PART III.—“THE IRON CLIPPERS.”_The Colonial Clippers

Fill us with wool till we’re nigh overflowing,

Send us away when strong breezes are blowing,

And we’ll show all the others the road.

The tug boat is coming for us in the morn,

We’ll drive her like blazes from here to the Horn,

For the main royal shall never be stowed.—

J. ST. A. JEWELL.

The Introduction of Iron in Shipbuilding.

It was the introduction of iron, as the chief material for the building

of ships, that contributed more than anything else to the supremacy of

the British Mercantile Marine.

Iron killed the competition of our American cousins, who, as long as

wood was the chief factor, were able to give us a hard fight as to

which should lead the world in shipbuilding. Yes, it was the advent

of iron, more than the North and South War, more than the sinkings of

the _Alabama_, more than any slump in freights or foolish shipping

legislation on the part of the United States, and more even than our

adoption of Free Trade, which made the British nation the carriers of

the world.

Many people think, and they have been fostered in their belief by the

good old conservative wood and hemp sailor, that iron also sounded the

knell of the sailing ship. This is, of course, to a certain degree

true, yet sail continued to flourish for 50 years after the advent of

iron, and up to the late nineties no finer ships had ever been built

or sailed than the iron clippers from the Clyde and other British

shipyards.

It was the deterioration of the man before the mast which the advent

of steam brought about, and the cutting of freights induced by coal,

the cry for bigger ships and more luxury, and also, that soulless

modern institution, the company manager, which drove sailing ships down

and down in the trade of the world; these and the growing desire for

mechanical speed, which have invaded almost every department of life,

killed the windjammer.

But in iron, as in wood, sail had a zenith to reach before the decline

set in, and through the last half of the nineteenth century the ports

of the world were crowded with magnificent iron full-rigged ships and

barques, such as it would have been hard to improve upon with all our

new knowledge of wind pressure, streamlines, and least resistance

curves.

=The Drawbacks and Advantages of Iron.=

Like everything else iron had its drawbacks as well as its advantages.

At first its effect upon the deviation of the compass caused many a

stranding and many a disastrous shipwreck. Then too, though an iron

ship can be driven into a head sea in a way no dare-devil of a Yankee

driver would have dared to attempt with his soft-wood clipper, iron has

not the buoyancy of wood, and the sight of a modern four-poster’s main

deck when running before the westerlies would have made a Black Ball

skipper rub his eyes with astonishment. As a preventative of weed and

barnacles, no anti-fouling has yet been discovered which can compete

with copper, and thus an iron hull, especially if it had been long

in certain well-known localities, was ever a handicap to a vessel’s

speed through the water. Iron ships have never been able to equal their

wooden sisters in light winds, and this chiefly owing to the trouble of

foul bottoms.

The three chief advantages of an iron ship were firstly, that her hull

would stand unlimited driving, especially into a head sea; secondly,

she had more room for cargo than a wooden ship of the same size; and

thirdly, she was safer from that dreaded scourge at sea—fire.

=Increase in the Size of Ships.=

The chief change brought about by iron has been the increase in the

size of ships. The old-style shipowner held that a very big ship was a

very big mistake.

When the _Jason_, a 1500-ton ship, went out to Calcutta at the

beginning of the seventies, Patrick Keith, of Gladstone, Wyllie & Co.,

wrote to the Carmichaels, her owners, saying that she was far too big

a ship for the Indian trade, and that Smith’s smart little 1000-ton

“Cities” were quite large enough. Yet on her last voyage to the

Hooghly, 20 years later, the _Jason_ was by far the smallest deep-water

sailing ship in the port of Calcutta.

The difficulty of working wood in big sizes kept down the tonnage in

the old days, but with the introduction of iron this difficulty was at

once removed. And iron masts and yards in the place of Oregon pine, and

wire in the place of the tremendous hemp shrouds, solved the problem of

rigging strain—thus, with sail as with steam, the first result from the

use of iron was the steady increase in individual tonnage.

=Sail Plan Alterations.=

Iron masts and wire stays caused a big change in the sail plan of the

full-rigged ship. The increased strength led at first to a certain

amount of over-masting as well as over-carrying of sail, with the

result that many a new clipper was dismasted on her maiden voyage. 1874

was a specially disastrous year in this way. No less than seven ships

lost their masts bound out to Australia, and the _Loch Ard_ was twice

a victim. It was her maiden voyage, and she lost her “gossamer,” as

Joseph Conrad poetically calls it, before she had cleared the land.

She put back to the Clyde and refitted, only to again lose her masts

running the easting down. About this date also a great number of iron

ships were posted as missing, notably the _Africa_, _Asia_, _Loch

Laggan_ (ex-_America_), _Cairo_ and _Great Queensland_. No doubt some

of these losses were due to dismasting.

It was not only that the ships were tremendously lofty, but their

yards became squarer and squarer, until it was found that stunsails

were a luxury. In fact, partly for this reason and partly owing to the

competition of steam and the resulting need for economy, flying kites

of all descriptions were given up and by the early eighties even a fore

topmast stunsail was looked upon as a curiosity.

The lesson of rigging strain had to be learnt with the iron clippers,

just as it had had to be with the early wood clippers, but it was

not long before the seas were crowded by perfectly sparred iron

ships. Specially worthy of mention for perfection of sail plan were

Carmichael’s beautiful main skysail clippers, such as the _Golden

Fleece_, _Jason_, _Mermerus_, _Thessalus_, _Argonaut_ and others.

Double topsail yards were followed before very long by double

topgallant yards, then came the eclipse, and the seas became covered

with stump topgallant mast horrors and that pathetic sight, the full

rig ship masquerading as a barque.

I give a mainyard table, which may be of interest as showing the

development of width in sail plans.

MAINYARD TABLE.

+-------+-----------------------+-------+------+--------------------+

|of | | | Date | |

+-------+-----------------------+-------+------+--------------------+

| 120 |_Great Republic_ | 3357 | 1853 |American 4-mast |

| 108 |_British Ambassador_ | 1794 | 1873 |British iron “jute” |

| 102 |_Preussen_ | 5081 | 1902 |German 5-mast ship, |

| 100 |_Royal Sovereign_ | 1637* | 1637 |Brit. 1st rate |

| „ |_Daylight_ | 3756 | 1902 |Brit. steel 4-mast |

| „ |_James Baines_ | 2515 | 1854 |“Black Ball” pass. |

| „ |_Donald Mackay_ | 2598 | 1855 |“Black Ball” pass. |

| 96 |_Prince Royal_ | 1187* | 1610 |Brit. 1st rate |

| „ |_Glory of the Seas_ | 2103 | 1869 |Amer. “C. Horn” |

| 95 |_Lightning_ | 2084 | 1854 |“Black Ball” pass. |

| „ |_Champion of the Seas_ | 2448 | 1854 |“Black Ball” pass. |

| „ |_Royal Charter_ | 3000 | 1855 |Brit. full-rigged |

| „ |_Roanoke_ | 3559 | 1892 |Amer. wood 4-mast |

| 94 |_Shenandoah_ | 3258 | 1890 |Amer. wood 4-mast |

| 92 |_Dirigo_ | 3005 | 1894 |American steel |

| 90 |_Challenge_ | 2006† | 1851 |American wood |

| „ |_Sovereign of the Seas_| 2421† | 1852 |American wood |

| 89 |_Star of the East_ | 1219 | 1853 |New Bruns. wood |

| 88 |_Mermerus_ | 1671 | 1872 |Brit. iron “wool” |

| „ |_Loch Torridon_ | 2000 | 1881 |Brit. iron 4-mast |

| 84 |_Ben Voirlich_ | 1474 | 1873 |Brit. iron “wool” |

| „ |_Loch Maree_ | 1581 | „ |Brit. iron “wool” |

| „ |_Port Jackson_ | 2132 | 1882 |British iron 4-mast |

| 82 |_Cimba_ | 1174 | 1878 |British iron “wool” |

| „ |_Flying Cloud_ | 1793† | 1851 |American wood |

| 81 |_Salamis_ | 1079 | 1875 |British iron “wool” |

| „ |_Witch of the Wave_ | 1500† | 1851 |American wood |

| 80 |_60-gun ship_ | 1500* | 1800 |Brit. 4th rate |

| „ |_Thermopylae_ | 948 | 1868 |British tea clipper |

| „ |_Typhoon_ | 1610† | 1851 |American wood |

| 79 |_Dreadnought_ | 1413† | 1853 |Amer. Atlan. |

| 78 |_Cutty Sark_ | 921 | 1869 |British tea clipper |

| „ |_Hallowe’en_ | 920 | 1870 |British iron tea |

| „ |_Surprise_ | 1361† | 1850 |American wood |

| 75 |_Roscius_ | 1100† | 1836 |Amer. Atlan. |

| 74 |_Norman Court_ | 834 | 1869 |British tea clipper |

| 72 |_Ariel_ | 852 | 1865 |British tea clipper |

+-------+-----------------------+-------+------+--------------------+

* Old. † American.

The “Ironsides,” First Iron Sailing Ship.

The first vessel to be constructed of iron was launched in 1838,

and appropriately named the _Ironsides_. She was built at Liverpool

by Messrs. Jackson, Gordon & Co., and in appearance differed very

little from wooden ships of that date. She was very short, with heavy

stern and low bow, out of which cocked an extremely long bowsprit and

jibboom, whilst her masts in contrast to her hull seemed to rake the

heavens. However she was the pioneer of the new material and at one

time her picture was a common sight in shop windows. It is doubtful if

she was altogether a success, and iron ships were still a rarity 20

years later.

The “Martaban.”

In 1853, an iron sailing ship was launched from the yard of John

Scott, of Greenock, with intercostal plates and stringers. This was

the _Martaban_, of 743 tons register, built for the well-known firm

of Carmichael. Her specifications were the product of the brains of

Matthew Orr, brother-in-law of the first Thomas Carmichael, and of

John Ferguson, who was afterwards a member of Barclay, Curle & Co.,

the famous shipbuilders. The _Martaban_ was classed nine years A1 at

Lloyd’s, being rated equal to a nine years wooden ship.

At that time Lloyd’s had no rules or class for iron ships, so they

retained _Martaban’s_ original specification as a basis for their rules

concerning iron ships. That the _Martaban_ was a success is proved by

the fact that she received £4 a ton for a cargo of coffee and cotton

from Bombay to Havre, and was offered a Diplomé d’Honneur at the local

exposition for delivery of her cargo in perfect condition.

[Illustration: Mr. THOMAS CARMICHAEL, of A. & J. Carmichael.]

Iron Ships in the Australian Trade.

It was in the Australian trade that the iron passenger ship was to be

seen in her perfection. She succeeded the great Liverpool clippers and

the little Blackwall frigates, and she was as beautiful and perfect as

any of her wooden sisters.

In the sixties, seventies and even eighties thousands of emigrants were

carried from the Old Country to Australia and New Zealand in these

magnificent iron clippers. They also took out blood stock of every

description from racehorses to pedigree bulls and rams; and a nice time

some of these animals must have had when the clippers were carrying on

running their easting down.

Most of the ships raced home again with wool for the London sales, but

a few, notably Heap’s fine ships, went on from Australia to India and

Burma, generally with a load of walers for the army in India. In the

Bay of Bengal they either loaded jute home from Calcutta or rice from

Rangoon. Messrs. J. Heap & Sons were rice millers, and their ships took

the firm’s rice home.

In the seventies and eighties these beautiful clippers were a

never-ending interest in the London River, the Mersey, the Clyde and

the great ports of the Antipodes. In Sydney landsmen made special

Sunday excursions to Circular Quay to see the ships, and it was the

same with the other ports in the days of masts and yards. Every

Australian, whether native-born or new chum, kept a tender corner

in his heart for the tall ships which had had so much to do with

the development of his country. The Sydney-side native, indeed, not

only took a pride in the regular traders to the port, but knew them

intimately, and could generally be relied on to name an incoming

clipper correctly long before she had reached the anchorage.

=The New South Dock.=

A visit to the docks of the London River is only made nowadays from

dire necessity. Their charm has entirely departed. Instead of a

forest of spars, nothing now shows above the warehouse roofs but the

soot-covered, stumpy masts, blunt-nosed derricks, and squat funnels of

a few steamers. Truly the glory of the docks has departed for ever, and

only the sentiment remains. Joseph Conrad, in his delightful _Mirror

of the Sea_, thus describes the New South Dock in the days of the iron

wool clipper:—

To a man who has never seen the extraordinary nobility, strength, and

grace that the devoted generations of shipbuilders have evolved from

some pure nooks of their simple souls, the sight that could be seen

five-and-twenty years ago of a large fleet of clippers moored along

the north side of the New South Dock was an inspiring spectacle. Then

there was a quarter of a mile of them, from the iron dockyard gates

guarded by policemen, in a long, forest-like perspective of masts,

moored two and two to many stout wooden jetties. Their spars dwarfed

with their loftiness the corrugated iron sheds, their jibbooms

extended far over the shore, their white and gold figure-heads,

almost dazzling in their purity, overhung the straight, long quay

above the mud and dirt of the wharfside, with the busy figures of

groups and single men moving to and fro, restless and grimy under

their soaring immobility.

I have a photograph of the South Dock just as it is depicted by Conrad,

showing the long row of lean, knife-like cut-waters, surmounted by

their spotless figure-heads, and with their bowsprits stabbing the

sheds opposite, whilst the masts and yards criss-cross the dull grey of

the London sky.

The Builders of the Iron Wool Clippers.

Before proceeding to the ships themselves, I must not omit to say a few

words about the men who built these splendid iron sailing ships.

The London River, partly owing to an ill-advised strike and partly

owing to its distance from the raw material in comparison to the

northern ports, entirely lost its shipbuilding business in the latter

half of the nineteenth century; and the builders of the iron wool

clipper were pretty evenly distributed over the Clyde, the Mersey

and Aberdeen. Once more, as with the tea clippers, there was a keen

rivalry between Glasgow and Aberdeen, and it is difficult to say

which carried the day, for both cities were represented by countless

beautiful ships. Duthie, Hall and Hood had, however, to contend with

more than twice their number of Clydeside rivals. If I were asked to

give my humble opinion, I should award the palm to Messrs. Barclay,

Curle & Co. for producing the most perfect iron ships that ever sailed

the seas. They built many of the best “Lochs,” such as _Loch Maree_,

and the four-posters _Lochs Torridon_, _Carron_ and _Broom_. They were

responsible for the whole of Carmichael’s splendid fleet, and the two

famous “Bens”—_Voirlich_ and _Cruachan_—emanated from their drawing

lofts.

Thomson, of Glasgow, built some half-dozen “Lochs,” his masterpiece

being the _Loch Garry_. The rest of the Loch Line were divided amongst

Lawrie, Inglis, Henderson, and Connell. Duthie’s finest ship was the

_Brilliant_. Hall built the well-known _Port Jackson_, whilst Hood was

the originator of all the Aberdeen White Star ships and also built the

smart little _Cimba_.

Heap’s ships were mostly built by Evans, of Liverpool; and Potter, of

Liverpool, produced the two well-known London ships, _Thomas Stephens_

and _Old Kensington_. Of the other London owned ships, _Hesperus_

and _Harbinger_ worthily upheld the name of Steele, while Pile, of

Sunderland, was represented by _Rodney_.

I must now turn to the ships themselves, and, taking them in order of

date, will begin with that famous veteran the _Darling Downs_.

The “Darling Downs.”

She was one of that numerous fleet of ships, the converted from steam

to sail, about which one could make a largish book without much

trouble. And she was one of the most successful of the lot. She was

built as far back as 1852 and sailed under the flag of the General

Screw Steamship Company, as the _Calcutta_, an auxiliary steamer with a

300 horse-power engine. Like nearly all early steamship businesses the

General Screw S.S. Co. did not remain solvent very long, their ships

were sold and were promptly converted into sailing ships, and in many

cases renamed.

As a sailing ship, the _Darling Downs_ was a very favourite passenger

ship to Sydney. Like all converted steamers she was a very fast sailer,

and made very good and regular passages. After a prosperous career as a

Sydney trader, she was finally run into and sunk off the Nore in 1887.

“City of Agra” and “Sam Mendel.”

These two early iron ships were both exceedingly fast and made many a

good passage to the Colonies. _City of Agra_ once landed her passengers

in Melbourne when only 65 days out from the Tuskar; on another occasion

she passed Port Phillip Heads on her way to Queensland, when 63 days

out; and she made the run out to Lyttelton, New Zealand, in 71 days.

In 1881, when commanded by Captain Young, she left Gravesend on 25th

May, took her departure from the Lizard on the 29th, and crossed the

equator on 17th June in 27° W., 19 days from soundings. Between the

N.E. and S.E. trades, she had very squally variables and lost her fore

topgallant mast. She crossed the meridian of the Cape on 11th July and

ran her easting down in 39° and 40° S., making a very steady average,

as her best run was only 270 miles, and she crossed the Leeuwin

meridian on 30th July, signalled the Otway on 5th August and arrived in

Hobson’s Bay the following day, only 69 days out from the Lizard.

[Illustration: “DARLING DOWNS.”]

[Illustration: “ANTIOPE.”

_Photo by Captain Schutze, Sydney._]

_Sam Mendel_ is known for her 68-day run from London to Port Chalmers

in 1876. On another occasion, whilst racing one of the “Cities” to New

Zealand, she lost her foremast, and I have a photograph of her as she

appeared under jury rig.

Both ships lived to a ripe old age.

The _City of Agra_ was wrecked on Cape Sable on the 31st March, 1907,

when on a passage from New York to Bridgewater. The _Sam Mendel_, after

being twice sold and twice renamed, the first time _Charlonus_ and

secondly _Hannah_, was at last condemned and broken up in June, 1909.

Thus it will be seen that _City of Agra_ was afloat 47 years and _Sam

Mendel_ 48 years, which speaks volumes for the good workmanship of

their builders.

“Dharwar.”

The _Dharwar_, which was one of Harland & Wolff’s finest productions,

originally belonged to the Indian “Iron Ship Company.” Though the

company made money in the early sixties, a slump in freights brought

it into the hands of the Receiver after a very short existence. The

_Dharwar_ sailed for England in 1868, and on her arrival was bought by

John Willis, who always had an eagle eye for a good ship. He fitted

her for emigrants and during the seventies she was usually carrying

passengers outward; later she became a favourite Sydney trader, and

when loading at Circular Quay was usually to be seen on the cross berth

opposite the old Paragon Hotel. A beautifully built ship, with teakwood

decks, the _Dharwar_ was also a very consistent performer, and made a

good name for herself under Captain Freebody. Before settling down in

the Australian trade, Captain Freebody took her to Calcutta sometimes

for a Dundee jute cargo, he also took her across the Pacific, and made

a very fine passage from Frisco to Liverpool in 1872-3 of 97 days. As

late as 1902 I find the old ship arriving at Fremantle on 24th May, 80

days out from Barry. Willis eventually sold her to the Swedes, who sent

her to the ship-breakers in 1909, after 45 years of service.

The Strange Career of “Antiope.”

The _Antiope_ was one of the earliest of Joseph Heap’s ships, and, like

all his others, had a name which no sailor could possibly pronounce

correctly. Indeed when she came out many an old salt shook his head

over such a name. Who ever heard of a ship called the “Anti-hope”

coming to any good? However she upset the predictions of the evil

prophets by being one of the luckiest ships ever launched, and at the

present day must be one of the oldest ships afloat.

She was Heap’s fourth ship, I believe; her sister ship, the _Marpesia_,

having been launched from Reid’s yard four months before her. The first

ship of Heap’s “Thames and Mersey Line” was the little _Hippolyta_, of

853 tons, built as far back as 1856. Then came the _Eurynome_, of 1347

tons, built at Whitehaven in 1862.

[Illustration: “ANTIOPE.”]

She had an unenviable reputation for small collisions, so was generally

known as the “You’re into me.”

For some years the Thames and Mersey Line was managed by Thompson, May

& Co., of Water Street, Liverpool. The ships carried emigrants and

general cargo from Liverpool to Melbourne, then crossing to the Bay of

Bengal, often with walers to Madras or Calcutta, they came home from

Rangoon with Heap’s rice. They generally sailed from Liverpool on the

10th of each month. In the early eighties the line was bought by Mr.

Beazley to start his son, and was henceforth known as the Australian

Shipping Company, managed by Gracie, Beazley & Co.

The _Antiope_ made her best passage in 1868, running out to Melbourne

under Captain Withers in 68 days, and but for being hung up on the line

for 10 days would have gone near to breaking the record.

After Beazley sold her she was for some years in the South American

trade. Then during the Russo-Japanese war she was captured by the

Japanese whilst under Russian colours. The Japs sold her to Mr. J. J.

R. Matheson, of Ladysmith, British Columbia, and for a short while she

was in the timber trade. The world war found her lying in a New Zealand

port, doing duty as a coal hulk for the Paparoa Coal Co. Here the Otago

Rolling Mills bought her at a stiff price, and like many another old

sailing ship, she came out of her retirement with a new set of wings in

order to brave the German submarines and keep the old Red Duster flying.

In 1916, she got ashore on the coast when making for Bluff Harbour in a

gale of wind, and there she lay on her side in the wash of the tide for

96 days. At last, with tonnage pretty near worth its weight in gold, an

attempt was made to float her. For this purpose a large steam trawler,

fitted with pumps to throw 10,000 gallons a minute, was brought down to

this most southerly port in the Empire. No progress, however, was made

until a journalist named Bannerman, with the inquisitiveness of his

kind, got down into the _Antiope’s_ fore peak by means of a rope ladder

and discovered the chief leak. Then, with mats over the bow, the pumps

slowly overcame the water, the _Antiope_ righted and finally floated.

She was then towed round to Port Chalmers, docked, repaired and once

more fitted for sea. From Port Chalmers she ran across to Newcastle,

N.S.W., in ballast, making the trip in the good time of 12 days. Here

she loaded coal for Valparaiso, after refusing a £9000 freight to the

United Kingdom. Again she made a good passage. From Chile she went up

to San Francisco. And she is still earning money at the wonderful age

of 54 years.

“Theophane.”

The _Theophane_ was probably the fastest of all Heap’s ships, and was

built on sharper lines than the _Antiope_ or _Marpesia_. On her maiden

passage—the abstract log of which I give in the Appendix—she went out

to Hobson’s Bay under Captain Follett in 66 days.

Her first 12 passages to Melbourne were 66, 75, 75, 70, 80, 73, 73, 82,

73, 75, 79 and 77 days, giving an average of 75 days, this being from

the Channel.

On the 11th December, 1891, she sailed from Newcastle, N.S.W., with a

cargo of coal for Valparaiso, and was never heard of again.

Messrs. Aitken & Lilburn and the Loch Line of Glasgow.

The best known line of sailing ships running to Australia since the

use of iron shipbuilding has undoubtedly been the famous Loch Line of

Glasgow.

[Illustration: “THEOPHANE.”]

[Illustration: “DHARWAR.”]

It was started in 1867 by two young men who had been in the employ of

Patrick Henderson & Co.—these were William Aitken and James Lilburn.

In the old days it was the custom for owners to make a daily visit to

intending shippers; this was Aitken’s part of the work and he continued

to make a practice of it long after other owners had given it up.

Lilburn superintended the loading and despatching of their ships, and

so great was his practical knowledge and so keen his interest that it

is no exaggeration to say that no ships were better kept up than the

Loch liners. All over the world the Loch Line clippers were held up by

seamen as examples of what well run and comfortable ships should be.

A keen yachtsman and a one-time Commodore of the Royal Northern Yacht

Club, Mr. Lilburn was a man who not only thoroughly understood ships

but loved them for their own sake. And it is under such owners that

sailors consider themselves lucky to serve.

The ships carried first, second and third class passengers outwards,

and when steam began to cut in they still held on until they were the

last of all the sailing ships to continue carrying passengers. Many an

invalid or consumptive has gained fresh vigour and untold benefit from

a voyage to the Antipodes in a Loch liner.

The saloon fares charged were:—£40 to Adelaide and Melbourne, £42 to

Sydney, £76 for the round trip out and home.

The “Clan Ranald,” “Ben Nevis” and “Loch Awe.”

Messrs. Aitken & Lilburn commenced business by chartering the _Clan

Ranald_, _Ben Nevis_ and _Loch_ _Awe_. The _Clan Ranald_ they

eventually bought and renamed the _Loch Rannoch_.

Captain Bully Martin, who was afterwards one of the best known skippers

in the Loch Line, superintended the building of the _Clan Ranald_, and

took command of her for the first few years of her existence.

Bully Martin was a great personality amongst sailing ship skippers. He

was a driver of the old type, and stories referring to Bully Forbes are

often mixed up with those referring to Bully Martin. He nevertheless

was such a consummate seaman that in 45 years’ service as master he

never cost the underwriters a penny, and only lost a couple of men,

one through a fall from aloft and one from being washed overboard.

He is said to have hated passengers. He served his time in Allan’s

beautiful little Transatlantic sailing ships—his first ship being

the _Caledonia_, a full-rigged ship carrying royals and stunsails

though only of 390 tons. She was commanded by Captain Wylie, who was

afterwards marine superintendent of the Allan Line. After passing for

mate, he obtained the berth in the 900-ton iron ship _Shandon_, which

was fitted with patent reefing gear for topgallant sails, topsails

and courses. She made three voyages a season to Montreal and in the

winter ran to the Southern States for cotton. After four years as mate,

he obtained command of the _Edendale_, belonging to the same owners,

Messrs. W. Kidston & Son, of Glasgow. His next command was the _Lord

Clyde_, which he left for the _Clan Ranald_. He commanded her for two

or three voyages and then went to Watson Bros., commanding the _Ben

Venue_, _Ben Voirlich_ and _Ben Cruachan_ in turn, after which he

returned to the Loch Line, and after having the _Loch Ness_ and _Loch

Long_, commanded the _Loch Broom_ until he retired from the sea in

1907, the very year, curiously enough, that Messrs. Aitken & Lilburn

sold his first ship in their employ.

On 22nd February, 1907, the _Loch Rannoch_ left Melbourne under Captain

Morrison with the usual cargo of wool, hides and tallow for Hull, at

which port she arrived on 8th June, 106 days out. After discharging she

returned to Glasgow, and was then sold to the Norwegians. In November,

1910, she was again sold to the Germans, and has since been broken up.

The _Ben Nevis_ after making her maiden voyage under charter to Aitken

& Lilburn became one of Watson’s passenger ships to Australia. On

14th July, 1897, when bound to Dunedin from Glasgow, she unexpectedly

appeared in Hobson’s Bay, having put in to repair damages which had

taken place 12 days before in the Southern Ocean. It appeared that she

had been swept from stem to stern by a tremendous wave; two of the crew

had been taken overboard along with everything movable on the main

deck; besides which the break of the poop had been burst in and the

interior so gutted that her officers had nothing but the clothes they

stood up in. The repairs cost £3000.

In 1898 the _Ben Nevis_ was sold to the Norwegians and renamed

_Astoria_. On 24th January, 1912, she was abandoned, dismasted, in the

Atlantic, after being set on fire, her crew being taken off by the

steamer Dungeness and landed at Penzance.

The _Loch Awe_ is known for her record passage to Auckland, New

Zealand, under Captain Weir.

Gravesend to Auckland 73 days.

Pilot to pilot 69 days.

As far as I know this record still holds good.

Captain Weir was a great driver, and the _Loch Awe_ came into Auckland

with everything washed off her decks, including hen coops, spare spars

and all her boats. She was carrying emigrants who had had a terrible

time, having been battened down for days on end. On her arrival she

was delayed a week, as she had reached Auckland before her papers, the

mails in those days coming _via_ Panama to New Zealand.

The Famous “Patriarch”—First Iron Ship of the Aberdeen White Star Line.

In 1869 the Aberdeen White Star Line gave their first order for an iron

clipper ship, the result of which was the famous _Patriarch_. George

Thompson was only contented with the very best, and _Patriarch_ was

no exception to his rule. Built of the best iron plating at a cost of

£24,000, she was considered the finest iron ship in the world when she

first came out. She had a poop 90 feet long, under which extended a

magnificent saloon. In her rigging plan she was a long way in advance

of her times. Her topmasts and lower masts were in one, and her

topgallant masts were telescopic, fitting into the topmasts; and in the

seventies she was fitted with double topgallant yards on fore and main,

whilst she still carried stunsails in the eighties when most ships had

discarded them.

As a sea boat she proved herself on numberless occasions, notably in

the Indian cyclone of 1892, which she weathered out with only the

loss of a lifeboat, whilst the fine Loch liner, _Loch Vennachar_, was

totally dismasted 70 miles away. She possessed that very rare quality

in iron vessels—dryness. And during her life of 29 years under the Red

Ensign she never had a serious accident and never made a bad passage.

_Patriarch’s_ best 24 hours’ run was 366 miles, and her best week’s

run was 2060 miles, her main royal being set the whole time.

[Illustration: “PATRIARCH.”

_Photo by Hall & Co., Sydney._]

_Patriarch_ was no doubt lucky in her captains: Captain Pile took her

from the stocks until 1876, Captain Plater had her ten voyages from

1877 to 1887, Captain Allan from 1887 to 1890, and Captain Mark Breach

took her until she was sold in 1898, during which time, he says, that

she never stranded a ropeyarn.

_Patriarch’s_ maiden voyage was almost as much of a record as

_Thermopylae’s_, each passage being the best ever made by an iron ship

at that date. On her outward passage with 40 passengers and a large

general cargo, she arrived in Sydney on 10th February, 1870, only 67

days from pilot to pilot, and 74 anchorage to anchorage. And on the

homeward run she went from Sydney Heads to the West India Dock in 69

days. This was an extraordinary performance, as anything under 90 days

is very good for an iron ship on the homeward passage.

After this the _Patriarch_ was one of the most regular ships in the

Sydney trade. She was never much over 80 days going out, and though she

never repeated her maiden performance coming home her passages were

most consistent and she only twice ran into three figures in over 20

passages from Sydney.

In 1897-8 the good old ship sailed her last voyage under the Red

Ensign—a round of London, Sydney, Newcastle, N.S.W., Manila and home

in 13 months. On his arrival Captain Mark Breach was horrified to

find that his beloved ship had been sold to the Norwegians for a

paltry £3150, and on 1st November, 1898, he hauled down the celebrated

house-flag and handed her over to her new owners.

For another 14 years she washed about the seas, unkempt, bare of paint

and forgotten. Of her passages in this condition, I have picked out a

couple at random:—

1908 Monte Video to Port Victoria (Make) 64 days.

1910 Bantjar (Java) to Delegoa Bay 57 days.

On Christmas Day, 1911, she left Algoa Bay for a Gulf port, and on

23rd February, 1912, got ashore on Cape Corrientes, south of the River

Plate, and became a total loss.

The “Thomas Stephens.”

The _Thomas Stephens_ was one of the best known ships of her day. When

she came out she was considered the most up-to-date and perfectly

appointed passenger sailing ship ever built on the Mersey. She was

intended for the old Black Ball Line, but never actually sailed under

the famous flag, but sailed as one of the London Line of Australian

Packets (Bethell & Co.). She was owned by Thomas Stephens & Sons, of

London. Captain Richards, the well-known commander of the _Donald

Mackay_, superintended her building and fitting out and eventually left

the _Donald Mackay_ to command her.

The _Thomas Stephens_ soon proved herself one of the fastest iron ships

afloat, and a very successful ship financially. She was beautifully

sparred, crossing three skysail yards, and was a very lofty ship—one of

the tallest ships, indeed, that ever sailed either from the Mersey or

the Thames; and she carried all her stunsails well into the eighties.

At first she was fitted with single topgallant yards, but followed the

fashion for double topgallant yards before she had been afloat many

years.

She was launched in July, 1869, and left Liverpool on 24th September,

with a full passenger list for Melbourne, arriving out on 15th December

in 82 days.

[Illustration: “THOMAS STEPHENS.”

_From a painting by F. B. Spencer; lent by Messrs. Thomas Stephens &

Sons._]

On her second voyage she left Liverpool on 9th September, 1870, and

anchored in Hobson’s Bay on 21st November, 73 days, port to port.

After this she always sailed from London as one of the London Line of

Packets, along with her great rival _The Tweed_. And for her third

voyage, I find the following advertisement in the _Times_ of 5th

October, 1871.

MELBOURNE-LONDON LINE OF PACKETS.

THOMAS STEPHENS.

R. RICHARDS (so well and favourably known when in command of the

_Donald Mackay_ and _Great Victoria_), commander. This superb

clipper, 1507 tons registered, of the highest class at Lloyd’s,

and owned by Messrs. Thomas Stephens & Sons, is one of the finest

specimens of marine architecture afloat, and made her last passage

in 64 days. Constructed specially for the Australian passenger

trade. Her spacious full poop saloon is fitted with bathrooms, cabin

furniture, bedding, and every convenience. The second and third

cabins are most comfortable. Carries a surgeon.—Bethell & Co.,

Cowper’s Court, Cornhill, E.C.

_Thomas Stephens_ left London on 26th October, 1871, for Melbourne, her

great antagonist _The Tweed_ sailing for Sydney about the same date.

She crossed the line on 20th November in long. 29° 57′ W., making 12

knots with the S.E. trade blowing steadily from S.E. by S. Her best run

was 315 miles in a 23½-hour day when running down her easting. This

was from Saturday, 9th December to Sunday, 10th December, and her log

book gives the following details:—

SATURDAY, 9th December, 1871.—Lat. 44° 50′ S., long. 20° 34′ E.

Courses S.E. by E. ½ E., S. by E., S.E. by E. ½ E., S.S.E., S.E.

Winds E.N.E., E. by N., variable, west. A.M., strong wind and

squally, logging 10 knots. 11 a.m., heavy squalls, handed topgallant

sails, crossjack, spanker and outer jib. P.M., squally with heavy

rain. 4 p.m., set main topgallant sail. 9 p.m., wind veering into

westward; set fore topgallant sail and main topgallant staysail.

Midnight, logging 16 knots during last four hours

SUNDAY, 10th December, 1871.—Lat. 44° 48′ S., long. 27° 57′ E.

Courses S.E. ½ E., S.E. Winds west, N.W. Distance 315 miles. A.M.,

heavy gale, high cross sea; ship labouring and straining heavily;

decks at times completely flooded fore and aft. 1 a.m., main

topgallant staysail stay carried away. 7 a.m., continuation of gale,

logging 16 knots. Heavy sea struck ship on starboard quarter, washing

starboard lifeboat out of davits, completely flooding main deck and

washing away main hatch-house. 9.30 a.m., gale moderating, made all

plain sail, still logging 16 knots. P.M., moderate with high cross

sea; decks completely flooded; have logged 16 knots during last 16

hours.

On Friday, 29th December, the westerlies were so strong that the

_Thomas Stephens_ had to be hove to for 4½ hours, the gale being

preceded by six hours’ calm with fog; the log reads as follows:—

FRIDAY, 29th December, 1871.—Lat. by acc. 45° 21′ S., long. 129°

7′ E. Courses N.E., E.N.E., E. by S., N.N.W., N.E. Winds variable,

calm, N.W., west. A.M., light variable airs, thick foggy weather.

Watch hauling up cable. 10 a.m., strong breeze, dull cloudy weather,

logging 12 knots. 3.30 p.m., strong gale, handed topgallant sails. 4

p.m., gale still increasing, handed upper topsails, courses and jib.

Brought ship to the wind under lower topsails. Heavy sea running;

decks completely flooded. 8.30 p.m., wind veering into S.W. Wore ship

off before the wind. 10 p.m., set foresail and upper fore topsails,

logging 10 knots.

On Saturday, 30th December, the gale still continued

and the log book records:—

Lat. by acc. 43° 57′ S., long. 134° 27′ E. Courses N.E., N.E ½ N.

Winds W.S.W. A.M., strong gale, high sea. Shipping a quantity of

water over all, logging 13 knots. 4 a.m., set upper main and mizen

topsails. 7 a.m., set topgallant sails, weather moderating, logging

12 knots. 10 a.m., heavy sea. Decks at times completely flooded.

P.M., strong gale and heavy sea. Shipping a quantity of water over

all, logging 13 knots. 10 p.m., gale increasing. Handed fore and

mizen topgallant sails, logging 14 knots. 10.30 p.m., handed main

topgallant and mizen topsail. Midnight, strong gale and high sea;

have logged 14 knots during last six hours.

On Tuesday, 2nd January, 1872, Cape Otway bore north, distant 2

leagues; at 7 a.m. the pilot came on board and took charge, and at 1

p.m. the _Thomas Stephens_ came to anchor in Hobson’s Bay, 66 days out

from her Channel pilot. From Melbourne she went across to Calcutta in

45 days, with walers on board, and loaded jute home, the usual round of

first-class ships in the seventies.

During her long and successful career she usually loaded outwards to

Melbourne or Sydney; but in 1879 on her twelfth voyage she went out to

Otago, and on her thirteenth left Liverpool on 29th April and arrived

at Rangoon on 21st July, 83 days out.

In 1881 she went out to San Francisco in 124 days from Holyhead, and

coming home to Falmouth in 98 days. Except for an occasional run to

Frisco, Calcutta or Rangoon, she was kept regularly in the Sydney trade

during the eighties and nineties.

The following is a list of her best sailing records:—

16 knots for 16 successive hours, 10th December, 1871, in 44° 48′ S.,

28° 7′ E. 1000 miles in 70 hours.

16 days (the record) from Cape Horn to the line, under Captain

Robertson.

1870 Liverpool to Hobson’s Bay; Sept. 9 to Nov. 21 73 days

1871-2 London to Hobson’s Bay; Oct. 26 to Jan. 2 68 days

1872 Melbourne to Calcutta; Feb. 1 to March 17 45 days

1872-3 Lizard to Hobson’s Bay; Dec. 4 to Feb. 11 69 days

1873 Ushant to Hobson’s Bay; Sept. 3 to Nov. 8 66 days

1874-5 Lizard to Hobson’s Bay; Nov. 22 to Jan. 31 70 days

1876 Lizard to Hobson’s Bay; Aug. 7 to Oct. 24 78 days

1877 Tuskar to Hobson’s Bay; Aug. 12 to Oct. 27 76 days

1878 Plymouth to Hobson’s Bay; June 15 to Aug. 31 77 days

1880 Liverpool to Rangoon; April 29 to July 21 83 days

1880-1 Frisco to Queenstown; Nov. 8 to Feb. 18 99 days

1881 Holyhead to Frisco; Jan. 12 to May 16 124 days

1882 Frisco to Falmouth; June 7 to Sept. 13 98 days

1882-3 London to Sydney; Nov. 8 to Jan. 22 75 days

1885 Antwerp to Sydney; July 25 to Oct. 20 87 days

1886 London to Sydney; May 29 to Aug. 16 79 days

In the later eighties her passages began to slow up for two very good

reasons: firstly her sail plan was cut down; and secondly her captain,

owing to a very nervous wife being with him, made no attempt to drive

her.

Captain Richards had her through the seventies, except for two voyages

in 1874-5 when Captain Bloomfield had her, then Captain Archibald

Robertson commanded her for half a dozen voyages, he was followed by

Captain W. Cross, then Captains Cutler, Davis and Belding took her in

turn.

The _Thomas Stephens_ was a lucky ship and kept singularly free of

trouble; indeed she had no serious mishap until July, 1893, when she

got well battered by a severe gale in 52° S., 130° W., whilst homeward

bound from Melbourne with wheat. Her bulwarks were carried away from

the fore rigging to abaft the main rigging on the starboard side and

her main deck was swept clean. She put into Callao for repairs, but she

was not leaking and her cargo was found to be undamaged.

On her following voyage she got into more serious trouble in battling

to get to the westward of Cape Stiff. She sailed from Barry on

27th December, 1894, and was partially dismasted off the pitch of

the Horn. Put back to the Falklands, arriving in Stanley harbour

on 28th February, 1895. Captain Belding, however, refused to agree

to the extortionate demands of the Stanley shipwrights, and sailed

for Capetown under jury rig, arriving there 14th May, 1895. Here he

refitted, and leaving Table Bay on 22nd June arrived at Esquimalt by

the eastern route on 24th September.

This unfortunate voyage terminated her career under the Red Ensign,

for on her arrival home in 1896 the _Thomas Stephens_ was sold to the

Portuguese Government. The Portuguese have a singularly shrewd eye for

a ship; and in this year they bought at breaking up prices three of

the finest and fastest ships ever built, namely the _Thomas Stephens_,

_Cutty Sark_ and _Thermopylae_.

Captain Belding was retained to sail the _Thomas Stephens_ to the Tagus

under her new flag. He had a Portuguese crew, and the passage was not

without incident, for a fire broke out on board and it was chiefly

owing to Captain Belding’s personal bravery that it was extinguished.

Indeed so pleased were the Portuguese with his behaviour that they

presented him with a service of plate and a Portuguese Order, at the

same time asking him to continue in command. For many years after this

the _Thomas Stephens_ served as a naval training ship in the Tagus

in conjunction with the _Thermopylae_. She survived the famous tea

clipper, however, and many a British naval officer has probably been

aboard the famous old ship without realising that, disguised under

the name of _Pero d’Alemguer_, floated one of the crack Australian

passenger ships of the seventies.

The Great War found her lying a hulk in the Tagus. The Portuguese

fitted her out when tonnage began to get scarce in 1915, and sent

her across to America. On her return passage to Lisbon in January,

1916, she was posted as missing—possibly a Hun torpedo sent her to

the bottom—and that terrible word “missing” may be hiding some awful

tragedy or glorious heroism. Anyhow her name goes on the “Ships’ Roll

of Honour in the Great War,” along with more than one of her sisters in

the Australian trade.

The First Six Ships of the Loch Line.

Messrs. Aitken & Lilburn started their venture with six splendid

ships, of 1200 tons each, all built during 1869-70. These were the

_Loch Katrine_, _Loch Earn_, _Loch Lomond_ and _Loch Leven_, all built

by Lawrie, of Glasgow, and the _Loch Ness_ and _Loch Tay_, built by

Barclay, Curle & Co.

At first it had been intended to name the ships after clans, but the

Clan Line registered first, and so at the start the “Lochs” were

advertised as the “Clyde Line of Clipper Packets.”

The _Loch Katrine_ was the first ship away. She arrived in Hobson’s

Bay under Captain M’Callum, on 20th December, 1869, 81 days out from

Glasgow. The _Loch Ness_, Captain Meiklejohn, arrived on 13th January,

1870; the _Loch Tay_, Captain Alex. Scott, on 12th February, 1870;

the _Loch Earn_, Captain W. Robertson, on 31st March, 1870; the _Loch

Lomond_, Captain Grey, R.N.R., on 26th May, 1870; and the _Loch Leven_,

Captain Branscombe, on 19th August, 1870.

Of the six clippers, the _Loch Tay_ made the best passage out, being

only 73 days, anchorage to anchorage. Running her easting down, her

best week’s run was over 2000 miles, and she averaged 285 miles a day

for nine consecutive days. Stunsails and large crews were carried

by the Loch clippers right up to the end of the seventies; and the

following passages under these conditions will show their speed

capabilities:—

TUSKAR TO CAPE OTWAY.

_Loch Katrine_ 74 days

_Loch Ness_ 68 „

_Loch Tay_ 67 „

_Loch Earn_ 63 „

_Loch Lomond_ 76 „

_Loch Leven_ 68 „

Their average, pilot to pilot, 69½ days; port to port, 77 days.

Four of these ships lived to a good old age, whilst the other two came

to early and tragic ends.

When sailing ship freights began to fall, the _Lochs Katrine_, _Tay_,

_Ness_ and _Lomond_ were converted into barques, but in spite of losing

the yards on the mizen, they continued to make good passages right into

the twentieth century.

The _Loch Katrine_ made her best passage in 1893, from the Channel to

Melbourne in 71 days.

In 1907 she was nearly lost running her easting down when bound out

to Australia. It was blowing hard from the S.W., and a heavy sea

broke aboard, tearing up the standard compass and washing it into the

scuppers, besides smashing up a lifeboat and floating the gig out of

its chocks. The next roller came right over the stern, crumpling up the

wheel and binnacle and breaking in the cabin skylight. The men at the

wheel were washed away, and the ship broached to, filling her main deck

to the rail. All hands were called to save the ship, and as usual in

such cases, it meant risking life and limb to venture along the flooded

main deck and man the braces. However Captain Anderson managed to get

his ship off before the wind and by the following night a jury wheel of

capstan bars had been lashed on to the remains of the old wheel.

Three years later, in 1910, the _Loch Katrine_ was dismasted off Cape

Howe. After a perilous trip of three days, a boat in charge of her mate

was picked up near the land by a Swedish steamer, and a tug was sent

out from Sydney, which found the disabled ship and towed her into Port

Jackson. The _Loch Katrine_ was then sold in Australia, and for some

years earned a living carrying coal round the coast. So far as I know

she is still afloat.

The fastest of these six ships, in my opinion, was the _Loch Ness_. In

1874-5 she beat the time of her maiden voyage by going out to Melbourne

in 67 days. The following voyage she went out in 74 days; but what is

more astonishing is the time of her passages, in her old age when cut

down, rigged as a barque and with small and indifferent crews.

Under these conditions she made the following five runs home from

either Melbourne or Adelaide:—1893, 85 days; 1894, 87 days; 1895, 85

days; 1899, 90 days; 1900, 91 days; and she finished her active career

by two splendid passages. In 1906 she came home from Melbourne to Hull,

laden with wool and wheat, in 79 days; and on 20th May, 1907, she left

the Tail of the Bank for Adelaide, crossed the equator 28 days out,

passed the Cape meridian on 9th July, and arrived at the Semaphore

anchorage on 4th August, 76 days out. On 16th June when in lat. 3° N.

she fell in with a 9-knot tramp steamer bound to the southward; and the

two ships were constantly in company for 2000 miles, and it was not

until they were south of lat. 30° S. that the steamer saw the last of

the old _Loch Ness_.

Running her easting down the _Loch Ness_ averaged 245 knots for 18

consecutive days, her best day’s work being just under 300 miles.

Captain M. Heddle, who had previously commanded the _Loch Rannoch_, was

in charge of the _Loch Ness_ and deserved great credit for this fine

performance as a wind up to the old clipper’s career. The _Loch Ness_

was sold in Adelaide along with her sister ship, the _Loch Tay_, and

the celebrated pair are ending their days together as coal hulks for

the N.D.L. Co. at Adelaide.

There was probably not much to choose between the two sister ships in

point of speed, though _Loch Ness_ had slightly the better record.

_Loch Tay_, however, had many fine runs to her credit. For many years

she brought wool home from Geelong, her passages being most consistent

and rarely being much over 90 days.

The _Loch Earn_ became world-notorious by her fatal collision with the

French Transatlantic mail steamer _Ville du Havre_. On 21st November,

1873, on a bright starlight night, the Loch liner struck the steamer

right amidships, cutting her down to the water’s edge. The _Ville du

Havre_ sank in 12 minutes, and Captain Robertson of the _Loch Earn_ was

only able to save 26 of her passengers and 61 of the crew, 226 souls

in all going down in the Frenchman. The following day the American

packet ship _Tremountain_ was fallen in with, and Captain Robertson

transferred the survivors to her and they were landed at Cardiff. Two

days later the _Loch Earn_, being fatally injured by the collision,

also sank, Captain Robertson and his crew being rescued by a passing

ship.

The _Loch Lomond_, which in her palmy days under Commander Grey,

R.N.R., was known as the Scotch man-of-war owing to her smart

appearance, was a steady going ship without any very special records

to her credit. In May, 1908, she was sold to the Union S.S. Co. of

New Zealand to be converted into a coal hulk. Loading a cargo of coal

at Newcastle, N.S.W., she left there on 16th July, 1908, bound for

Lyttelton, N.Z., under Captain J. Thomson. But time went by and she

never arrived, and in due course she was posted as missing. The only

trace of her that was ever found was a life-buoy which was picked up on

the New Hebrides.

The _Loch Leven_ came to a sudden end on her second voyage. On 22nd

October, 1871, she left Geelong for London with 6523 bales of wool on

board, valued at £154,000. Two days later she stranded on King’s Island

and became a total loss. All her crew got ashore safely, but Captain

Branscombe ventured back in a surf boat to rescue the ship’s papers.

The boat capsized and the captain was drowned.

King’s Island—A Death Trap for Ships.

King’s Island, lying 80 miles S.S.W. of Port Phillip Heads, has been

the cause of many a fine ship’s end. Nearly 50 sailing ships, from

first to last, have found a grave in the King’s Island surf. A Captain

Davis, who for many years carried cattle between the island, Melbourne

and Tasmania in the coasting steamer _Yambacoona_, made a list some

ten years ago of 36 ships known to have perished on the rocky shores

of King’s Island. This list, which was included with other interesting

data regarding tides, currents and pilotage notes of King’s Island, was

used by the Hydrographic Office, Washington, U.S.A., and contains the

following names:—

_Neva_, ship wrecked 1835

_Cataraque_, ship „ 1845

_City of Melbourne_, ship „ 1853 refloated

_Waterwitch_, barque „ 1854

_Bruthen_, schooner „ „

_Elizabeth_, ketch „ 1855

_Whistler_, schooner „ „

_Maypole_, schooner „ 1856

_Katherine_, schooner „ 1861

_Brahmin_, schooner „ 1862

_Favor_, schooner „ 1864

_Arrow_, schooner „ 1865

_Dart_, cutter „ „

_Netherby_, schooner „ 1866

_Europa_, brig „ 1868

_Omagh_, barque „ „

_Helen Ann_, ketch „ „

_Loch Leven_, ship „ 1871

_Ocean Bridge_, brig „ „

_Martha Lovinia_, schooner „ „

_Arrow_, barque „ 1873

_Cape Pigeon_, cutter „ 1874

_British Admiral_, ship „ „

_Blencathra_, barque „ 1875

_Dart_, ketch „ 1876

_Flying Squirrel_, schooner „ „

_Abrona_, barquentine „ 1877

_Mary Ann_, schooner „ 1878

_Anna_, barque „ „

_Peerless_, ketch „ „

_Kalahone_, barque „ 1879

_Loch Lomond_, schooner „ 1891

_Garfield_, schooner „ 1897

_Landisfarne_, ship „ 1904 refloated

_Earl of Linlithgow_, ketch „ „

_Clytie_, ketch „ 1906

_Shannon_, schooner „ „

[Illustration: “MERMERUS” alongside.]

[Illustration: “MILTIADES.”

_Photo by Captain Schutze, Sydney_]

On many parts of King’s Island’s rocky shore these wrecks have been

piled one on top of the other, one reef of rocks alone tearing the life

out of no less than six vessels. No doubt the list is far from being

complete; there was no light on King’s Island in the earlier days, and

this no doubt was the cause of many an unknown tragedy.

“Miltiades.”

George Thompson’s second iron ship was the beautiful _Miltiades_,

for many years a favourite ship in the Melbourne trade. Like the

_Patriarch_, she was built for the emigrant trade, and in the

Australian papers was spoken of as “that mammoth clipper,” though to

modern eyes she would look quite small and one of the daintiest of

ships. Unlike _Patriarch_ she was a very wet ship, especially when

running in heavy weather, but she was just as fast as the _Patriarch_,

if not faster—indeed taking her average, both outward and homeward, I

do not think that any ship can beat her record for an iron ship except

the little _Salamis_.

Captain Perrett took her from the stocks and had her until 1885, when

Captain Harry Ayling assumed command. On her first voyage she carried

stunsails, but when she got home the booms were sent down and never

used again.

Her best outward passage was made in 1873, being 70 days dock to dock,

63 days pilot to pilot. She left London on 5th May, dropped her pilot

off the Start on 12th May. Had very light winds to the equator, crossed

the line on 6th June in 27° 30′ W., crossed the meridian of the Cape

on 24th June in 44° S. On 24th, 25th and 26th June she ran 305, 310,

and 345 miles. Crossed the meridian of Cape Leeuwin on 9th July, and

was off the Otway on 14th July, only 20 days from the Cape, finally

anchored in Hobson’s Bay on the 15th; just 39 days from the equator. On

this passage her decks were lumbered up with sheep pens, and one can

well imagine what an unpleasant time those sheep must have had when she

was running her easting down.

In 1874 _Miltiades_ was diverted from Melbourne to Wellington.

Emigration to New Zealand was booming and many extra ships had to be

taken up; for instance the _La Hogue_ took 443 emigrants to Wellington,

the fine iron Calcutta clipper _Ballochmyle_ took 484 to Canterbury and

the _Rooparell_ 361 to Auckland.

The change was very near being the end of _Miltiades_, for she missed

stays whilst beating up to Wellington and slid on to a reef. Captain

Perrett immediately fired his signal guns and sent up a rocket to

attract attention. Luckily for him the inter-colonial steamer had just

rounded the North Heads bound in and at once went to his assistance,

and after one or two failures managed to get the _Miltiades_ off. It

was not until many years later that the _Miltiades_ was again seen in

Maoriland, but in the early nineties she made the following fine runs

home:—

1890 Lyttelton to London, February 8 to April 27 78 days

1891 Wellington to London, January 14 to April 6 82 days

When the Aberdeen White Star sold their ships the Italian owners of

the _Titania_ bought the _Miltiades_. She was finally condemned and

broken up in 1905.

Carmichael’s Superb Wool Clipper “Mermerus.”

This beautiful ship was one of the finest and most successful of all

the iron wool clippers, and as a specimen of an iron sailing ship she

could hardly be beaten, either for looks, speed or sea worthiness.

Barclay, Curle never turned out a more graceful and handsome ship as

looks; and like all Carmichael’s, she was most beautifully sparred,

crossing the main skysail yard, which was so characteristic a feature

of their ships. I give her spar plan below.

_SPAR PLAN OF MERMERUS._

+----------------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+

+----------------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+

|Lowermast | 64 ft. | 68 ft. | 56 ft. |

|Doubling | 16½ ft. | 16½ ft. | 14 ft. |

|Topmast | 57 ft. | 57 ft. | 48 ft. |

|Doubling | 11 ft. | 11½ ft. | 10 ft. |

|Topgallant mast | 32 ft. | 32 ft. | 26 ft. |

|Royal mast | 17 ft. | 17½ ft. | 15 ft. |

|Skysail mast | 13½ ft. | 13½ ft. | 12½ ft. |

|Lower yard | 87 ft. | 88 ft. | 73½ ft. |

|Lower topsail yard | 74½ ft. | 76 ft. | 62 ft. |

|Upper topsail yard | 73 ft. | 73½ ft. | 60 ft. |

|Lower topgallant yard | 57½ ft. | 60 ft. | 52 ft. |

|Upper topgallant yard | 56 ft. | 56 ft. | 45 ft. |

|Royal yard | 44 ft. | 44 ft. | 32 ft. |

|Skysail yard | | 32 ft. | |

+---------------+------+-----------+-+---------+-----------+

|Jibboom 72 ft. |Spanker boom 55 ft. | Spanker gaff 37 ft. |

+---------------+--------------------+---------------------+

This is her original spar plan. Barclay, Curle planned her spars for

three skysails, but the fore and mizen were not sent aloft. _Mermerus_

had a poop 54 feet long, and a foc’s’lehead 32 feet long. She carried

a cargo of 10,000 bales of wool, representing the fleeces of a million

sheep and worth £130,000 more or less as wool varied in price.

She never made a bad voyage under the Golden Fleece house-flag, and the

regularity with which she arrived every year in time for the February

wool sales caused her to receive the most out-spoken praise. On one

occasion, when as usual she had arrived in time and several notable

ships had missed the sales, Mr. Young, of the Australian Mortgage Land

and Finance Company, greeted one of the Carmichaels in Cornhill with

the heart-felt remark:—“That ship of yours is the most satisfactory

ship in the wool trade.”

Most of those connected with the _Mermerus_ regarded her with great

affection and spoke of her as a living thing. Mr. John Sanderson, a

well-known Melbourne merchant, was often heard to say:—“The _Mermerus_

is a wonderful ship, I can always depend on the _Mermerus_.”

The Melbourne people, indeed, looked upon her as the pride of their

port; and Lord Brassey, when Governor of Victoria, heard so much

about her that he paid her a special visit and inspected her with the

approving eye of a seaman.

Captain W. Fife commanded her until 1888, and then Captain T. G. Coles

had her until she was sold to the Russians. Except for her third voyage

she was always in the Melbourne trade, but in April, 1874, she went

out to Sydney. On this passage she took out a dozen South Sea Island

missionaries as passengers. Whilst in the North Atlantic she happened

to be becalmed for a few hours, and several turtle were noticed lying

asleep on the water close to her. Captain Fife, who was a great

fisherman, immediately launched a boat and succeeded in capturing six

of them.

The _Mermerus_ duly arrived in Sydney early one morning in June after

a splendid passage of 72 days. The passengers, on the morning of her

arrival, were joined at breakfast by a troop of friends, who so

enjoyed themselves that they all returned, sky-pilots and friends as

well, to the mid-day shipboard dinner, and at its finish declared that

they would all return again for supper. This was too much for Captain

Fife and he plainly said so. The parsons thereupon began grumbling at

his meanness, whereat the irate skipper fairly boiled over:—“You are

the greediest lot I ever carried,” he thundered; “on a 70-day passage

you have eaten up 140 days of cabin stores and six turtle besides—and

you call me a stingy Scottie. Now clear out and never let me see you

again.”

This voyage she did not come home with wool, but went up to Newcastle,

N.S.W., and loaded coal at 24s. for San Francisco. After making the

passage across the Pacific in 56 days, she loaded 2420 tons of wheat at

£4 1s. 3d. for Liverpool. She finally arrived in the Mersey on the 25th

May, 104 days out from Frisco. This must have been a good voyage for

her owners, as the freight on the outward passage to Sydney alone came

to £5000.

On her next voyage she left Liverpool Docks on 21st July, 1875, and

went from the Tuskar to Melbourne in 69 days; this time she loaded

wheat home.

She made her best passage out in 1876; leaving London on the 25th June,

she took in gunpowder at Gravesend, and arrived in Hobson’s Bay on 30th

August, exactly 66 days from the Gravesend powder buoys to Melbourne.

The powder was only just 66 days on board, being landed on the 67th

day. She crossed the line on 17th July and the Cape meridian on 6th

August. Her best homeward run was made the following year, when she

was 71 days to the Lizard, and then was held up by head winds. And in

1886-7 she docked in London only 78 days out from Melbourne.

And as she grew older, her splendid average in no way deteriorated. In

1896 she went out to Melbourne in 76 days, and in 1897, her last voyage

under the British flag, she went out in 77 days. She was then sold

to the Russians, but they kept her going. On 4th February, 1902, she

arrived at Port Adelaide from Cardiff only 73 days out, whilst in 1904

she made the best passage home from the Antipodes of the year, from

Adelaide to the Wight in 69 days.

This beautiful ship came to her end at the beginning of December, 1909.

She had sailed from Frederickstadt on 29th November, timber laden for

Melbourne, and stranded near Christiansand in a heavy fog; she was

floated again, but was found to be so damaged that it was not thought

worth the money to repair her, so on 28th April, 1910, she was sold to

the shipbreakers.

Devitt & Moore’s “Collingwood.”

_Collingwood_ was Devitt & Moore’s first venture into the Melbourne

wool trade. She was one of the early Aberdeen built iron clippers,

and thoroughly looked her part. Though she made no very remarkable

passage, her voyages were very regular, and it was not often that she

missed the wool sales. You could not wear out these early iron ships,

and the _Collingwood_ has the distinction of being on the “Ships’ Roll

of Honour in the Great War,” being sunk by a German submarine on 12th

March, 1917, whilst under Norwegian colours. The story is of the usual

kind. The officers and crew of the U-boat were drunk with champagne

and cognac obtained from the French ship _Jules Gommes_, which they

had sunk two hours previously. The crew of the _Collingwood_ were

given ten minutes only to get clear of the ship. The captain, being a

neutral, naturally wanted his papers examined for contraband, but the

German U-boat commander sneeringly told him that there would be time

enough to examine them when the submarine got home, and so one more was

added to Germany’s long list of crimes, and the famous old flyer sank

beneath the waves after 45 years of honest service.

“Hesperus” and “Aurora,” the First Iron Ships of the Orient Line.

In 1873-4 Robert Steele & Co., the celebrated builders and designers

of some of the fastest and most beautiful tea clippers, built two

magnificent iron clippers for the Orient Line. These were the

_Hesperus_ and _Aurora_, sister ships.

[Illustration: “HESPERUS.”

_From a lithograph._]

The _Aurora_ unfortunately was destroyed by fire on her first homeward

passage, through spontaneous combustion of her wool cargo. This

occurred on 9th August, 1875, in 40° N., 35° W., and she was finally

abandoned in flames with fore and mainmasts gone.

The _Hesperus_, her sister ship, is I, believe, still afloat. Steele

put some wonderful workmanship into the building of these ships,

everything was of the best; deck fittings were all of picked teak,

with enough brass to outshine a steam yacht. Besides being a very

comfortable ship for passengers, _Hesperus_ soon proved herself a hard

ship to keep with. But like most of the big passenger clippers of the

seventies she did not race home, but made a comfortable passage _via_

the Cape. This ship, in fact, was never hard driven, or she would have

had many more fine passages to her credit.

She was a stiff ship in spite of a tall sail plan, and she used to

send up skysail yards in the tropics though she did not habitually

carry them crossed.

Anderson, Anderson kept the _Hesperus_ in the Adelaide trade until

1890, when she was bought by Devitt & Moore for Lord Brassey’s training

scheme.

The Brassey Cadet Training Scheme.

In the year 1890 it was felt by the late Lord Brassey, Sir Thomas

Devitt and others who were interested in our Mercantile Marine, that

it was time some effort was made to train apprentices on the old

system of the Blackwall frigates, whereby parents by paying a larger

premium could be sure that their sons learnt more seafaring than how

to wash out a pig pen or clean brasswork during their four years’

apprenticeship and also could rest assured that they would receive

good food and treatment. This was all the more necessary because it

had gradually come to be the custom in many sailing ships to use the

apprentices merely as drudges to do all the dirty work aboard, the

historic ship’s boy having been for many years extinct on deep water

ships; at the same time very few captains gave their apprentices any

instruction in navigation. The result of this was that parents were

less inclined than ever to send their sons to sea.

With both steamship and sailing ships being run to the closest margin

possible for the sake of economy, it was seen by those who studied the

question that not only was the Mercantile Marine failing to get as good

a class of officer as it should do, but also that if the condition of

the apprentice was not improved there would soon be a shortage.

A great deal of the glamour of sea life had already departed. Cleaning

hen coops on a close-run windjammer had little of the old romance

about it, and chipping iron work on a dingy steam tramp had even less.

A few firms, of which those in the wool trade were shining examples,

still took a pride in their ships and did not look upon them merely

as a commercial asset, and these still took trouble to train their

apprentices. Beyond these and a few individual ships with conscientious

captains, the apprentice was absolutely neglected, and of course the

apathetic Board of Trade did nothing. The history of the Board of

Trade has been mostly that of a masterly inactivity, and on the rare

occasions on which it has displayed activity, it has not usually been

for the benefit of the Mercantile Marine.

It was entirely owing to Lord Brassey and Mr. Devitt, as he was then,

that we possess such highly trained officers as those who now command

the present day liners. They set the ball rolling which was later

taken up by most of the big steamship lines. Luckily for the success

of the venture, Messrs. Devitt & Moore possessed two or three captains

in their employ who were specially fitted for the arduous task of

controlling and teaching a shipload of 30 or 40 high-spirited boys. Of

such were Captains Barrett, Corner and Maitland.

The first two ships to be specially fitted to carry an extra number of

big premium apprentices or cadets, as they should be called, were the

famous Orient pair, _Hesperus_ and _Harbinger_, which were taken over

by Devitt & Moore for the purpose.

The _Hesperus_ as a cadet ship made some very fine passages.

She left London on 11th September, 1891, and arrived Sydney on the

8th December 88 days out. There happened to be a gold rush up country

and her crew cleared out, leaving the cadets to do everything during

the four months the ship was waiting for a wool cargo. The cadets

were not idle and played the usual pranks of their kind, and finally

the _Hesperus_ left Sydney with the three brass balls of a famous

pawnbrokers in Argyle Cut dangling from the end of her jibboom before

the envious eyes of the apprentices of all the ships in port.

On 11th October, 1892, she left London with Captain Barrett in command,

F. W. Corner, chief officer, and Lieut. Hackman, R.N., as naval

instructor. She was off the Lizard on the 13th and crossed the equator

in 30° W. on 8th November. The meridian of Greenwich was crossed on

29th November in 42° S. Her best runs in easting weather were 300, 302,

319, 326 and 328 miles, whilst her best week’s work were 1830, 1840

and 1898. She arrived at Melbourne on 23rd December, 71 days from the

Lizard.

In the following year she again left on the 11th October and took her

departure from the Lizard on 18th October. On 1st November, at 1.10

a.m., when in 26° 20′ N., 17° 56′ W., the shock of a submarine volcano

made the ship tremble very much, though the surface of the water was

not disturbed. The equator was crossed in 25° W. on 8th November. And

on 30th November, the day before she crossed the Cape meridian, three

icebergs were sighted. On 10th December with a strong north wind and

smooth water, the _Hesperus_ ran 363 miles in the 24 hours. This was

done without the mainsail which, at 4 a.m., was badly torn whilst all

hands were attempting to reef it and it had to be furled.

On 28th December at 6 p.m. the Otway was sighted during a strong

southerly gale with heavy squalls; for some hours the ship was hove to

whilst the gale was at its height, but on 29th December the _Hesperus_

anchored in Hobson’s Bay, 72 days from the Lizard.

[Illustration: SAIL PLAN OF “BEN CRUACHAN” AND “BEN VOIRLICH.”]

The _Hesperus_ kept up this fine average, serving as a cadet training

ship until 1899 when she was sold to the Russians, who renamed her the

_Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna_, but continued her as a training ship

in the Black Sea. As late as 1913 she was refitted by Swan & Hunter at

Wallsend. She has survived the war and the Bolshevists, and not long

ago could have been seen in the Liverpool Docks.

“Ben Cruachan” and “Ben Voirlich.”

These two splendid sister ships were amongst the hardest driven of

those in the Melbourne trade. They carried saloon, second cabin and

steerage passengers out and wool home—and there was no snugging down

for the convenience of the sorely tried emigrants with such skippers as

Captains Bully Martin and McPetrie.

On her maiden passage, _Ben Cruachan_, under Bully Martin, left the

Clyde on 5th October, 1873, passed the Tuskar light on 7th October,

crossed the equator 26 days out in 24° 30′ W., crossed the meridian of

the Cape on 21st November in 46° 30′ S., and running her easting down

averaged 300 miles a day from the Crozets to the Leeuwin between 27th

November and 6th December. On 13th December she arrived in Hobson’s

Bay, 67 days out from the Tuskar. This passage, however, was cast in

the shade by _Ben Voirlich’s_ run in 1874-5 on her second voyage, and

on her maiden passage _Ben Voirlich_ only took two days longer from the

Tuskar than her sister ship.

_Ben Voirlich_, on her maiden passage, left Glasgow under Captain

McPetrie, on 3rd January, 1874. But she was held up at Greenock by bad

weather until the 26th and did not pass the Tuskar until the 27th.

From the Tuskar she had 15 days of head winds, crossing the equator on

19th February in 26° 30′ W. The Cape meridian was passed on 15th March

and the Otway on 5th April. Her best work was between the 15th and 27th

March, when she averaged 12½ knots. She arrived in Hobson’s Bay on 6th

April, 69 days out from the Tuskar.

On her second trip, _Ben Voirlich_ left Gravesend on the 9th November,

Plymouth on 11th November, but was held up in the mouth of the Channel

over the 12th. She crossed the equator on 1st December in 31° 20′ W.;

crossed the Cape meridian on 24th December, in 45° S., and ran down

her easting on the parallel of 46° 30′, her best 24-hour run being 352

miles. She arrived in Port Phillip on 14th January, 64 days out from

Plymouth.

From pilot to anchorage Captain McPetrie claimed to have broken

_Thermoplyae’s_ record; and on _Thermopylae_ arriving in Melbourne on

4th February, only 64 days out from the Lizards, a fine wrangle started.

It was a specially favourable season, and _Ben Voirlich_ was very hard

driven, indeed in the roaring forties her main deck was never free of

water, and the midship house and half-deck were water-logged all the

time. She possessed a very hard nut of a mate, a bald-headed man with a

great red beard, who was a very fine seaman. But he had no mercy on the

boys, his usual greeting to a delicate-looking first voyage apprentice

being “Have your people sent you to sea to escape funeral expenses or

what?”

The _Ben Voirlich_ had a winch just aft of her midship house, to which

the fore braces were taken in the following way. The fore brace had a

wire pennant with a gin block on its end. A chain was shackled to the

ship’s side, then led through the gin block and down again through the

bulwarks to the winch and so on to the other fore brace, thus making

an endless chain. It had stoppers on it on each side to keep a little

slack. In bracing the yard, it took in on one side and gave out the

other, and only needed two men to work it.

SPAR PLAN OF _BEN CRUACHAN_ AND _BEN VOIRLICH_.

+----------------------+-----------+------------+------------+

+----------------------+-----------+------------+------------+

|Lower mast | 60 ft. | 64½ ft. | 50½ ft. |

|Doubling | 16 ft. | 16 ft. | 13½ ft. |

|Topmast | 54½ ft. | 54½ ft. | 43½ ft. |

|Doubling | 12 ft. | 11½ ft. | 9 ft. |

|Topgallant mast | 30½ ft. | 30½ ft. | 26 ft. |

|Royal mast | 21 ft. | 21 ft. | 18 ft. |

|Lower yard | 84 ft. | 84 ft. | 70½ ft. |

|Lower topsail yard | 73 ft. | 73 ft. | 59 ft. |

|Upper topsail yard | 70½ ft. | 70½ ft. | 57 ft. |

|Lower topgallant yard | 58½ ft. | 58½ ft. | 45 ft. |

|Upper topgallant yard | 56 ft. | 56 ft. | 43 ft. |

|Royal yard | 43 ft. | 44 ft. | 35 ft. |

+--------------+-------+-----------+------------+------------+

|Jibboom 70 ft.|Spanker boom 51 ft.| Spanker gaff 36 ft. |

+--------------+-------------------+-------------------------+

Though she made many good passages, she never again approached the

time of her second outward passage. On her homeward passage in 1878

she broached to when running heavy to the westward of the Horn and was

nearly lost. This occurred on the 18th November. A very big sea was

running, and the helmsman, a Dutchman, let go the wheel from sheer

fright. As the ship broached to a huge wave broke over her quarter.

This avalanche of water smashed in the break of the poop, gutted the

cabin, and took nine men overboard. For an hour the ship lay over on

her beam ends dragging her lower yards in the water, entirely out of

control. Two men who happened to be at work on the lee fore yardarm

were actually washed off it. One of them was lost overboard, but the

other caught the rail and lay there head downwards, being held from

going further by the chain fore sheet. An apprentice managed to get

to him and grab hold, but the next moment a sea swept over them, and

whilst the apprentice was washed inboard, the man was never seen

again. The same apprentice happened to be washed up against the winch,

to which he clung like a limpet; and then, as the old white-bearded

sailmaker was hurled by him in the cross wash of the sea, caught the

old man and held on to him or he would have gone overboard.

The brave ship struggled gamely; three times she brought her spars to

windward, and three times she was laid flat again. The whole of her

topgallant rail and bulwarks were washed away, together with everything

of a movable nature on the deck. At last after a whole hour of

desperate fighting, they managed to get the wheel up, and the clipper

slowly righted herself as she fell off and brought the wind astern.

Captain Ovenstone, who was in command at the time, spoke several ships

in the Atlantic and told them of his near shave. One of these reported

it to a homeward-bound steamer, the consequence was that when the _Ben

Voirlich_ arrived those on board found their parents and relations in a

great state of mind, not knowing who had been amongst the nine victims

and who was safe.

[Illustration: “COLLINGWOOD.”]

[Illustration: “SAMUEL PLIMSOLL.”

_Photo lent by F. G. Layton._]

In 1885 the _Ben Voirlich_ had almost as bad an experience to the

southward of the Cape of Good Hope, when bound out to Melbourne under

Captain Bully Martin. At 8 a.m. on the 6th August a terrific squall

from W.N.W. struck the vessel and in a moment the foresail had blown to

rags. By 10 a.m. it was blowing a hurricane, the ship scudding before

it under fore and main lower topsails. An hour later a tremendous

sea pooped her, and washed away the two helmsmen and Captain Martin who

was conning them. Captain Martin and the quartermaster, a man named

Scott, were swept up against a hen coop, which was lashed up to the

bucket rail at the break of the poop, with such force as to smash it

to pieces; but it saved them from going over the side. As soon as they

could pick themselves up, they made a dash for the wheel, which they

found smashed in two and only hung together by its brass rim. Scott

held the wheel whilst Captain Martin cleared away the broken part,

which was jamming it, and they were just in time to save the ship from

broaching to. The lee wheel, a foreigner, had meanwhile got into the

mizen rigging and lashed himself with the turned up gear. The seas now

broke over the ship in a continuous cascade, and the _Ben Voirlich_

could only be worked from the poop and foc’slehead, to which the crew

succeeded in leading the braces. All that night a wild sea looted the

ship. Both the standard and steering compasses were swept overboard.

The port lifeboat on the skids was smashed to pulp; the topgallant

bulwarks were stripped off her, and the poop ladders, harness casks,

hen coops, handspikes and such like were all carried off by the

tremendous sea.

As soon as daylight broke, they managed to lash up and repair the

wheel; then the second class passengers were moved from the midship

house to the poop, as Captain Martin feared that the house would be

burst in and gutted by the seas raging aboard over the broken bulwarks.

But again the _Ben Voirlich_ safely weathered it out, and four weeks

later dropped anchor in Hobson’s Bay.

The two famous Bens were kept in the Melbourne trade until 1885. Then

in 1886 both ships went to Sydney, the _Ben Cruachan_ in 90 days

and the _Ben Voirlich_ in 94 days. But in 1887 they bade a final

good-bye to the wool trade and went into the San Francisco wheat

trade. _Ben Voirlich_ left London on 22nd May and arrived Frisco on

23rd September—124 days out. This was a very good run for the westward

passage round the Horn.

The _Ben Cruachan_ was not so fortunate. She left the Tyne on 4th May

and did not arrive in San Francisco Bay until 15th October—164 days out.

The _Ben Cruachan_ ended her days under the Mexican flag and was known

as the _Carmela_, and I believe she still does duty as a hulk in a

Mexican port.

The _Ben Voirlich_ was sold to the Germans in 1891 and converted into

a barque. In 1903 the Germans sold her to the Italians, who renamed

her the _Cognati_. During the winter of 1908 she was badly damaged by

collision with an iceberg off the Horn, but managed to make port. She

can now be seen at Leith, where she is serving as a domicile for the

crews of surrendered German ships. Here she lies a mast-less hulk,

covered with deck-houses, but fitted below with electric light and

every comfort.

These two sister ships were very evenly matched. Though not as fast as

some of the iron wool clippers, they made up for it by hard driving and

generally managed to get home in well under three figures.

“Samuel Plimsoll.”

Famous as had been the Aberdeen White Star wooden clippers, the iron

ships launched for Thompson in the seventies may almost be said to

have eclipsed them. And not least of these magnificent vessels, either

in speed, appearance or sea qualities was their third iron ship, the

_Samuel Plimsoll_, named after a man who at that time was receiving

broadside after broadside of abuse in shipping circles, yet who to-day

is counted one of the greatest, if not the greatest, benefactors of our

merchant seamen.

The _Samuel Plimsoll_ was launched in September, 1873, and christened

by Mrs. Boaden, wife of Captain Boaden, in the presence of Samuel

Plimsoll, Esq. Captain Boaden left the famous _Star of Peace_ in order

to take _Samuel Plimsoll_ from the stocks. She came out as a double

topgallant yarder and was specially fitted for emigrants.

On her maiden passage she took out 180 emigrants. Leaving Plymouth on

19th November, she had poor winds and very light trades to the line,

which was crossed on 11th December in 29° W. The meridian of Greenwich

was crossed on 2nd January, 1874, and the Cape meridian four days

later. Her best run in the 24 hours was 340 miles, and between the

Leeuwin and the S.W. Cape, Tasmania, she was only four days. On the

17th January she overhauled and passed the _Alexander Duthie_, and

finally arrived in Port Jackson on 1st February.

Whilst loading for London she was thus advertised in the _Sydney

Morning Herald_:—

ABERDEEN CLIPPER LINE—FOR LONDON.

THE SPLENDID NEW CLIPPER SHIP.

_SAMUEL PLIMSOLL._

100 A1, 1444 tons. reg. R. BOADEN, late of the _Star of Peace_,

commander.

This magnificent vessel has just completed the passage from Plymouth

in 73 days, and having a large portion of her cargo stowed on board

will leave about 7th April.

As this vessel has lofty ’tween decks and large side ports, she

offers a good opportunity for intermediate passengers, of which only

a limited number will be taken. Carries an experienced surgeon.

For freight or passage apply to Captain Boaden or to Montefiore,

Joseph & Co. Wool received at Talbots.

From the very first _Samuel Plimsoll_ proved herself a very fast ship.

Her best performance was 68 days to Sydney from 190 miles W.S.W. of

the Bishops, when commanded by Captain Henderson, who had been chief

officer on her first two voyages, and left her to command the _Wave of

Life_, _Moravian_ and _Thermopylae_, eventually returning to her as

commander in 1884.

_Samuel Plimsoll’s_ logs show that she revelled in the roaring forties.

In 1876, when in 41° S., she ran 2502 miles in eight days, her daily

runs being 348, 330, 301, 342, 320, 264, 340, 257. In 1883 she averaged

278 miles in 13 consecutive days, her best being 337. In 1895, when

homeward bound, she ran from 49° 50′ S., 179° 05′ W., to 55° 25′ S.,

79° 59′ W. in 15 days, 29th November to 12th December, her daily

distances being—244, 286, 263, 259, 261, 273, 302, 290, 257, 253, 274,

264, 314, 235, 245—equalling 4020 miles.

The _Samuel Plimsoll_ was in the Sydney trade until 1887; she was then

transferred to the Melbourne trade. On her first passage to Melbourne,

she left London 2nd March, 1888, dropped her pilot off the Start on

5th March, but was only 270 miles from the Start on the 15th owing

to westerly gales; she crossed the equator 5th April, in 26° W., and

averaged 218 miles a day from Trinidad to 130° E., her best run being

310 miles. She arrived in Hobson’s Bay on 22nd May, 79 days from the

Start. During the whole of her career under the Aberdeen house-flag,

her only mishap was the carrying away of a fore topmast: and this

freedom from casualties was the case with most of Thompson’s green

clippers.

Writing about the increase of sailing ship insurance rates in 1897,

Messrs. Thompson remarked:—

Five of our sailing vessels now in the Australian trade, viz.,

_Aristides_, _Miltiades_, _Patriarch_, _Salamis_ and _Samuel

Plimsoll_ are over 20 years of age, but they are in as good

condition, by careful looking after and upkeep, as they were upon

their first voyage; whilst they have a record that no general average

homewards has ever been made on underwriters by any one of them since

they were launched 21 to 28 years ago. (A remark which applies with

equal truth to all our sailing vessels now running.) According to a

reliable statement made up by the largest shippers and consignees

of wool carried by our sailing ships during the last two years, we

find that the claims thereon made on the underwriters, from inception

of risk (which in many cases began in distant parts of the Colonies

before shipment) were £149 1s. 7d., which, on 24,807 bales carried,

valued at £12 per bale, came only to 1/- per cent. These figures

clearly show that age does not affect the efficient carrying of

cargo by vessels, built, as ours have been, of superior strength and

scantlings, carefully kept up and treated in every way with a view to

the safe carrying of valuable cargoes to and from Australia.

On the occasion of her only mishap a tropical squall carried away the

bobstay, and down came the fore topmast and main topgallant mast.

It happened that a Yankee clipper was in company; this vessel beat

up to the dismantled _Samuel Plimsoll_ and sent a boat off with the

message that she was bound to Australia and would gladly tranship the

passengers and carry them on to their destination. This offer, Captain

Simpson, who then commanded the _Samuel Plimsoll_, declined with

thanks, so the American went on her way.

It was all day on until the Aberdeen flyer had fresh masts aloft, and

then she settled down to make up the lost time. And nobly she did so,

one week’s work in the roaring forties totalling 2300 miles, and she

eventually arrived at Melbourne, 82 days out. Some days later the

Yankee arrived and her captain at once went to the _Samuel Plimsoll’s_

agents and reported speaking her dismasted in the Atlantic, at the same

time he commented on her captain’s foolhardiness in not transhipping

his passengers.

“Is it Captain Simpson you are referring to?” asked the agent.

“Yes,” returned the Yankee.

“Wall,” said the agent, imitating the American’s leisurely drawl, “I

guess you had better speak to him yourself. He’s in the next room.”

In 1899 the famous old ship caught fire in the Thames and had to be

scuttled. After being raised and repaired she was sold to Savill of

Billiter St., who ran her until 1902 when she was dismasted and so

damaged on the passage out to Port Chalmers that they decided not to

repair her. She was subsequently towed to Sydney from New Zealand

at the end of a 120-fathom hawser, and later taken round to Western

Australia where she was converted into a coal hulk.

And here is a description of her as she lies at her moorings in

Fremantle harbour:—

From quay to midstream buoy, and from buoy to quay, she is plucked

and hauled. Occasionally she feeds a hungry tramp with coal. Abashed

and ashamed of her vile uncleanliness she returns to her midstream

moorings where most of her time is spent in idleness and neglect. One

looks in vain for the long tapering spars and the beautiful tracery

of her rigging. Stunted, unsightly derricks have replaced them. The

green-painted hull is now transformed into a dull red, a composition

red that cries aloud, not of beauty, but of utility. Regularly with

each returning ebb and returning flood of the Swan, she swings to

her moorings the composition smeared effigy of _Samuel Plimsoll_,

alternately facing towards river and sea. Marine life has made of her

plates a habitation and refuge; her bottom is foul with the dense

green growth of years. Her costly fittings, solid brass belaying pins

and highly burnished, brass-covered rails and spotless decks, where

are they? Coal-gritted baskets, whips and tackles are strewn along

the decks: they all proclaim her squalid and servile calling.

Amongst these old hulks, however, she is withal the most dignified

looking, the graceful lines of her hull lending her an air of

distinction at once apparent even to the layman. As coal hulking

goes, she is perhaps the most fortunate of her class. Days

pass—weeks—perhaps months, all spent in slothful idleness and

neglect, whilst her more unfortunate sister hulks scarcely know a

day but what they are not coal feeding some important steam-driven

interloper.

“Loch Maree”—the Fastest of the Lochs.

The _Loch Maree_ was also launched in September, 1873. She was an

especially beautiful ship in every way and the fastest probably, of

all the “Lochs, Barclay, Curle were instructed to spare no expense in

making her as perfect as an iron ship could be, and she certainly came

up to her owners’ expectations, both in her looks, her outfit as an

up-to-date passenger clipper, her speed, and her behaviour as a sea

boat.

Underneath a poop of over 50 feet in length, she had her first class

passenger accommodation arranged on the plan adopted in the P. & O.

steamers.

She crossed three skysail yards, had a full outfit of stunsails and

other flying kites, and the following spar plan will give one an

approximate idea of her sail area.

SPAR PLAN OF _LOCH MAREE_.

+-------------------------+-----------+-----------+----------+

+-------------------------+-----------+-----------+----------+

| Lower mast | 63 ft. | 68 ft. | 59½ ft. |

| Doubling | 16 ft. | 16 ft. | 13 ft. |

| Topmast | 54 ft. | 54 ft. | 44½ ft. |

| Doubling | 11 ft. | 11 ft. | 9 ft. |

| Topgallant mast | 34 ft. | 34 ft. | 28 ft. |

| Doubling | 6 ft. | 6 ft. | 5 ft. |

| Royal and skysail masts | 30 ft. | 30 ft. | 25 ft. |

| Lower yard | 84 ft. | 84 ft. | 69 ft. |

| Lower topsail yard | 71 ft. | 71 ft. | 57 ft. |

| Upper topsail yard | 68 ft. | 68 ft. | 54½ ft. |

| Lower topgallant yard | 55 ft. | 55 ft. | 43½ ft. |

| Upper topgallant yard | 51 ft. | 51 ft. | 40 ft. |

| Royal yard | 41 ft. | 41 ft. | 31½ ft. |

| Skysail yard | 30 ft. | 30 ft. | 24 ft. |

+----------------+--------+-----------+-----------+----------+

|Jibboom 70 feet |Spanker boom 50 feet| Spanker gaff 36 feet |

+----------------+--------------------+----------------------+

_Loch Maree’s_ start in life was an unfortunate one. On 5th November,

1873, she sailed from the Clyde for Melbourne under Captain MacCallum

with a full cargo, 11 saloon and 30 second cabin passengers, and the

following is an account of her maiden voyage, which was given me by one

of her apprentices:—

On the tenth day out, we were bowling along sharp up on the starboard

tack, near the Island of Palma in the Canary group, when a squall

struck her flat aback with such violence, that in a few moments her

tall masts with their clothing of well-cut canvas lay a hopeless

tangle over the side. Everything above the lower masts disappeared

under the magic breath of the squall. When the wreckage was finally

cleared away, the driving power was limited to a foresail, a

crossjack and a lower mizen topsail. The mainyard had been snapped

in the centre, one half lay on the rail and the other hung by the

slings, rasping and tearing with every roll. But the crippled sailer,

unlike the crippled steamer, can usually make a very creditable

effort for safety. A course was set for Gibraltar. Improvised canvas,

mostly of the fore and aft variety, was rigged up, and in 14 days the

Rock was reached in safety. To show her wonderful sailing qualities,

when two days from Gibraltar, we overhauled and easily passed a

600-ton barque under royals.

Captain MacCallum watched the barque as she fell away astern, and

remarked: “If I had only thought she could sail like this, I would

have kept on for Australia.”

The _Loch Maree_ arrived at Gibraltar on the last day in November,

and after being refitted sailed from the Straits on 20th January,

1874, and ran out to Melbourne in 74 days, arriving there on the 4th

April, 150 days out from the Clyde.

She sailed from Melbourne homeward bound on 14th June, ten days

behind the _Carlisle Castle_ of Green’s Blackwall Line. On the 14th

day out, a sail appeared ahead at 11 in the forenoon. We were at the

time swinging along with topgallant stunsails set on fore and main

and a three-cornered lower stunsail.

Captain MacCallum, though Scotch, had sailed mostly in Yankee ships

and was a veritable whale for “kites.”

“Take in that three-cornered stunsail and set a square one,” he

ordered, “I want to be alongside that fellow this afternoon.”

At 3 p.m. we were side by side with the _Carlisle Castle_. She flew

no kites, her royal and skysail yards were down and the crossjack

unbent. She was taking it easy and arrived in London three weeks

after us.

On that same passage _Loch Maree_ put up a remarkably fine spin from

abreast of Fayal to the Downs, which distance she covered in 4½ days.

On the run we overhauled a fleet of 12 schooners bound from the

Azores to England, all bunched together in a radius of 3 or 4 miles.

With topgallant stunsails set and everything drawing to a spanking

breeze on the port quarter, we rushed through the centre of the

group of fruiters, each one of whom was doing her best with topmast

and lower stunsails set.

I had often listened to the tales of old sailors, portraying in vivid

language the fabulous speed of these little vessels, but alongside a

smart 1600 tonner, with a skipper who knew how to crack on, they cut

but a sorry figure. The _Loch Maree_ was doing at least 3 knots more

than any of them, and in a very short time they were mere silhouettes

on the skyline.

Right up the Channel the kites were carried, and when morning broke

off the Isle of Wight a sail was discerned ahead, which daylight

proved to be a big barquentine rigged steamer under all sail. We had

evidently crept up on her unobserved in the darkness, for when the

discovery was made that a windjammer was showing her paces astern,

volumes of black smoke belched in sooty clouds from her two funnels,

as if entering a protest against such a seeming indignity. But, in

vain, she fell away in our wake as the fruit schooners had done a

couple of days before.

_Loch Maree’s_ times, both out and home, from this date were generally

amongst the half-dozen best of the year. Captain Grey, R.N.R., had her

on her second voyage and then Captain Scott took her.

In 1878, when homeward bound from Melbourne, the Lizard was sighted on

the 68th day out, but the passage was spoilt by hard easterly winds in

the Channel.

In 1881, the _Loch Maree_ made Port Phillip Heads on 19th July, 70 days

out from the Channel. On 29th October she left Geelong homeward bound.

When a day out she was spoken by the three-masted schooner _Gerfalcon_

off Kent’s Group, and that was the last seen of her. It is significant

that another big ship, the _North American_, a transformed Anchor Line

steamer, disappeared at the same time, also homeward bound from Port

Phillip.

The Tragedy of the “Loch Ard.”

The ill-fated _Loch Ard_ was the largest vessel owned by Aitken &

Lilburn until Barclay, Curle built those two splendid four-posters,

the _Lochs Moidart_ and _Torridon_.

Her maiden passage was one of the unluckiest on record. She lost her

masts almost before she had cleared the land and put back to the Clyde

to refit. She made a second start on 26th January, 1874, and again,

whilst running her easting down, was badly dismasted, only the mizen

lower mast and 15 feet of the mainmast being left standing. After

rolling in the trough of the sea for four days of the greatest peril

her crew managed to get her under a jury rig, and she took 49 days to

cover the 4500 miles to Hobson’s Bay, where she arrived on 24th May,

118 days from the date of her second start.

As I have already related, the year 1874 was a disastrous one for

dismastings; and when the _Loch Ard_ struggled into Melbourne, she

found the _John Kerr_ and _Cambridgeshire_, both on their maiden

voyages, lying there in a similar plight to her own. Besides these

ships and the _Loch Maree_, the following were also dismasted this

year on their maiden passages:—_Rydal Hall_, _Norval_, _Chrysomene_

and _British Admiral_. The latter was refitted in England, only to be

wrecked on her second attempt, on King’s Island, on 23rd May, 1874,

with great loss of life.

The _Loch Ard_ on her unfortunate maiden passage had been commanded by

Captain Robertson, who, also, was skipper of the _Loch Earn_ when she

collided with the _Ville du Havre_. On her third voyage the _Loch Ard_

was taken by Captain Gibb, who was a stranger to Australian waters.

He married just before sailing. The _Loch Ard_ left Gravesend on 2nd

March, 1878. She was spoken by the _John Kerr_, Captain W. Scobie, on

9th April. But between 5 and 6 on the morning of 1st June, the day

after the _John Kerr_ had arrived in Hobson’s Bay, the _Loch Ard_

went ashore 27 miles from the Otway, at Curdies’ Inlet, between Port

Campbell and Moonlight Head.