It had been a long and difficult voyage, to say the least. Setting sail from England in November 1787, stormy winds accompanied the ship right from the start. With the goal of reaching Tahiti by the shortest route possible—around Cape Horn, at the southern tip of South America—the timing was urgent. Summer there is brief. The weather window was closing quickly.
Lt. William Bligh, the ship’s 33-year-old captain, had served under the famous Capt. James Cook. He made haste, enforcing strict discipline on the HMS Bounty, even lashing those who broke the rules. Despite his efforts, when they arrived at the Horn in April, he realized they were too late. Winter was already underway. But they tried, anyway. For weeks, the ship pressed into a gale, but the tempestuous winds and stormy seas in this notoriously stormy part of the world pushed them back.
