Hurricane Sandy: replica of HMS Bounty abandoned at sea

A US coastguard helicopter has been scrambled to rescue the crew of the replica HMS Bounty, who abandoned ship in the path of Hurricane Sandy. The Tall Ship, built for the 1962 film ‘Mutiny on the Bounty’, started taking on water around 150 kilometres off the North Carolina coast. The crew deployed two lifeboats in nearly six metre waves as the monster storm approached. According to the vessel owners, at least 14 of the 17 crew have now been rescued from the lifeboats. The ship is a replica of the famous British vessel known for the mutiny that took place off Tahiti in 1789. It was also featured in Pirates of the Caribbean with Johnny Depp.