Bounty Islands Solander Islands. Captain William Bligh discovered the Bounty Islands en route from Spithead to Tahiti in 1788 and named them after his ship, HMS "Bounty", just months before the famous mutiny. The location of the islands were only roughly marked on charts. In early 1866 Commander W. H. Norman of HMCS Victoria was tasked with determining more accurately their position. He reported them as being latitude 47ˈ50 South and longitude 179ˈ00 East. Captain George Palmer, during the search for the "Matoaka" placed the islands at 47ˈ46ˈ24 South 178ˈ56ˈ45 East. Palmer also annexed the islands for New Zealand. During the 19th
Bounty (1960 ship) the trustees of the Tall Ship Bounty Foundation, Inc. determined it was time to put the ship up for sale. Due to cash flow problems all the crew's contracts were terminated and volunteers kept a watch over "Bounty" at its dock at Heritage State Park. On 15 March 2001, the ship was sold to the HMS Bounty Foundation. In 2005, while moored in St. Petersburg, "Bounty" was the shooting location of the "pornographic action-adventure" film "Pirates". The ship's declining condition caused the vessel to temporarily lose her Coast Guard license, but "Bounty" was restored. The vessel's bottom planking was replaced