Chapter XV: Part III: “the Iron Clippers.” (1)

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.

+-------+-----------------------+-------+------+--------------------+
|Length | | | | |
|of | | | Date | |
|Mainy’d| Ship |Tonnage| Built| Description. |
|in feet| | | | |
+-------+-----------------------+-------+------+--------------------+
| 120 |_Great Republic_ | 3357 | 1853 |American 4-mast |
| | | | | barque |
| 108 |_British Ambassador_ | 1794 | 1873 |British iron “jute” |
| | | | | clipper |
| 102 |_Preussen_ | 5081 | 1902 |German 5-mast ship, |
| | | | nitrate clipper |
| 100 |_Royal Sovereign_ | 1637* | 1637 |Brit. 1st rate |
| | | | | man-of-war |
| „ |_Daylight_ | 3756 | 1902 |Brit. steel 4-mast |
| | | | | barque. Oil tank |
| „ |_James Baines_ | 2515 | 1854 |“Black Ball” pass. |
| | | | | clipper |
| „ |_Donald Mackay_ | 2598 | 1855 |“Black Ball” pass. |
| | | | | clipper |
| 96 |_Prince Royal_ | 1187* | 1610 |Brit. 1st rate |
| | | | | man-of-war |
| „ |_Glory of the Seas_ | 2103 | 1869 |Amer. “C. Horn” |
| | | | | clipper |
| 95 |_Lightning_ | 2084 | 1854 |“Black Ball” pass. |
| | | | | clipper |
| „ |_Champion of the Seas_ | 2448 | 1854 |“Black Ball” pass. |
| | | | | clipper |
| „ |_Royal Charter_ | 3000 | 1855 |Brit. full-rigged |
| | | | | auxiliary |
| „ |_Roanoke_ | 3559 | 1892 |Amer. wood 4-mast |
| | | | | barque |
| 94 |_Shenandoah_ | 3258 | 1890 |Amer. wood 4-mast |
| | | | | barque |
| 92 |_Dirigo_ | 3005 | 1894 |American steel |
| | | | | 4-mast barque |
| | | | | (British design) |
| 90 |_Challenge_ | 2006† | 1851 |American wood |
| | | | | clipper |
| „ |_Sovereign of the Seas_| 2421† | 1852 |American wood |
| | | | | clipper |
| 89 |_Star of the East_ | 1219 | 1853 |New Bruns. wood |
| | | | | clipper |
| 88 |_Mermerus_ | 1671 | 1872 |Brit. iron “wool” |
| | | | | clipper |
| „ |_Loch Torridon_ | 2000 | 1881 |Brit. iron 4-mast |
| | | | |barque |
| 84 |_Ben Voirlich_ | 1474 | 1873 |Brit. iron “wool” |
| | | | | clipper |
| „ |_Loch Maree_ | 1581 | „ |Brit. iron “wool” |
| | | | | clipper |
| „ |_Port Jackson_ | 2132 | 1882 |British iron 4-mast |
| | | | | barque |
| 82 |_Cimba_ | 1174 | 1878 |British iron “wool” |
| | | | | clipper |
| „ |_Flying Cloud_ | 1793† | 1851 |American wood |
| | | | | clipper |
| 81 |_Salamis_ | 1079 | 1875 |British iron “wool” |
| | | | | clipper |
| „ |_Witch of the Wave_ | 1500† | 1851 |American wood |
| | | | | clipper |
| 80 |_60-gun ship_ | 1500* | 1800 |Brit. 4th rate |
| | | | | man-of-war |
| „ |_Thermopylae_ | 948 | 1868 |British tea clipper |
| „ |_Typhoon_ | 1610† | 1851 |American wood |
| | | | | clipper |
| 79 |_Dreadnought_ | 1413† | 1853 |Amer. Atlan. |
| | | | | packet ship |
| 78 |_Cutty Sark_ | 921 | 1869 |British tea clipper |
| „ |_Hallowe’en_ | 920 | 1870 |British iron tea |
| | | | | clipper |
| „ |_Surprise_ | 1361† | 1850 |American wood |
| | | | | clipper |
| 75 |_Roscius_ | 1100† | 1836 |Amer. Atlan. |
| | | | | packet ship |
| 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.

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.

_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.

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.

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.

_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.

_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.