original refit plans for the Bounty, they were modified to accommodate 70mm motion picture cameras by making the ceilings higher.  It was also used to film the the 1989 version of ‘Treasure Island’ with Charlton Heston and 2 of the ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ series as the ‘Edinburgh Trader’… along with a bunch of TV and documentary work.  Movie links are courtesy of the Internet Movie Database– IMDb.

It’s been around.

In 2006, the Bounty underwent major restoration.  A wooden ship like this needs constant attention.  One gal was busy slapping paint while we were there.

It has now outlived it’s namesake by 10 times.

When not doing movie work or tied up in San Juan, the Bounty can be seen on display along the Eastern Seaboard of the US.  You can also volunteer to work the Bounty and it’s available for special events.  All these details can be found on their Website, HERE.  On top of that, she’s for sale if you know who to ask.

The tour costs $10 for adults, $5 for children and seniors.

Not too bad.  It was mostly unguided allowing you to check out the ship and shoot at your own pace.  I like that.  Several areas were off limits for safety reasons.  Below deck was cramped and somewhat dark.  I had a hard time getting a good shot of the lounge at the stern of the ship where the breadfruit plants would have been kept.  The gallery had obviously been retrofitted to accommodate private parties.

The berths were tiny, just as they would have been in the 1780’s.

Midship, below deck was the Galley.  There, the crew had setup a table with HMS Bounty ‘swag’ for sale.

A special thanx goes to Josh, our guide, for much of the interesting details regarding the HMS Bounty.  He was part historian and part movie buff all rolled into one.   He knew his stuff.  A very likable guy and why the experience rates 5 Skulls.  Otherwise, I would have only given it 4.  ARRG!!!!

A great experience, one I recommend to all.

Many larger versions of these photos may be seen on me Facebook Page- HERE!

After that, we said our good byes and headed off to lunch at Vaca Brava, but I’m saving that for me next post.  L8r.