When the Admiralty finally decided on a ship which was suitable for the planned "Breadfruit" (Below) expedition to Tahiti, it was in fact the 'Bethia'. The ship was reasonably new, having been built in Hull 2 years earlier. She was quite a small ship of some 215 tons, measuring only 90' 10" in length, 24' 4" across the beam and had a draft of 11' 4". The Admiralty bought the ship in May 1787 for 1950 Pounds Sterling and at the suggestion of Sir Joseph Banks, she was renamed the "Bounty". The hull was completely sheathed in copper sheet with brass fittings, to combat rot, wood-boring worms and teredo's. The ship had no super-structures, all living quarters and facilities were below decks. The Great Cabin which usually was reserved for the Captain, was extended to provide a storage area for racks which would contain the Breadfruit plants while they were transported to the Plantations of the 'West Indies', where they would be grown in great numbers. A clever water recycling system was devised to save water, the floor being covered in Lead sheeting to catch the water and pipe into containers below. The lead prevented any leakage into the decks below. A coal burning stove was installed to stop the plants from freezing when the ship was in colder climates.

For armament the Bounty carried 4 Four-Pound cannons and 10 1/2lb swivel guns, for her protection but it was deemed somewhat of a 'Milk-Run' voyage and a company of Marines who were requested were denied. This proved to be an important in-consideration in the outcome of the voyage. The 'Bounty' was commissioned on June 8th 1787 and Lieutenant William Bligh was appointed her commander on Aug 16th 1787.

The Admiralty kept Bligh and his ships sailing orders waiting for a considerable time, as the board considered that there was not much was to be gained in their interest by a mere un-glorified vegetable run, which was costing the Government quite a deal of money. When they did arrive, the prevailing winds and bad weather kept them bottled up in the English Channel until Sunday the 23rd December 1787, when the 'Bounty' finally got under way. On Boxing Day the wind increased into a full storm, until the 27th the stern windows stove in, flooding the main cabin breaking an Azimuth Compass and destroying 7 full hogsheads of beer, 2 casks of rum which were smashed and their contents lost to the bilges. This, in addition to the vicious seas encountered trying at 2 attempts to round Cape Horn in horrendous weather, leaves no doubt that the mould was set and had a later bearing on the events to follow. On his way south to Cape Horn, Bligh called in at Santa Cruz in Tenerife for 5 days to take on water, additional supplies and several casks of very good 'Madeira' wine. Despite this, Bligh cut the crews ration of bread by one third which indicated to the crew that he intended to sail non stop to Tahiti. This again, no doubt, was a rather relevant factor in events to follow. Any other Captain would have given up long before but Bligh's dedication drove him on until beaten by the weather, an ever growing sick-list including the drunken Dr. Huggan, and continual icing up of the sails and masts, he finally conceded defeat and turned his helm to the west. A strong westerly wind drove her hard toward the Cape of Good Hope at mostly 9 knots which was her maximum speed. The hardships and severe bad weather of the last four months had proved totally futile, but the crew seemed to be in a better frame of mind as they reached the Cape of Good Hope on May 22nd and spent the next 38 days refitting the ship. The hull had to be completely re-caulked, the sails and masts had to be over-hauled, such was the pounding the 'Bounty' took trying to get around Cape Horn. On leaving the Cape Bligh set sail for Adventure Bay in Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania). During this period Bligh had a further run in with William Purcell the cranky ships carpenter who refused to carry out Bligh's orders and later another incident with the ships Master John Fryer, who had not got on with Bligh since he had made up Fletcher Christian to Acting-Lieutenant earlier. Fryer was 33 yrs old and Christian 23 yrs old, and Fryer resented being under Christian as promotions were rarely made at sea. These incidents did not go un-noticed by the crew. Finally, Bligh dropped anchor in Matavai Bay Tahiti, just 52 days after leaving the southern most tip of Tasmania, on the 26th October 1788. They were greeted by hundreds of outrigger canoes filled with shouting and waving Tahitians, the ship being over-run with the native population.