That Thin Line Between Bold And Insane..
This morning, one of the greatest Australian adventurers of all time, Don McIntyre, formally announced his most recent expedition – to re-create one of the most extraordinary stories of survival and determination, Captain William Bligh’s 4,000 mile open boat ‘Mutiny on the Bounty’ voyage.
The reenactment, following the journey across the Pacific from Tonga to Timor, will launch on the same day (April 28th), at the same time and in the same place 221 years after the original mutiny journey.
Not content with just taking on this huge challenge, McIntyre and his crew of 3 men are also attempting to raise over $250,000 for The Sheffield Institute Foundation for Motor Neurone Disease (SIF), which is building the world’s first research Institute into Motor Neurone Disease (MND), Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s.
The seven week expedition aboard the Talisker Bounty Boat – a 25ft long, 7ft wide, open wooden vessel – will see the crew -facing the same deprivations as the original crew that were cast adrift in the middle of the Pacific, including: no navigation charts; only two weeks of water; hardly any food; and, of course, no luxuries like a torch or toilet paper!
Alongside Don McIntyre, one of Australia’s most experienced sailors and adventurers, the international crew includes experienced English sailor David Wilkinson, US sailor and businessman Peter Stier and the youngest ever Solo circumnavigator, 17 year old Brit Mike Perham. The crew met together for the first time a little over two weeks ago and have spent the last fortnight together in Sydney, training and making last minute preparations for the journey, a journey that has been Don’s dream to complete for 20 years.
McIntyre does not underestimate the challenge ahead: “We’re incredibly excited to get close to Captain Bligh and his crew; however everyone aboard the Talisker Bounty Boat will be pushed to the limit of endurance and survival, forever hungry and unsure of everything, except their own desire to fight through this.”
The voyage is sponsored by Talisker Single Malt Scotch Whisky, the only single malt whisky from the Isle of Skye which is also the origin of Don McIntyre’s ancestry as his grandparents emigrated to Australia from Skye shortly after their marriage in 1901.
To follow the expedition and donate to this cause, visit www.taliskerbountyboat.com