USCG: 14 crew members saved after abandoning HMS Bounty

PORTSMOUTH, Va. - UPDATE |    A deckhand missing from the sailing ship HMS Bounty was found dead after the vessel foundered in Hurricane Sandy, the Coast Guard said Monday. The ship's captain remains missing.

The U.S. Coast Guard has rescued 14 crew members from life rafts after they abandoned the HMS Bounty.  Sixteen people were on the boat.

The 16-member crew of the HMS Bounty has abandoned their ship says the U.S. Coast Guard.

The crew put on their cold water survival suits and life jackets before launching two 25-man lifeboats with canopies.

The USCG is monitoring weather conditions to see when they can go to the scene and try to rescue the crew.

The HMS Bounty, is about 90 miles southeast of Hatteras, N.C., 160 miles from Hurricane Sandy's center.

The owner of the ship called the Coast Guard late Sunday evening, saying that she had lost communication with the ship's crew late Sunday evening.

The Coast Guard also received a message from the Bounty, confirming their distress and position.

A Coast Guard crew from Air Station Elizabeth City later arrived on the scene and reestablished communications with the crew.

The ship is reportedly taking on water and cannot move forward on its own.

Winds of 40 miles per hour with 18 feet seas were reported.  The ship is approximately 160 miles west of the eye of hurricane Sandy.

The HMS Bounty is a replica of the original ship from the 18th century known for the mutiny (conspiracy) that took place in Tahiti in 1789 on board the British transport vessel.

The vessel was built for the 1962 movie Mutiny on the Bounty with Marlon Brando and has since appeared in many other films. It tours the world offering summer camp and maritime educational opportunities.