Mutiny on the Bounty Coleman, McIntosh and others—generally vanished from the public eye after the closing of the procedures. After leaving Tahiti on 22 September 1789, Christian sailed "Bounty" west in search of a safe haven. He then formed the idea of settling on Pitcairn Island, far to the east of Tahiti; the island had been reported in 1767, but its exact location was never verified. After months of searching, Christian rediscovered the island on 15 January 1790, east of its recorded position. This longitudinal error contributed to the mutineers' decision to settle on Pitcairn. On arrival the ship was unloaded and stripped of
HMS Bounty in life, Marden wore cuff links made of nails from the "Bounty". Marden also dived on the wreck of and left a "Bounty" nail with "Pandora". Some of the "Bounty"s remains, such as the ballast stones, are still partially visible in the waters of Bounty Bay. The last of "Bounty"s four 4-pounder cannon was recovered in 1998 by an archaeological team from James Cook University and was sent to the Queensland Museum in Townsville to be stabilised through lengthy conservation treatment, i.e. nearly 40 months of electrolysis. The gun was subsequently returned to Pitcairn Island where it has been placed