By 1986, Bounty was no longer simply following the story of a film. She had become an ocean going working ship in her own right.

After two years in Long Beach, she sailed north to Vancouver for Expo 86. From there began one of the most extraordinary voyages of her life across the Pacific, through Tahiti and Moorea, onward to Australia, across the Indian Ocean and through the Suez Canal to England.

LEAVING CALIFORNIA

A NEW OWNER. A NEW HORIZON.

After two years in Long Beach, the Bounty finally sailed again on 9 March 1986.

Her future had changed. She had been purchased  by a group of Australian businessmen, and the new owners intended for the ship to earn her way through adventure cruising and charter voyages.

The first destination was Vancouver, where she would take part in Expo 86.

EXPO 86

VANCOUVER

The Bounty arrived in Vancouver in March 1986 and became part of the maritime spectacle surrounding Expo 86, the international exposition held under the theme Transportation and Communication: World in Motion – World in Touch.

The ship's presence was more than a publicity appearance. Vancouver became the starting point for a much larger journey  one that would take the Bounty across the Pacific and eventually back to Europe.

It was in Vancouver that a new chapter of Bounty's story began and a new group of people came aboard.

ACROSS THE PACIFIC

TOWARDS TAHITI

From Vancouver, the Bounty headed south and west across the Pacific. The planned itinerary included the Galápagos Islands before continuing towards Tahiti, where the ship would spend several months. The voyage south and west towards Tahiti was also taking Bounty into the world of film and television once again. The ship had been arranged to sail to Tahiti for filming connected with an Australian production about Captain James Cook. The passage was another reminder of what the Bounty had become: a working sailing ship capable of carrying her crew across an ocean rather than simply serving as a film set.

TAHITI

THE BOUNTY RETURNS TO THE SOUTH PACIFIC

Bounty returned to the waters of the South Pacific in 1986, but this time she arrived as a working vessel at the centre of a new chapter in film and television.

In Tahiti, the ship was used during filming for the French production L'Île. Penny's first-hand account recalls a month based in Tahiti, including filming off Pointe Venus Bay.

The ship then moved to Moorea, where filming continued for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's Captain James Cook miniseries, starring Keith Michell.

Once again, Bounty had become more than a ship. She had become part of the story being filmed around her.

FIJI & AUSTRALIA

ONWARD ACROSS THE PACIFIC

From the South Pacific, Bounty continued westward towards Australia. The voyage was no longer simply a passage from one destination to another. Bounty was now operating as an adventure vessel, carrying passengers and undertaking a programme that would take her from the Pacific into the Indian Ocean and eventually towards Europe.

THE GREAT TURN EAST

ACROSS THE INDIAN OCEAN

From Australia, Bounty turned west towards the Indian Ocean. The voyage would take her through the waters of the Indian Ocean, through the Suez Canal and onward into the Mediterranean and Europe.

By the time she reached England, the ship had crossed an extraordinary distance and was preparing for another historic voyage.

A VOYAGE WITHIN A VOYAGE

THE FIRST FLEET AWAITS

By the time the Bounty reached England, the purpose of the voyage had changed once again.

She had crossed the Pacific, worked in Tahiti and Australia, and sailed through the Suez Canal. Now she was preparing to join a fleet recreating one of the most significant voyages in Australia's history.

In May 1987, the Bounty would leave England as part of the First Fleet Re-enactment Voyage, sailing with a fleet of eleven square-rigged vessels towards Australia and the bicentenary celebrations of 1988.

A NEW CHAPTER

The great voyage had brought the Bounty from the Pacific to Europe.

Now she was about to sail back again retracing the route of Australia's First Fleet.