William Bligh was a citizen of the United Kingdom and an officer in the Royal Navy. During one of his commands, William Bligh was set adrift with his loyal officers and crew after a mutiny on the HMS Bounty occurred in the mid-19th Century. Bligh was known to be a very strict officer, which led to the mutiny. In modern slang, to refer to someone as Captain Bligh, it is implied that the individual is a strict and pushes their subordinates very hard. It is not a compliment. Albert Giordino sometimes refers to Dirk Eric Pitt as Captain Bligh, in a jokingly manner.