‘We had a taste last night of sailing in the dark without moon or torches and I have to tell you I did not like it,’  reports expedition leader and skipper of the Talisker Bounty Boat expedition, Don McIntyre from his open boat in the Pacific Ocean.

‘The stars were blocked by cloud so it was quite challenging in 18kts of wind.’

Monday was day five of the attempt to recreate the voyage of Captain Bligh and his crew after the Mutiny on the Bounty 221 years ago. Australian adventurer Don McIntyre and his three crew were cast adrift off the coast of Tonga in an open 25ft wooden vessel, arrived in Tofua and are now crossing to Fiji. Their ultimate destination is Timor, estimated to be seven weeks away.

‘WE JUST HAD THE BIGGEST WAVE COME IN TO THE COCKPIT AS I WRITE THIS….WE WERE SURFING AT ABOUT 9KTS! Wind now 25kt SEs and 3.5mtr seas on the port quarter.

‘We have cut water back to 1.5 ltr, and realised our coconut balancing scales were a bit out and we have eaten too much for lunches so we will have half rations for a few days.

‘We have had to pump out every 30 minutes today as water is coming into the cockpit so we are thinking for the first time it is a long way to Timor.

Today I had a vision for the first time of Bligh and his men in their boat in this same place – not a vision that I saw, more a case of actually thinking of the men and the boat in living colour, what they would have looked like etc. It was really strange but very interesting’

Keep up with all the details on the blog: www.taliskerbountyboat.com

Original timetable:

Tuesday April 28 – 1789 Fletcher Christian Mutinies on HMS Bounty then sets sail for Pitcairn Island. Bligh and 18 men are abandoned into a long boat with just 150lb of ships biscuits, 16 two pound pieces of Pork, 6 quarts of Rum, 6 Bottles of wine and 28 gallons of water. Their overcrowded boat has just 8 inches of freeboard. They sail for Tofua one day away.

* Sunday 3rd May on Tofua , one man is killed by natives. Bligh sails away headed for Fiji.

* Thursday 7th May – Bligh sails through Fiji Islands chased by hostile natives in canoes so cannot stop and sails on.

* Thursday 14th May – Bligh passes through the New Hebrides but decides not to stop fearing attack.

* Crossing the coral sea the face constant storms and gales, bailing to stay afloat 24 hours a day, desperately short of food and water.

* Thursday 28th May – First sight of New Holland and the Great Barrier reef. Next day, after 26 days at sea, they land on Restoration island half dead, but all still surviving. They eat oysters, berries, birds and fish.

* Friday 12th June – Timor is sighted and on the 14th they arrive in Kupang, 48 days and 4000 miles after the Mutiny, and their ordeal becomes one of the greatest open boat voyages in maritime history.