The United States Coast Guard is continuing its search for the remaining missing person, captain of the Bounty, 63-year-old Robin Walbridge, who was lost at sea during the sinking of the Bounty on Monday morning.
Robin Walbridge was born in 1949 and was raised in Saint Petersburg, Florida. Walbridge was a field mechanic on houseboats until he gained his 1600 ton license in 1995, that is when he secured a position as crewmember aboard the HMS Bounty.
The HMS Bounty was lost to Hurricane Sandy on Monday morning after losing power to its onboard generator and taking on water while attempting to skirt the hurricane on Sunday.
At 4:30 am on Monday, while 160 miles west of the eye of the storm, the captain of the vessel issued an abandon ship to the fifteen members of his crew when it was apparent that the craft was not going to be able to remain afloat and was sinking beneath the waves.
The captain and two of the crewmembers were swept overboard when the ship went down Monday morning. One of those was able to swim to the relative safety of a lieboat and the remaining two were carried away by the waves.
A second of those three was pulled from the rough waters of the Atlantic after being subjected to ten hours in the chilling waters. 42-year-old Claudene Christian was immediately administered CPR, those attempts were unsuccessful. Christian was transported to the Albemarle Hospital in Elizabeth City, where her death was announced.
Claudene Christian who was currently a resident of New York is the former Miss Alaska National Teen-Ager and Miss Alaska All American Co-ed, the creator of “Cheerleader Dolls, part owner of the defunct Hermosa Beach’s Dragon Bar.
Christian was also the great-great-great-great-great grandaughter of Fletcher Christian, the crewman who took control of the original HMS Bounty from Captain William Bligh during the mutiny aboard the Bounty in 1789. She joined the crew of this Bounty in May.
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The Coast Guard Cutter Elm, a 225-foot buoy tender home-ported at Atlantic Beach arrived at the scene of the sinking at 7:15 pm Monday, just before the HC-130 Hercules and MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter from Air Station Elizabeth City secured their searches for the evening. An HC-144 Ocean Sentry aircraft from Air Station Clearwater took up the search at 12:30 am this morning. An HC-130, also from Clearwater began its search of the waters at 7:15 am this morning as well. The Coast Guard Cutter Gallatin is en route to the search area as of this morning. The search area is 1,350 square miles.
If Walbridge is confirmed dead, he and Christian will be the first known American fatalities of Hurricane Sandy.






