HMS Bounty

Christian's last text to her mother read, "If I do go down with the ship & the worst happens… just know that I am truly genuinely happy!!"

Well, that is fine and dandy and perhaps comforting to some but the question is just how adequate were the bilge pumps for the rigors of the voyage? Capacity and sturdiness are important. Once you lose the bilge pumps you lose the ship, it just takes some time for it to happen.

They were sailing into tremendous pounding and tremendous amounts of water. It would be manifestly unsafe if the pumps were inadequate or unreliable.

True, ships can indeed be safer out to sea than in harbor but if a ship sinks in the harbor, no crewmen will be lost.

The important thing is not the drills or the safety equipment such as beacons and survival suits. The important thing is the adequacy and reliability of the bilge pumps. It was a large storm and a powerful one. They would need those pumps. Once the electronics get shorted out even briefly, they won't need them anymore.

Quotations by the Captain of the Turks and Caicos registered Pincton Castle are not worth a thing. Look at that ship's record for sailing far out to sea with inexperienced students, inadequate training and conflicting orders.