Having just completed a record-breaking voyage as the world’s youngest circumnavigator, Mike Perham has his sights on another challenge for 2010. Together with Australian adventurer Don McIntyre and two yet-to-be-chosen crewmembers, Perham plans to follow in the footsteps of Capt. William Bligh. The voyage will re-enact Bligh’s 4,000-nautical mile journey to Timor after being cast adrift by the HMS Bounty mutineers in 1789. With McIntyre as captain and Perham as second in command, the crew will depart in 25-foot open, wood lapstrake Bounty Boat from the exact same position Bligh did. The crew will first sail to Tonga and then on to Fiji and the Vanuatu Island groups bound for Queensland, Australia to land on Restoration Island. They’ll proceed north to Thursday Island, and then through the Torres Strait to Kupang.
The crew hopes to be the first to replicate Bligh’s trip, two previous attempts having failed. Like Bligh, McIntyre and Perham will have no charts, no almanacs, no modern timepieces or navigation equipment. The adventurers will rely on an 18th century octant and sextant, two 18th century pocket watches, a boat compass, telescope and rope knot log.
Modern concession to their kit will include a life raft, safety equipment and a satellite computer link so that they can send daily blog posts, with photos, audio and estimates of their position.
The two crew positions are yet to be chosen and come at the cost of $16,500 each. The expedition hopes to raise awareness and support for research being conducted by the Sheffield Institute Foundation for Motor Neurone Diesease, often called Lou Gerhig’s Disease or ALS.
