For many years Sue and I had hoped to visit friends on Pitcairn. We got our chance in 1993. While on sabatical in New Zealand we were informed that the cargo ship America Star, bound for Philadelphia, would stop for a day to unload suplies and a few passengers at Pitcairn.

After eight days sailing over 3,000 miles of the South Pacific, the south coast of Pitcairn came into view. We saw right away that Pitcairn is extremely rugged and ringed with steep cliffs.

This is very apparent from this post card's aerial view of the island's north shore.

We gasped when we were told to climb over the side of the heaving ship on a rope ladder. Below us was an island longboat waiting to take us 2 miles to The Landing. With wisecracks from the crew ringing in my ears, I nervously inched my way down to the launch as Jay contemplated whether to catch me or let me drop into the yawning gap between the ship and the longboat.

Sandwiched between sacks of mail, cartons of supplies and friendly islanders we proceeded to motor for 45 minutes to The Landing. The islanders would repeat this in two longboats all day until all supplies were off-loaded. Supplies are only delivered 3 or 4 times a year.

The Landing at Bounty Bay is a tiny notch in the spectacular, sheer cliffs that ring most of Pitcairn. The goal of those manning the boat is to catch a wave just right and "surf" into this narrow gap without smashing into the surrounding rocks. Beyond the jetty, under the rocky surf, lies the hulk of the original Bounty.

Here you can see one of the 2 launches hauled up to the boat sheds at The Landing for routine maintenance.

Useful Links:

http://www.government.pn/homepage.htm
http://www.lareau.org/pitc.html
http://www.pisg.org
http://library.puc.edu/pitcairn/

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