As all of us here in the middle and western parts of the country wait anxiously in the hope that our friends and family on the East Coast will be alright through the landfall of Hurricane Sandy, it’s hard not to become inundated with news coverage. One particular story that has a connection to the film world is that of the HMS Bounty, the replica ship that has been used in films such as Mutiny on the Bounty, Treasure Island and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, which was overwhelmed this morning by the oncoming storm 90-miles off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina.
According to CNN, “Fighting waves towering 18 feet high, and winds of 40 mph, the crew from the HMS Bounty boarded two lifeboats, hoping for rescue as soon as possible.” The Coast Guard crew of two MH-60 Jayhawk helicopters fought off raging winds in two trips to rescue the 14 members of the crew who made it into lifeboats. “A C-130 aircraft is still looking for the two missing crew members, who the Coast Guard believes are in a lifeboat. A third Jayhawk crew is en route to help the search-and-rescue effort, the Coast Guard said.”
The HMS Bounty is a replica of the famed original, built in 1960 for the production of Mutiny on the Bounty, starring Marlon Brando.