genuinely happy" and had called before the journey "just in case she went down with the ship."

Christian was a descendant of Fletcher Christian, the master's mate who seized control of the original Bounty during Capt. William Bligh's voyage in 1789.

That story was turned into a 1962 movie starring Marlon Brando — Mutiny on the Bounty — for which the replica was built and launched in Lunenburg, N.S., in 1960. The ship has also appeared in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest starring Johnny Depp.

The Facebook page of HMS Bounty called the ship sailing in Hurricane Sandy a "calculated decision" and said "a ship is safer at sea than in port."

Claudia McCann, Walbridge's wife, told CBC News her husband was trying to get around Hurricane Sandy en routeto Florida.

Tracie Simonin, the president of the HMS Bounty Organization, told CBC News the organization is standing behind Walbridge's decision to sail the vessel during the hurricane.

"We have the utmost confidence in Captain Walbridge and his abilities. He's been with the ship for over 20 years and we all — as a crew, as an organization — trust his judgment and we stand behind the decision that was made," she told CBC News on Tuesday.

"He loved [the Bounty] as if it were his own and he took care of it and kept it going the way that it was. We're proud of all of our crew members."

Anxious hours for father

The father of the youngest member of the ship's crew said he had several anxious hours as he waited