THE BOUNTY HEADS FOR AMERICA

On 27 February 1984, the Bounty left Whangārei once again and headed east across the Pacific.

Her destination was Los Angeles, but the voyage would not be straightforward. After calling at Papeete, illness aboard the vessel forced a diversion to Honolulu before the Bounty continued towards the American coast.

THE PACIFIC CROSSING

The Bounty had already crossed the Pacific once, travelling from New Zealand to Tahiti in 1983. This time she was heading in the opposite direction, towards North America. During the passage, an engineer became ill and the vessel diverted to Honolulu so that he could be taken ashore. From Hawaii, the Bounty continued towards California. On 27 April 1984, she entered Los Angeles under full sail.

LOS ANGELES

The Bounty had crossed another ocean. Her arrival in Los Angeles marked the beginning of a remarkable new period in her life.   She was entering a new period in her life, no longer simply a vessel associated with a film production, but increasingly part of the public tall ship world. Later that year, she would take part in one of the largest tall ship gatherings ever held on the West Coast.

THE TALL SHIPS PARADE

4 JULY 1984 On Independence Day, the Bounty joined the TOPSail ’84 Tall ship Olympic Parade off Southern California.

The parade brought together 32 sailing ships and motorised vessels and attracted an estimated 1.2 million spectators along the beaches, with thousands more aboard accompanying boats. The official Los Angeles Olympic report described it as the largest flotilla to sail the Pacific Ocean. The Bounty was one of the recognisable "movie star" vessels in the fleet, having been used in Dino De Laurentiis' The Bounty. 

THE BOUNTY IN TROUBLE

The celebrations were followed by a very different chapter.

After the July 4 parade, the Bounty remained in Long Beach and opened to the public as a floating attraction but behind the scenes, the vessel's crew was facing difficulties with US immigration and Customs authorities.

In August 1984, the Bounty was seized and detained by Customs. The dispute concerned the vessel's entry into the United States, its commercial activities and its the proposed sale of the vessel without the required duty being posted.. She remained in custody for two months before being released on 11 October. The episode would become one of the defining stories of the Bounty's two year stay in California, a reminder that the life of a working historic ship could be every bit as complicated on shore as it was at sea.

A NEW LIFE BEGINS

The Bounty had crossed the Pacific once again.

This time she had reached America  and her life was about to change again.

The voyage had brought her to Los Angeles. The next chapter would keep her there.