We have been touring Australia and have been thrilled to see both Common and Bottlenose Dolphins off the south coast of Bruny Island, Tasmania whilst cruising in the Southern Sea! (Next stop Antartica!)
Another quite unexpected co-incidence was the connection to Captain Bligh.
Captain William Bligh Captain Bligh’s Mutiny on the Bounty was recently replicated in the Channel 4 series Mutiny. It is amazing to think that in 1788 Bligh arrived right here at Adventure Bay, Bruny Island, Tasmania to refuel “gathering wood from the abundant growth on the foreshore and collecting water from the rivulets which spilled into the bay” (quote from the Bligh Museum, Tasmania), whilst enroute to Tahiti on his fateful journey on the Bounty, where his crew led a Mutiny.Adventure Bay is a stunning crecent sandy beach, which must have been a welcome relief from the huge swells of the Southern Ocean. (We were given ginger sea sickness tablets and lots of advice before setting out on our Bruny Island Cruise,into the Southern Ocean in search of dolphins and whales!)
Adventure Bay, Bruny Island, Australia A small museum called ‘Bligh Museum’ on the road alongside Adventure Bay, Bruny Island, Tasmania is jam packed with pictures, articles, commentary and models illustrating Captain Bligh and fellow explorers visits to the bay. Captain Tom outside the Bligh Museum, Bruny Island, Tasmania Captain Hetty surveying the beach at Adventure Bay, Bruny Island, Tasmania A picuture in the museum, see below, dispicts a view of Adventure Bay back in the 1700s and a photo of the Bay now. Not much has changed, except the type of boats – today the tall ships have been replaced by the super fast ribs of Bruny Island Cruises.It must have been quite scarey for locals back in 1788 to see these huge ships arriving in to the bay.
Adventure Bay Bruny Island, Tasmania in 1700s Adventure Bay, Bruny Island, Tasmania in 2017 Here a drawing illustrates the group of loyal sailors who joined Bligh when his ship the Bounty was under mutiny. They were the lucky ones it seems surviving, whilst many of the muntineers perished through sickness and disease.Description of the Mutiny on the Bounty in the Bligh Museum, Adventure Bay, Bruny Island, TasmaniaThe Mutiny exhbition at Falmouth Maritime Museum continues until 7 January 2018. You can also follow in Captain Bligh’s footsteps on a Helford River Cruise in Cornwall and who knows we might even get to to see dolphins again!
