AUSTRALIAN CLIPPERS, 1854-1856
In view of the keen rivalry at this period, James Baines & Co.
determined to own the finest and fastest ships that could be
constructed, and accordingly placed an order with Donald McKay to build
four clipper ships for their Australian line. These vessels were the
_Lightning_, 2084 tons; the _Champion of the Seas_, 2448 tons; _James
Baines_, 2515 tons; and _Donald McKay_, 2598 tons, all launched in 1854,
with the exception of the _Donald McKay_, which was not completed until
January, 1855. This firm also bought from Mr. McKay the sister ships
_Japan_ and _Commodore Perry_, 1964 tons each, while they were on the
stocks in course of construction.
These ships designed for the Australian trade were very similar to the
later California clipper ships built by Mr. McKay, though with less
dead-rise and sharper ends; they were fitted with large accommodation
for cabin and steerage passengers; while the _Japan_ and _Commodore
Perry_ were somewhat fuller ships than the others, and were designed
with a view to carry large cargoes rather than to attain high speed.
The _Lightning_ measured: length 244 feet, breadth 44 feet, depth 23
feet, with 20 inches dead-rise at half floor. She had long, concave
water-lines, and at her load-displacement line a chord from her
cut-water to just abaft the fore rigging showed a concavity of 16
inches. Her stem raked boldly forward, the lines of the bow gradually
becoming convex and blending with sheer line and cutwater, while the
only ornament was a beautiful full-length figure of a young woman
holding a golden thunder-bolt in her outstretched hand, the flowing
white drapery of her graceful form and her streaming hair completing the
fair and noble outline of the bow. The after body was long and clean,
though fuller than the bow, while the stern was semi-elliptical in form,
with the plank-sheer moulding for its base, and was ornamented with
gilded carved work, though this really added nothing to the beauty of
the strong, sweeping outline of her hull.
Aloft the _Lightning_ was heavily and strongly rigged. Her main yard was
95 feet in length, and the total height from the deck to the mainskysail
truck was 164 feet; her lower studdingsail booms were 65 feet in length;
her topsails and topgallantsails were diagonally roped from clews to
earings, and her fore and main stays, lower rigging, and topmast stays
and backstays were of 11½ inch Russian hemp, with the rest of the
standing rigging in proportion. Indeed, her masts and spars were as
strongly secured as skill and labor could make them. Evidently, Mr.
McKay had grown weary of having his ships go to pieces aloft.
The quarter-deck was 90 feet long, flush with the top of the bulwarks,
and protected by a mahogany rail on turned stanchions of the same wood.
She had also two large deck-houses, which, together with the
between-decks, gave ample passenger accommodation. The quarters for the
steerage passengers were comfortably fitted and well ventilated, while
the saloons, staterooms, bathrooms, and smoking-room for the cabin
passengers were superbly decorated and furnished.
Captain Forbes, late of the _Marco Polo_, was appointed to command the
_Lightning_, and came to Boston by one of the Cunard steamers to
superintend the outfit of his ship. He brought good letters of
introduction, and was well received; indeed, he hardly needed any
introduction, as the high reputation he had gained while in command of
the _Marco Polo_ had preceded him. He made many friends in Boston,
especially among the clergy, as he was an enthusiastic churchman, and he
found a congenial spirit in Captain Lauchlan McKay, who likewise took a
great interest in ecclesiastical affairs. These two mariners became such
close friends that Captain McKay consented to accompany Captain Forbes
to Liverpool as his companion and adviser, and as we shall presently
see, the _Lightning_ developed her finest speed in the hands of these
experienced and skilful seamen.
The _Lightning_ loaded in Train’s Line at Constitution Wharf, and sailed
for Liverpool, February 18, 1854. The Boston _Daily Atlas_ of that date
published the following account of her departure:
“At 2 o’clock the _Lightning_ hove her anchor up, and at 3 o’clock
discharged her pilot off Boston Light. She went down in tow of the
steamer _Rescue_, Captain Hennessy, and was piloted by Mr. E. G.
Martin. Before the steamer left her, she set her head sails, fore-and
mizentopsails, and had a moderate breeze from west to southwest. She
appeared to go at the rate of 6 knots under this canvas, though she
draws 22 feet of water, and has only 23 feet depth of hold. We have seen
many vessels pass through the water, but never saw one which disturbed
it less. Not a ripple curled before her cutwater, nor did the water
break at a single place along her sides. She left a wake as straight as
an arrow and this was the only mark of her progress. There was a slight
swell and as she rose we could see the arc of her forefoot rise gently
over the seas as she increased her speed. At 5 P.M., two hours after the
pilot left her, the outer telegraph station reported her thirty miles
east of Boston Light, with all drawing sails set, and going along like a
steamboat. We think her talented designer and builder, Mr. McKay, cannot
improve upon her model. Her commander, being a pious man, was attended
down the harbor by a select party of brethren and sisters of the church,
who at parting gave him their blessing. This is much better than the
dram-drinking and vociferous cheering which usually make up the parting
scenes of the unregenerated.”
The voyage so auspiciously begun proved one of the most remarkable ever
made by a ship on the ocean; for before the _Lightning_ set her pilot
signal off Point Lynas, she had left more miles of salt water astern in
twenty-four hours than any vessel that has ever sailed the seas
propelled by winds and canvas. From the abstract log, published in the
Liverpool _Albion_ soon after her arrival, it appears that she went
round the north of Ireland, making the run to Eagle Island in 10 days,
and to the Calf of Man, within 80 miles of Liverpool, in 12 days, thence
to Liverpool in 13 days 19½ hours from Boston Light. Her day’s runs were
as follows:
1.--“February 19th. Wind west-southwest, and northwest, moderate;
200 miles.
2.--20th. Wind north-northeast and northeast, strong breezes with
snow; 328 miles.
3.--21st. Wind east-southeast with snowstorms; 145 miles.
4.--22d. Wind east-southeast, a gale with high cross sea and rain;
114 miles.
5.--23d. Wind north. Strong gales to east-southeast; ends moderate;
110 miles.
6.--24th. Wind southeast, moderate; 312 miles.
7.--25th. Wind east-southeast and southeast. Fresh breezes with
thick weather; 285 miles.
8.--26th. Wind west-southwest, moderate; 295 miles.
9.--27th. Wind west-northwest, moderate; 260 miles.
10.--28th. Wind west and northwest, steady breezes; 306 miles.”
[The position at noon on this day was latitude 52° 38′ N.,
longitude 22° 45′ W., and here began the greatest day’s run ever
made by a ship under canvas.]
11.--“March 1st. Wind south. Strong gales; bore away for the North
Channel, carried away the foretopsail and lost jib; hove the log several
times and found the ship going through the water at the rate of 18 to
18½ knots; lee rail under water, and rigging slack. Distance run in
twenty-four hours, 436 miles.
12.--2d. Wind south, first part moderate, latter part light and calm.
13.--3d. Light winds and calms.
14.--4th. Light southeast winds and calms; at 7 A.M. off Great Orms
Head; 12 m. off the N. W. Lightship.”
This was a remarkable passage considering the percentage of easterly
winds, though its memorable incident is, of course, the phenomenal run
of 436 miles in twenty-four hours, an average of 18½ knots, which
entitles the _Lightning_ to the proud distinction of being the swiftest
ship that ever sailed the seas. There was no ocean steamship of her day
that approached her record by less than 100 miles, and another
five-and-twenty years passed away before the Atlantic greyhound, the
_Arizona_, made 18 knots for a single hour, on her trial trip. Even at
the present time, according to Lloyd’s Register, there are not more than
thirty ocean-going mail steamships afloat, that are able to steam over
18 knots. It must have been blowing hard enough when the _Lightning’s_
jib and foretopsail carried away, for these were not old, worn-out
sails, put on board to attract the favorable consideration of
underwriters, but were of new canvas, made unusually strong, and had not
been out of the sail loft more than a couple of weeks.
Strange as it may seem, the “wood butchers of Liverpool,” as Donald
McKay used to call them, were allowed to fill in the concave lines of
the _Lightning’s_ bow with slabs of oak sheathing, and while she
continued to be a fast ship, she doubtless would have proved still
faster had her original design not been tampered with.[12]
The second of these ships, the _Champion of the Seas_, measured: length
269 feet, breadth 45 feet, depth 29 feet, dead-rise at half floor 18
inches; length of mainyard 95 feet. The concavity of her water-line
forward was 2½ inches, from which it will be seen that she was a
differently designed ship from the _Lightning_. She was considered by
many to be even a handsomer vessel. Her stern was ornamented with the
arms of Australia, while at her bow she carried a full-length figurehead
of a handsome sailorman rigged out in all his best go-ashore togs. She
was commanded by Captain Alexander Newlands, who came from Liverpool to
superintend her construction and equipment, the whole inside
arrangements of the ship, including the complicated plan for light and
ventilation and the details of the cabin, being made according to his
designs. After fitting out at Grand Junction Wharf, East Boston, she was
towed to New York by the _R. B. Forbes_, where she loaded for Liverpool,
and made the passage to that port during the month of June, 1854, in 16
days.
The _James Baines_ measured: length 266 feet, breadth 46 feet 8 inches,
depth 31 feet, with 18 inches dead-rise at half floor. Her mainyard was
100 feet in length, and a single suit of sails contained 13,000 running
yards of canvas 18 inches wide. Originally she carried a main skysail
only, but later she was fitted with three skysails, main moonsail, and
skysail studdingsails, and so far as I know, she was the only clipper
ship so rigged. There was only a very slight difference between the
lines of the _Champion of the Seas_ and those of the _James Baines_, the
latter ship having a somewhat more raking stem, which brought her lines
out forward a little longer and sharper above the water-line. Her bow
was ornamented with a finely executed bust of her namesake, which was
carved in England and was said to be an excellent likeness. Across her
stern she carried a carved medallion of the globe, supported by the arms
of Great Britain and the United States. She was commanded by Captain
McDonnell, late of the _Marco Polo_, who sailed from Liverpool for
Boston soon after his return from Melbourne.
The _James Baines_ sailed from Boston, September 12, 1854, and made the
run from Boston Light to the Rock Light, Liverpool, in the record time
of 12 days 6 hours. An English correspondent of one of the Boston papers
remarked: “You wish to know what professional men say about the ship
_James Baines_. Her unrivalled passage, of course, brought her
prominently before the public, and she has already been visited by many
of the most eminent mechanics in the country. She is so strongly built,
so finely finished, and is of so beautiful a model, that even envy
cannot prompt a fault against her. On all hands she has been praised as
the most perfect sailing ship that ever entered the river Mersey.”
The last of this quartette, the _Donald McKay_, measured: length 269
feet, breadth 47 feet, depth 29 feet, with 18 inches dead-rise at half
floor, and her mainyard was 100 feet long. While her water-lines were
fuller than those of the _James Baines_, she was still an extremely
sharp vessel, and with the single exception of the _Great Republic_ was
the largest merchant ship afloat. She sailed from Boston, February 21,
1855, under the command of Captain Warner, late of the _Sovereign of
the Seas_, and made the run to Cape Clear in 12 days, and thence to
Liverpool in 5 days. On February 27th, she ran 421 miles in twenty-four
hours, and on that date her log records: “First part, strong gales from
northwest; middle blowing a hurricane from west-northwest, ship scudding
under topsails and foresail at the rate of 18 knots; latter part, still
blowing from west-northwest with heavy hail squalls; very high sea
running.”
The _Lightning_ sailed from Liverpool on her first voyage to Melbourne,
May 14, 1854. She encountered light winds and calms to the equator,
which she crossed in 25 days from the Mersey; such was the nature of the
winds that the topgallantsails were not taken in during the passage, and
her best day’s runs were only 332, 348, 300, 311, and 329 miles on
various dates. She arrived out in 77 days, but the passage home to
Liverpool was made in the record time of 63 days. In ten consecutive
days of twenty-four hours each, she sailed no less than 3722 miles, her
best day’s run being 412 miles. On this voyage she brought home gold and
dust to the value of £1,000,000 sterling.
The _James Baines_ sailed from Liverpool for Melbourne December 9, 1854,
and made the passage out in the record time of 63 days, her best
twenty-four hours’ run being 420 miles. She made the passage home in 69
days, thus sailing around the globe in the record time of 132 days. On a
subsequent voyage in 1856 her log records, “June 16th. At noon sighted a
ship in the distance ahead; at 1 P.M. alongside of her; at 2 P.M., out
of sight astern. The _James Baines_ was going 17 knots with main
skysail set; the _Libertas_, for such was her name, was under
double-reefed topsails.” “June 17th. Latitude 44° S., longitude 106° E.,
ship going 21 knots with main skysail set.” This appears to be the
highest rate of speed ever made by a sailing vessel of which any
reliable record has been preserved.
The _Champion of the Seas_ made the passage out in 71 days and home in
84 days, and the _Donald McKay_ made the voyage in about the same time,
but the _Lightning_ and _James Baines_ proved the most famous of these
ships. So well pleased was Mr. Baines that he wrote to Mr. McKay,
saying, In these ships you have given us all and more than we expected.”
These were the last extreme clipper ships built by Donald McKay.
During the Sepoy Mutiny in 1857 a large number of British and American
merchant ships were chartered by the British Government to carry troops
to India, and among others the _James Baines_, _Champion of the Seas_,
and _Lightning_. The _James Baines_ sailed from Portsmouth for Calcutta
on August 8th, with the Ninety-seventh Regiment on board, and the
_Illustrated London News_, in a notice of her departure, remarked:
“Previous to her starting she was honored by a visit of Her Majesty, who
highly eulogized the vessel and is said to have declared that she was
not aware that so splendid a merchant ship belonged to her dominions.”
The _Champion of the Seas_ sailed from Portsmouth on the same day, also
bound for Calcutta with troops, and the race between these clippers was
close and exciting. Nine days out they fell in
[Illustration: The “James Baines”]
with the steamship _Oneida_ homeward bound, and the _Illustrated London
News_, again mentioning the _James Baines_, said: “When met by the
_Oneida_, on the 17th of August, on her way to Calcutta with troops, she
presented a most magnificent appearance, having in addition to her
ordinary canvas, studdingsails, skysails, and moonsail, set and drawing,
in all thirty-four sails, a perfect cloud of canvas: the troops all
well, and cheering lustily as the vessels passed each other. The sister
ship, the _Champion of the Seas_, was not far astern, both vessels
making great headway.”
These two ships arrived off the mouth of the Hooghly together, each 101
days from Portsmouth, and the finish of this race was talked about by
the Calcutta pilots for a good many years: how these splendid clippers
raced in from sea almost side by side, with a fresh three-skysail,
scupper breeze, the regimental bands on board of both ships playing
national airs, while the soldiers were cheering and wild with the joy
and excitement of seeing land once more.
The _Lightning_ sailed at a more favorable season, and made the passage
from Portsmouth to the Hooghly in 87 days, beating the entire fleet of
sailing transports, including those fitted with auxiliary screw
propellers.
Of the large number of ships bought or chartered in the United States
for the Australian trade by British ship-owners at this period, those
mentioned, with the _Red Rover_, _Comet_, _Tornado_, _Sierra Nevada_,
and _Invincible_, each with a record of less than 75 days from Liverpool
or London to Melbourne, the _Belle of the Sea_, 64 days from London to
Melbourne, and _North Wind_, 67 days from London to Sydney, N. S. W.,
were the most celebrated.
There were also many American ships that made the voyage from New York
to Melbourne, and among the fast passages may be mentioned those of: the
_Mandarin_, in 71 days; _Flying Scud_ and _Nightingale_, 75 days;
_Whirlwind_, 80 days; _Flying Dutchman_ and _Panama_, 81 days; _Snow
Squall_, 79 days, and _Ringleader_, 78 days. Most if not all these ships
loaded in R. W. Cameron’s line, and it is worth noting that, of all the
great shipping firms that flourished in New York half a century ago,
this is the only one which now survives.
It was only natural that ship-owners of Great Britain should feel keenly
the invasion of their trade by the American clippers, and in 1855, James
Baines & Co. placed an order with Alexander Hall & Co., of Aberdeen,
then the leading clipper ship-builders in Great Britain, for a large
clipper ship for the Australian trade, to “outdo the Americans.” This
vessel was the _Schomberg_, 2600 tons; length 262 feet, breadth 45 feet,
depth 29 feet. She was very sharp forward and had a long, clean run,
with considerable dead-rise at her midship section. She was built of
wood and heavily sparred, with single topsail yards and three skysails.
When this ship came around from Aberdeen to load at Liverpool for
Melbourne, she was greatly admired and it was generally believed that
she would prove faster than her American rivals, especially as Captain
Forbes, late of the _Marco Polo_ and _Lightning_, had been appointed to
command her. She sailed from Liverpool on October 6, 1855. Captain
Forbes was a proud man that day, for the pierheads of the port were
thronged with a patriotic, cheering crowd to see the _Schomberg_ off,
and as she towed down the Mersey, the signals reading, “Sixty days to
Melbourne,” fluttered gayly from her mizen truck.
She had moderate winds to the equator, which she crossed 28 days from
the Mersey, and then drifted into calms and light airs which continued
for ten days and from which she did not possess the nimble speed to
extricate herself. Her best day’s work, while running her easting down,
was 368 miles. When 81 days out she was wrecked and became a total loss
on an uncharted reef about 150 miles to the westward of Melbourne, the
passengers, crew, and mails being saved. This was by no means a record
passage, and it is to be regretted that her career was so short, as it
would be interesting to know what she might have done under more
favorable conditions. She certainly possessed the qualities of a fast
ship, and was ably commanded.
There were also many fine ships of English build sailing out of London
in the Australian trade; the _Norfolk_ and _Lincolnshire_, built and
owned by Money, Wigram & Sons; the _Kent_, _Trafalgar_, and _Renown_,
built and owned by R. & H. Green; and many others. These ships were
built of teak, oak, and elm; were copper-fastened and sheathed with red
copper. They resembled smart frigates more than merchantmen, and were
about the perfection of that type--splendid ships to be at sea in,
though not so fast as the sharper American clippers. None of these
vessels was over 1500 tons, and it was thought by shipping men in London
and Liverpool that much of the speed of the American ships was due to
their greater tonnage. There may have been some truth in this, but it
should be remembered that with these large wooden vessels an increase in
size made the difficulties in building greater, as well as in getting
their wooden masts to stand with hemp rigging, to say nothing of
handling their enormous single topsails in heavy weather.
Meanwhile attempts were being made by various companies to introduce
steam in place of the clipper ships that had carried the passengers,
mails, and specie after the discovery of gold in Australia, but these
efforts were beset with many difficulties and heavy financial losses.
The _Australian_, an iron screw steamer of 2000 tons, was the first
steamship to carry the mails from England to Melbourne. She sailed from
Plymouth, June 5, 1852, and called at St. Vincent, St. Helena, Table
Bay, and St. George’s Sound for coal, which had been sent out by ship
from England to meet her. She arrived at Melbourne in 89 days from
Plymouth, and returned by the Cape of Good Hope in 76 days. She arrived
at London, January 11, 1853, having been 7 months and 6 days upon the
voyage, a creditable but not a very brilliant performance. The
_Australian_ was soon followed by the _Great Britain_, _Adelaide_,
_Queen of the South_, _Sydney_, _Cleopatra_, _Antelope_, and other iron
screw steamers; but these vessels nearly ruined
[Illustration: The “Schomberg”]
their owners and did not greatly interfere with the clippers.
In 1854 the _Argo_, a full-rigged iron ship of 1850 tons register, with
plenty of canvas and fitted with an auxiliary engine and screw, made the
passage from London to Melbourne in 64 days and home round Cape Horn in
63 days; and though she sailed during the greater portion of the voyage,
using her engines only in calms and light winds, she was the first
merchant vessel using steam-power to circumnavigate the globe. This
voyage is peculiarly adapted to auxiliary steam vessels, as, by
following the sailing-ship track, very few strong head winds are met,
and of course the screw is of great assistance in light winds and calms.
The _Argo_ was followed (1855-1856) by the _Royal Charter_, _Istamboul_,
and _Khersonese_ and other iron auxiliary “steam clippers,” as they were
called. These vessels carried as much canvas as the clipper ships, and
were more expensive to handle and not much faster; the rivalry was
therefore keen. The clippers still secured their full share of the cabin
and steerage passengers, the mails and gold, and were by no means
vanquished; indeed, the auxiliaries proved no more successful than the
steamships, and brought much the same result to their owners.
It was not till after the close of the Crimean War in 1856, when the
Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Company extended their line to
the Australian colonies, that the clipper ships began seriously to feel
the competition of steam. From that time iron sailing vessels for this
trade were built with a view to carrying large cargoes and steerage
passengers, so that by 1860 the day of the Australian clippers had
passed away, although the later China tea-clippers sometimes made this
voyage. Almost countless splendid iron and steel sailing ships have
since been built in Great Britain, and many fine passages have been made
to and from Australia, yet the records of the _James Baines_, _North
Wind_, _Lightning_, _Mandarin_, and _Lord of the Isles_ remain
unbroken.