7. Bligh presented his plan to the men of the launch before embarking for Timor
Bligh took stock of their meager provisions before outlining his plans to the men. “Our stock of provisions consisted of about one hundred and fifty pounds of bread, twenty-eight gallons of water, twenty pounds of pork, three bottles of wine, and five quarts of rum…”, he recorded in his journal. There were in addition, “a few coconuts” as well as some breadfruit, acquired and cooked at Tofua. Unfortunately, the breadfruit was trampled underfoot during the scramble to escape the attack by the natives. Nonetheless, they scraped it together and preserved in a bread bag for future consumption during the voyage. Bligh extracted a promise from every man to subsist on “one ounce of bread, and a quarter of a pint of water, per day”.
The rest of the food was dispensed as Bligh saw fit during the journey, in the best interests of the crew. After receiving their solemn promise, sworn to by each, Bligh turned the launch toward Timor, through a largely unknown sea. In his journal he wrote they embarked, “in a small boat, twenty-three feet long from stem to stern, deep laden with eighteen men; without a chart, and nothing but my own recollection and general knowledge of the situation of places, assisted by a book of latitudes and longitudes, to guide us”. His next step was to make the craft as seaworthy as possible and to restore naval discipline to the crew.