Reviewing this thread last night, I took a look at the YouTube video posted by Jack (see above) of the Bounty in a biggish sea some while back. The ship looked so solid and reassuring you would never think it could get into trouble.

But... one or two things worried me a bit: in the video the ship was said to be "hove to" in the open Atlantic Ocean waiting for a wind-shift to continue its voyage. Heaving-to is a perfectly respectable thing to do in this situation: a small foresail is rigged so as to push the boat's head away downwind, while the rudder is lashed over so as to turn into the wind. The resulting balance keeps the ship lying quietly while making little headway without it requiring a lot of attention from the crew. This was being done and the Bounty was duly sitting at a slight angle to the wind and sea, rolling a bit - quite a lot at times, possibly more than I would have been comfortable with.

But heaving to in large, very steep seas has its downside, which is that an exceptionally large or steep wave could either roll the ship over, or break over the decks, swamping it. They may have tried this during Sandy and got caught out.

Another thing that worried me was that the video was taken by a crewman wearing a head camera who had obviously come up on deck to make the video - he did nothing else. And - this is the point - he was *entirely alone* on deck: there was no-one watching the helm or keeping a lookout, which to my mind there should have been.

Admittedly, keeping crew below in bad weather where they will be safer than on deck, can be a useful strategy. But most ships would have at least one designated watchperson on deck, to look out for exceptional waves or other ships in the vicinity. They would be suited and booted, wearing flotation gear and tied on with lifelines, but they would be there.

To my mind this video raises a few additional questions of seamanship standards on the Bounty. Take a look and see what you think.