FIRST VOYAGES

1981 — THE MAIDEN VOYAGE

THE BOUNTY LEAVES WHANGĀREI

On 2 October 1981, the 1978 Bounty finally left her home waters at Whangārei and began her first recorded voyage.

Her first destination was Auckland, where she became a major attraction during a travel promotion. From there she continued north to the Bay of Islands, before returning to Whangārei. It was a modest journey by the standards of what would follow but it marked the beginning of the Bounty's life as a travelling ship. The vessel had originally been built in New Zealand for a film that never came to be. By 1981, however, the unfinished story of the ship had already begun to change. She was becoming an attraction in her own right, drawing thousands of visitors and introducing a new generation to the world of tall ships.

WHANGĀREI → AUCKLAND → BAY OF ISLANDS → WHANGĀREI

2 October 1981

The voyage took the Bounty north from Whangārei to Auckland and then onward to the Bay of Islands.

During her visit to the Bay of Islands, the Bounty was involved in a royal occasion: Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh were visiting aboard the Royal Yacht Britannia, and the Bounty fired a 21-gun salute.

1982 — THE VOYAGE THAT WASN'T

A VOYAGE THAT NEVER REACHED THE PACIFIC

The Bounty was preparing for a much bigger adventure.

In May 1982, plans were in place for her to sail from New Zealand towards Tahiti and Pitcairn, with the voyage connected to a proposed film about Captain Bligh. The route was intended to echo the geography of the original Bounty story.

But once again, the planned film was cancelled.

The voyage was abandoned — but the crew did not simply stay in port.

On 15 May 1982, the Bounty left Whangārei and sailed for Great Barrier Island, off the east coast of New Zealand. She later returned to Whangārei.

It was not the Pacific voyage everyone had been expecting. But it was still a voyage — and another small step in the Bounty's transformation from film set into a working ship.

WHANGĀREI → GREAT BARRIER ISLAND → WHANGĀREI

15 May 1982

The planned passage to Tahiti and Pitcairn never took place.

There was, however, an unusual piece of mail aboard the ship. The Whangarei Philatelic Society had arranged 500 souvenir covers to travel with the Bounty, intended eventually to be carried to Pitcairn and cancelled there.

When the voyage was cancelled, the covers still went to sea with the Bounty on her short voyage to Great Barrier Island. After her return to Whangārei, they were transferred to another vessel, the m.v. Helen, which sailed from Auckland for Pitcairn later that year. The covers were cancelled at the Pitcairn Island Post Office on 7 October 1982.