It is four in the morning on April 28, 1789, and Fletcher
Christian, smarting and bitter, takes over the deck. Now, as he paces back and
forth through the calm, serene hours, he plans an escape from the degrading
tongue-lashings.
He plans to float away on a raft. But Midshipman George
Stewart has a better idea. He comes close to Christian's ear, and whispers,
"Take the ship!"
"Shall I?" says Christian to one of the seamen, Matthew
Quintal.
"Too dangerous," says the seaman.
"What? Are you afraid? If we succeed, we return to that happy
island." Christian turns to another sailor, Isaac Martin. "Shall we take the
ship?"
"By God, I'm for it!" Martin swears ...
This is my retelling
of the infamous Mutiny on the Bounty, when a desperate crew, led by
senior officer Fletcher Christian, seized the ship. It is Monday, 15th October
2012, and I am on the top deck of the P&O cruise ship Pacific
Jewel, which is lying in the exact spot of the Pacific where the mutiny
took place. Inspired by an hour-long lecture about the characters and events of
the Bounty voyage that was given in the packed lecture theatre that
same morning, nearly 2000 passengers, mostly Australian, are crowded at the
rail, watching and listening as my tale unfolds.
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