The U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) rescued 14 of the 16 crew who abandoned the replica tall ship HMS Bounty on Monday morning.  The ship came into the path of Hurricane Sandy off North Carolina and the USCG used helicopters to lift them from life rafts, the Coast Guard said in a statement. Hours later, they found Claudene Christian, 42, unresponsive. She was later declared dead.

The USCG continues to search for the Captain about 160 miles (260 km) from the eye of the storm.  The first of two MH-60 Jayhawk helicopters arrived on scene at about 6:30 a.m. (1030 GMT) and hoisted five people to safety, and a second helicopter arrived and rescued nine people, the Coast Guard said.  Click here for dramatic footage of the rescue.

 “The 16 people donned cold water survival suits and life jackets before launching in two 25-man lifeboats with canopies,” stated the Coast Guard. 

The ship was on its way from New London, Connecticut, to St. Petersburg, Florida when it lost power about 90 miles (145 km) southest of Hatteras, North Carolina.  The three-mast, 180-foot (55-metre) vessel was believed to be taking on water and was without propulsion.

The tall ship was built for the 1962 movie “Mutiny on the Bounty” and the original Bounty, a British transport vessel, gained infamy for a mutiny in Tahiti in 1789.  The 1962 movie starred Marlon Brando as lead mutineer Fletcher Christian. The replica Bounty has appeared in numerous documentaries and feature films including “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest”. 

Story/video courtesy of the Huffington Post, click here for the full article

exactAIS® tracking of the HMS Bounty as it came across the path of Hurricane Sandy off North Carolina

Source: exactEarth