April 28, 1789 Fletcher Christian (Master’s Mate) and a group of crew mates took control of the ship, H.M.S. Bounty. That moment went down in history as one of the most famous maritime stories of all time. Since then, much has been written about that event and all of the men that were involved. Most widely known is the novel, Mutiny of the Bounty by Charles Nordhoff and James Norman Hall published in 1939.
During the mutiny, Captain William Bligh and 18 others were cast off on a launch. They sailed 6,400 kilometers in 47 days on a 7 meter long open boat arriving in Batavia (present day Jakarta) where they could find passage back to England. Fletcher Christian and the remaining crew set sail back to Tahiti and left soon after for a location where they would not be discovered. Using charts and intuition, they found the island of Pitcairn which was mismarked on the maps. This allowed the mutineers safety from being found. It was not until 1808 that an American whaling ship was drawn to the island by smoke from a cooking fire. By then, all but one of the mutineers had passed away. The Tahitian wives and children of the mutineers remained.
In route from Easter Island to French Polynesia, our ship had the opportunity to sail through the waters at Pitcairn Island. In preparation for our visit, lectures were offered on board about the history and current life of the inhabitants of the famous island. Robert and I went one step further and both read books that would give us a better insight into the intrigue that surrounds Pitcarin. Robert read the novel, Mutiny of the Bounty. I read The Bounty: The True Story of the Mutiny on the Bounty by Caroline Alexander. 
Since the true events of what motivated the mutiny and how it happened varies greatly from the novel, we had some very lively discussions. If you are interested in real life swashbuckling tales and mystery, get yourself one or both of these books.
Today, the descendants of the Bounty mutineers live on the very remote island of Pitcarin. There are 30 – 40 residents at any one time. They live very isolated from the rest of the world with no airport and delivery ships come no more than 10 times per year. It is nearly impossible to set foot on the island. The passengers of our ship are some of the very few people in the world that ever have a chance to see the island and it’s only town, Adamstown. The town was named after the last living member of the Mutineers of the Bounty, John Adams.
We were very excited to have a chance to see a place that is so famous (or infamous).
Our trip through the Pacific Ocean will come to an end as we visit several French Polynesian Islands, ending in Tahiti. The local people (mostly the women) living near Matavi Bay on the large island of Tahiti have long been thought to be the inspiration for the Mutiny on the Bounty.