A Navy-led diving expedition to the remote islands of the South Pacific gave 20 people a chance-in-a-lifetime to explore stunning waters and turn back the pages of history to the time of Fletcher Christian and the mutiny on the Bounty.

Expedition Bounty Bay took the tri-Service and civilian team to the tiny uninhabited atolls of Henderson and Oeno, and to Pitcairn Island, home of the Bounty mutineers, where the generosity of the Islanders, matched with the stunning scenery, diverse wildlife and fabulous diving, led to an unforgettable experience.

Teamwork, motivation and determination were needed to achieve this most distant diving expedition, all under the leadership of CPOMA Rod Newman, now based at HMS Sultan.

Pitcairn was the final landing place for the mutineers from the Bounty who had rebelled against Captain Bligh. The islands lie at the heart of the Pacific Ocean, beyond Australia, New Zealand and the islands of Polynesia.

The Island has a population of just 46 people, most descended from the original mutineers who settled the remote land looking for peace from pursuit. In 1856, because of overpopulation, some 200 islanders were voluntarily transferred to Norfolk Island, though a number returned in the following years.

For the diving team Pitcairn offered a similar haven after a long and gruelling journey that despite delays had seen them transfer to gradually smaller aircraft before joining the merchant vessel Bounty Bay for a final 48-hour sea crossing to their destination.

The first sight of Pitcairn Island inspired the diving team. Rod said: “The excitement on the boat was unbelievable. Although people had been on watch and the watchkeepers were very, very tired, everyone was up and buzzing.

“It was the very first sight that Fletcher Christian and the people on the Bounty had seen 200 years earlier.”

For Rod it had a particular resonance, after he had spent more than a year of careful planning, hard work and industrious fundraising to make the whole adventure possible: “I knew at that point that I’d actually achieved my aim – we’d got there.”

The team was greeted by a longboat from the island with the traditional welcome party, and the majority of the island’s residents were gathered at the shore to welcome their diving visitors.

But the trip was not just about the pleasure of diving. The team, of which more than half were Naval personnel, was carefully selected to bring a mix of skills that might benefit the Pitcairn islanders themselves.

Among the visitors were military medics and dentists to bring additional skills to the island’s existing provision. Scientists were there to study the marine biology and geology, and naval hydrographers to bring back information to update charts.

Aid was a two-way street with Pitcairn Islanders leaping to the team’s assistance when an engine was lost overboard from the dive boat – before the military divers could get suited up the locals had taken out a long boat and free-dived without equipment or kit down into the depths of the sea to retrieve the lost engine.

“They really are a tremendous seafaring race,” said Rod with sincere admiration for the people.

The islanders are proud of their heritage, burning a model of Bounty each year in the bay to mark the occasion when Fletcher Christian and the remaining mutineers destroyed the ship that had brought them to their new home.

For team leader Rod Newman this connection was brought to the fore when he was asked to do a reading at the church service.

“I rehearsed it umpteen times the night before so I had it off to a tee. And then in the church in the morning I was given the privilege of reading from the actual Bounty bible which still bears the thumbprints of Fletcher Christian, John Adams and all the people.

“Well, this bible was opened up ready for me. I looked down and the print in this bible was about 4 point on opaque yellow paper. I could hardly read it!”

The team had the chance to explore among the timber wreckage of the Bounty – treating themselves to a Bounty chocolate bar as they did so – and the Cornwallis that ended their days off the coasts of Pitcairn and her surrounding islands.

The waters around Pitcairn are fierce and turbulent, with diving made strenuous by the strong currents. Rob said: “I can honestly say that it was like diving in a washing machine.”

The team carried out 355 dives, totalling 15,336 minutes or the equivalent of ten days underwater.

In addition to the fascinating wrecks that lie in the nearby waters, the area is teeming with exotic fish and other colourful inhabitants, with fantastic coral gardens that bloom under the sea. Visibility was often very clear, estimated at up to 55 metres.

Inquisitive sharks crowded around the divers when they explored underwater by Henderson atoll: “They were as fascinated by us as we were by them.”

Some of the dives and trips to outlying atolls brought some tantalising glimpses of wreckage which are only likely to be identified by further detective work. At Oeno, timber wreckage was found complete with keel pins, but as there are numerous well-known wrecks around the shoreline, it was hoped that the Pitcairners might be able to shed some light on it.

Rod Newman has the highest praise for the people of Pitcairn Island, their generosity and welcome, their seamanship and their approach to life.

Throughout the expedition the team used a website to keep the outside world up to date on their progress.

Anyone interested can find out more on www.bountybay.org.uk and work is under way on a post-expedition report, a CD-Rom full of photographs and a video for sale to the public.

Rod set out to build a team that worked together regardless of Service, rank or rate. “It was the team themselves that pulled together. I have to say that I was humbled by being associated with them. They had a phenomenal amount of spirit, and without people like that things like this expedition cannot happen.

“My one ambition was to prove that anything can be achieved. I never had a doubt that we could achieve it.”

Rod is already planning the next expedition to Pitcairn Island, scheduled for 2005, and he is looking beyond that to the next big challenge to be undertaken.