THE SEA TRIALS

New Zealand — 1979

From the shipyard to the open water.

Launched in Whangārei in December 1978, the Bounty replica was entering a new chapter. The work of the shipyard had given her form; the water would now reveal the vessel beyond the building stage.

In 1979, the Bounty was photographed during sea trials in Bream Bay and off Whangārei Heads. These images place her in the coastal waters of Northland, where the newly built ship could be seen away from the shipyard and under sail.

The trials marked a transition from construction to the practical business of operating a large sailing vessel. The ship, her rigging and the people aboard were moving into a different phase of her life.

The surviving photographic record offers glimpses of that transition. Each image helps us follow the Bounty as she left the place where she was built and began her journey beyond Whangārei.

Into Bream Bay

Maritime photographs catalogued by SeapixOnline identify the Bounty during sea trials in Bream Bay and off Whangārei Heads in 1979.

These images are important evidence of the ship’s early life afloat. They show the vessel in her New Zealand waters before the later voyages and changes of ownership that would carry her much further afield. Additional images of the launch are avaliable to view via seapixonline 

The voyage south

The photographic record also documents the Bounty approaching Auckland in 1979 after an overnight voyage down the coast from Whangārei. Another image shows her almost under full sail, accompanied by the topsail schooner Spirit of Adventure.

The journey to Auckland marks another step in the ship’s story: from her beginnings in the Whangārei shipyard towards a wider public life.

The record continues

Sea-trial photographs, contemporary accounts and the memories of those who sailed aboard the Bounty can help us understand this important period.

We are continuing to trace the ship’s earliest voyages, the people involved and the documentary evidence of her first months afloat.

The search continues. If you have photographs, logbooks, newspaper reports or first-hand memories of the Bounty in New Zealand during 1978–1979, we would be delighted to hear from you.