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 Pandora (1779) learning of the mutiny on HMS "Bounty", the First Lord of the Admiralty, John Pitt, 2nd Earl of Chatham, decided to despatch her to recover the "Bounty", capture the mutineers, and return them to England for trial. She was refitted, and her 9-pounder guns were reduced to 20 in number, though she gained four 18-pounder carronades. "Pandora" sailed from The Solent on 7 November 1790, commanded by Captain Edward Edwards and manned by a crew of 134 men. With his crew was Thomas Hayward, who had been on the "Bounty" at the time of the mutiny, and left with Bligh