Photo Gallery > Rescue of the Bounty
On October 29, 2012, the tall ship Bounty sank in the fringes of Hurricane Sandy 90 miles offshore from Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. The captain, Robin Walbridge was lost at sea. One crew member, Claudene Christian, 42, was found floating in a survival suit and was pronounced dead. Fourteen other crew members were rescued through the heroic efforts of Coast Guard aviators.
The ship did not have to be lost. The captain had decided to sail toward the approaching hurricane rather than remain in port in Connecticut even though forecasters had warned that this was the most massive storm geographically ever to come up the east coast.
There was only one real question to answer once the rescue and recovery efforts were completed: Why did a well-respected tall ship captain make that fated voyage?
Authors Michael J. Tougias and Douglas A. Campbell set out in the weeks immediately after that disaster to answer that question. The result is their book, Rescue of the Bounty, published by Scribners and released April 1.
On April 30, Campbell will present the findings of the book and sign copies during a program at the Shipman Mansion at the Red Dragon Canoe Club, one of a series of free monthly events hosted by the non-profit Shipman Mansion Foundation.
Other recent Shipman events have featured Don Wood’s talk about the historic Coopertown Meeting and Cemetery and Paul Schopp’s “Rollin’ on the Rancocas” program about steamships on the Rancocas Creek.
Campbell, a 20-year Red Dragon member and the club’s current commodore, will discuss Bounty’s fascinating captain, Robin Walbridge, and trace his eventful life and the unique personality that led him to steer the popular Bounty, manned by a largely inexperienced crew, toward Sandy. The program will include a reading from the book and a question and answer session.
The Bounty talk begins at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, April 30, and, like all other Shipman programs, is admission free. The Shipman Mansion and Red Dragon Canoe Club are at 221 Edgewater Avenue, Edgewater Park, 08010. There will be free desserts during intermission.
