AN HISTORICAL Blight Boat Race has been announced ahead of next month's 31st Tilley Endurables Falmouth Classics event.

Round-the-world yachtsman Conrad Humphreys will race Bounty’s End against The National Maritime Museum Cornwall’s Bounty Launch Replica during next month’s event (June 22-24).

In 1789, William Bligh and 18 of his crew were famously set adrift in the Pacific Ocean after Fletcher Christian led the Mutiny on the Bounty.

In the 200th anniversary year of Bligh’s death, not one but two replicas have been built of the boat in which he navigated 3,500 miles to safety. They will be on show in this unique event.

Conrad, who was involved in the Mutiny television series, will be racing and taking part in the Parade of Sail and Power as well as the Small Boat Parade on Sunday, June 24, in the boat that was built for the TV programme.

Another replica boat, built by the NMMC for its Captain Bligh: Myth, Man & Mutiny exhibition, will also be taking part in the Falmouth Classics Parades.

The two replicas of the Bounty launch will then race against each other immediately after the two parades (around 2.30pm) in the Carrick Roads.

The race - organised by the St Mawes Sailing Club - will involve a combination of sailing and rowing.

The NMMC is expected to recruit experienced rowers from the Cornish gig community, so it should prove to be an unforgettable race.

Conrad said: “We are looking forward to the much anticipated Bligh Boat Race and a chance for two 18th century replicas to slog it out over a wager and some rum.

"We have the benefit of over 4,000 miles under the keel, so I’m hoping this will play to our hand, although rowing might just be our Achilles heel.”

Richard Doughty, director of the National Maritime Museum, said: “Our replica was built in-house by a team of dedicated volunteers led by skilled boat builder Andy Nancarrow in the museum’s boat building workshop and we’re very proud of it.

"We have a team of experienced rowers from the Cornish gig community racing, and relish the chance to take on the replica built for TV."

John Davison, chairman of the Falmouth Classics Association, added: “To have such a prestigious sailor and boat amongst this year’s racing is brilliant, and to have both Bounty replicas in the Parade of Sail and Power and Small Boat Parade, is simply wonderful. We can’t wait to see the two beautiful boats sailing together for the first time.”

The NMMC team carried out extensive research to ensure their replica boat is as faithful a reconstruction as possible.

Research started in June 2016 and the boat build took around nine months to complete.