Search continues for captain of the Bounty

The US Coast Guard said 63-year-old Robin Walbridge could still be alive in the Gulf Stream waters more than a day after the replica 18th century vessel went down in high winds and waves.

The ocean temperature in the search area is nearly 26C.

Mr Walbridge went overboard when the ship rolled as the deck slid below 18-foot waves.

When the Bounty set sail from Connecticut last week the captain believed he could navigate around Sandy. After two days in rough seas, it was clear it would be far more difficult.

“I think we are going to be into this for several days,” Mr Walbridge said in a message posted on Sunday on the vessel’s Facebook site, which reads like a ship’s log of her activities. “We are just going to keep trying to go fast.”

By Monday morning, the vessel had started taking on water, its engines failed and the crew, dressed in red survival suits, had to abandon ship.

Most were plucked from lifeboats shortly after the ship went down, but 42-year-old crew member Claudene Christian was found hours later, unresponsive and floating in the water. She was pronounced dead after being taken to a hospital.

The ship was originally built for the 1962 film Mutiny on the Bounty starring Marlon Brando, and has featured in several other films, including one of the Pirates of the Caribbean films.

The vessel left Connecticut last Thursday with a crew of 11 men and five women, ranging in age from 20 to 66.