A group of four adventurers set sail from Tonga in a bid to re-enact the epic 4,400-mile survival voyage of Captain William Bligh of HMS Bounty fame when he was cast adrift by mutineers in 1789.

Bligh, widely acknowledged as an expert seaman, sailed a 45-foot open longboat with 18 crew from near Tonga to West Timor in 48 days, surviving partly by catching fish and seabirds and drinking rain water.

The new expedition is sailing in a 25-foot open deck boat, the Talisker Bounty, sporting two small sails, and expects to take seven weeks to cover the distance.

Expedition leader Don McIntyre and his crew set sail late yesterday off Tonga's Ha'apai group of islands.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.