Mutiny over ‘unique’ Bounty reality show
MOST viewers tuning in to Channel 4’s new reality show would be forgiven for believing that its “unique” reenactment of Captain William Bligh’s historic 4,000-mile voyage was an entirely original endeavour.
But for a long-dispersed band of oneoff adventurers, tomorrow evening’s lavishly shot Pacific caper will strike a suspiciously familiar chord.
The ocean passage of former special forces survival expert Ant Middleton and his largely hapless crew is being billed as a “first”.
However, a furniture maker living quietly in Dorset has now pointed out that he led a five-man crew which accomplished almost exactly the same feat 28 years ago.
In fact, the main differences between the 1989 voyage – a “celebration” of 200 years since the mutiny on the Bounty – is that the larger crew involved in the new Channel 4 “survival challenge” enjoyed modern navigation equipment, a functioning radio and the presence of a safety ship.
Jasper Shackleton, a relation of the Polar explorer Sir Ernest, built a replica of the 23ft longboat into which Bligh and his 18 followers were cast adrift from plans discovered in the National Maritime Museum.
While the 1989 vessel stood up to the Pacific, the crew were not so fortunate. The cook had to be evacuated before the voyage due to appendicitis. The main radio and a distress beacon soon stopped functioning, while they endured a force-nine gale for days and then were becalmed for a fortnight.
When the crew reached their destination in West Timor they were deported and forced to sail another 550 miles to Bali.
Their voyage took more than twice the 42 days of Captain Bligh’s, with one of the crew only arriving home for his wedding with a day to spare. Mr Shackleton told
“What drew us all to it was the romance of the story.” Despite the hardships, he said the crew was “first rate and got on very well”.
By contrast, Channel 4’s adopts the reality television format of regular squabbles followed by individual “diary-style” pieces to camera.
A Channel 4 spokesman said all previous attempts featured a modern ingredient. “Our attempt to recreate the journey of Captain Bligh after the mutiny attempted to stay as close as possible to the original journey,” he said.