Chapter XX: Part III: “the Iron Clippers.” (6)

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The _Derwent_ was a very up-to-date ship, with numerous innovations. She was built to the specification of Captain Andrew, her first commander, and he overlooked her construction with an eagle eye. _Derwent_ was one of the first ships to cross steel topgallant yards, substitute rigging screws for deadeyes, to have a donkey with winch barrels, etc.

_Photo by Captain Schutze, Sydney._]

She sailed on her first voyage on Xmas Eve, 1884, her crew consisting of captain, 3 certificated officers, 8 midshipmen, 12 apprentices, bosun, sailmaker, carpenter, donkeyman and 12 hands in the fo’cs’le. The start was not very propitious. She sailed from Glasgow, dragged her anchors off the Tail of the Bank, and then her crew refused duty. The weather was so bad that she sought shelter at Queenstown, 11 days out from Greenock. Here advantage was taken to prosecute her insubordinate crew, who received sentences of from one to three months’ imprisonment.

The _Derwent_ was never considered a fast ship, but a good sea boat and excellent cargo carrier; nevertheless she made some very good runs, notably:—

Sydney to Lizard 77 days.
Sydney to Penzance 74 „

In 1904 Devitt & Moore sold her to the Norwegians, and she was still afloat when the war broke out, being owned in Larvik.

Notes on Passages to Australia in 1884.

A good many ships this year were just into the 80 days; for instance _Dharwar_, 80 days to Sydney; _Samuel Plimsoll_, 80 to Sydney; _Trafalgar_, 81 to Sydney; _Loch Vennachar_, 80 to Melbourne; _Romanoff_ 80 to Melbourne; _Salamis_, 82 to Melbourne; _Patriarch_, 82 to Sydney.

_Miltiades_, _Cimba_ and _Loch Long_ had a good race out. The _Star of Italy_ was Corrie’s crack jute clipper; this was her tenth voyage, and her first trip to Melbourne. She was nearly lost when about to sail through a fire in her sail-room.

_Cutty Sark_ had a fine weather passage to the Cape, but she scared her crew running the easting down. On one occasion she was pooped by a big sea which jammed the helmsmen in the wheel, and she came up in the wind and swept her decks clean, taking the boats off the after skids, breaking in one side of the monkey poop and gutting the cabin. At the change of the watch at midnight that night, the apprentice keeping the time, in order to call his mates, had to go up the mizen rigging and come down the stay to get to the apprentices’ house her decks were so full of water; for three or four days after this she ran like a scared hare before a mountainous sea, which rose up so high astern that it took the wind out of her topsails when she was in the trough.

Captains Bully Martin and Douglas of the two Bens changed ships this year, and Douglas in the _Ben Cruachan_ arrived Melbourne on 5th June, 90 days out, whilst Martin in the _Ben Voirlich_ arrived Melbourne on 10th August, 88 days out.

“Torridon” and “Yallaroi.”

The last of Nicol’s clippers were the _Torridon_ and _Yallaroi._ They were skysail-yarders, and lying in dock alongside the modern four-poster, looked the real thing, a pair of dainty little thoroughbreds.

_Photo by Captain Schutze, Sydney._]

Compared to most ships of their size, they had narrow sail plans, and with greater carrying power, they were not as fast as _Cimba_ or _Romanoff_. For some reason Nicol gave up the green and gold colours of Aberdeen and gave them the conventional painted ports. No doubt the days were passed when crowds of landsmen thronged Circular Quay of a Sunday and gaped in awe, reverence and admiration at the tall green clippers.

Captain Shepherd left _Romanoff_ to take the _Torridon_, but he could only manage to get her out to Sydney in 90 days from Deal on her maiden trip, and _Yallaroi_ took 99 from Grangemouth. However, both ships held on in the Sydney trade until 1906, when they were sold to the Italians, _Torridon_ for £4250 and _Yallaroi_ for £4400.

_Torridon_ was sunk by a German submarine on 27th August, 1916, but _Yallaroi_ disguised as _Santa Catarina_ is still sailing the seas.

“Loch Carron” and “Loch Broom.”

The last ships to be built for the famous Loch Line were the two fine four-mast barques _Loch Carron_ and _Loch Broom_.

The _Loch Carron_ was taken from the stocks by Captain Stainton Clarke, one of the best known skippers in the Australian trade and the bosom friend of Captain Pattman, the pair being known in the ports they frequented as the “Corsican Brothers.” Captain Clarke was brought up in those beautiful little tea clippers, Skinner’s “Castles.” At the age of 28 he became master of the _Douglas Castle_, which he used to say was “one of the prettiest models that ever sailed.” When she was sold he was given the _Lennox Castle_, and he left her to take the _Loch Carron_.

_Loch Carron_, though a very fast ship, was also a ticklish ship to handle, being rather tender, and Captain Clarke always sent down royal yards when in port.

The following are some of her best performances:—

Melbourne to London 73 days.
Adelaide to Glasgow 75 „
Glasgow to Adelaide 78 „
London to Adelaide 75 „ (twice)
The Semaphore, Adelaide, to Cape Otway 48 „
Cape Town to Clyde in ballast 40 „
Melbourne to the Horn 27 „
Cape meridian to the Leeuwin 19 „ (twice)
Cape Horn to the line 20 „

On one occasion when abreast of the Crozets, running her easting down in 45° S., she made three consecutive 24-hour runs of 310, 320 and 332 miles. On her maiden trip she went to Sydney, and then for two or three years left the Australian for the Calcutta trade. In 1887 she took case oil from New York to Calcutta in 112 days.

In 1889 _Loch Carron_ had a very nasty experience when rounding the Cape homeward bound from India. It is thus told by Captain Clarke:—

We were bound for London from Calcutta with a cargo of jute and about
500 tons of rice for stiffening purposes. It was new rice and had not
been properly dried. When the jute was loaded on top of it, the rice
began to get heated and we had to take it out and stow it in the main
hatch by itself, boring holes in order to allow the air to enter.
This arrangement of the cargo caused the ship to be top-heavy, but it
was unavoidable. When we got to the Cape of Good Hope we encountered
violent gales, and the vessel could not stand up to them. She was
carried right over on her side, although there was very little
canvas on her. Her lee side was 5 or 6 feet under water and the crew
became so frightened that many of them climbed up the rigging. I let
the sails go and sacrificed them in order to save her. She righted
herself and we ran before the wind all night, going miles out of
our course. Next day we jury-rigged her and I tried hard to make
way on the other tack. We tacked for eight days and then the gale
again seized her and she turned over once more. We quickly stripped
her of sails, but she was so top-heavy and crank that I decided to
send the topgallant masts down. This was ticklish work, and I shall
never forget the scene, as the men struggled against the seas with
the topgallants. The fight against the gales lasted for 30 days and
then we got round the Cape, but I had five men down with broken limbs
and other injuries. The voyage from Calcutta to London occupied no
fewer than 156 days, and was the most exciting in my experience. The
_Bolan_, _Glen Padarn_ and _Trevelyan_, also bound from Calcutta and
Rangoon to London, foundered during the storms and we were lucky to
get through with the ship so crank.

In 1904 _Loch Carron_ had a great race home from Frisco round the Horn with the French ship _Jules Gommes_. _Loch Carron_ hove up her anchor in Frisco Bay on the morning of Christmas Eve, the _Jules Gommes_ leaving in the afternoon. After being six days in company the two ships lost sight of each other. They met again on the equator in the Atlantic; finally the _Loch Carron_ arrived at Queenstown one morning 112 days out, the Frenchman arriving eight hours later at the same port.

On her next passage the _Loch Carron_ had the most disastrous event in her career, in her collision with the _Inverkip_. The two ships were both outward bound, the _Loch Carron_ from Glasgow to Sydney with general cargo. At 11.20 on 13th August, 1904, the _Loch Carron_ was about 60 miles to the S. and E. of the Fastnet light, going 6 or 7 knots close-hauled on the port tack, with a moderate gale blowing from the S.W., when the red light of the _Inverkip_ was suddenly seen ahead. But it was too late to avoid a collision, and the _Loch Carron_ struck the _Inverkip_ abreast of the foremast, stem on. The latter ship went down in a few minutes, only two men, the carpenter and the steward, being saved out of her ship’s company. These two managed to jump aboard the _Loch Carron_. Captain Jones of the _Inverkip_ had his wife aboard, and as the ship went down she was seen praying on her knees aft. They were both great personal friends of Captain Clarke, and he was so distressed by the sad accident that his health broke down and he gave up his command for a voyage. The _Loch Carron_, with a large hole in her bows, her fore topgallant mast and all head gear carried away, besides other damages, managed to make Queenstown.

Her repairs came to £1500, and as she was on the port tack and the _Inverkip_ on the starboard, the Loch Line had to pay over £30,000 damages.

When _Loch Carron_ was again ready for sea, Captain Henderson, of _Thermopylae_ and _Samuel Plimsoll_ fame, took her out. Captain Clarke returning to his command on her return home. As late as 1908 _Loch Carron_ made the run from Melbourne to London in 80 days.

_Loch Broom_ was commanded for the greater part of her career by the well-known veteran, Bully Martin.

Though they were absolute sister ships according to the tape-measure. _Loch Broom_ was always a stiffer ship than the _Loch Carron_, and her sailing records were not quite as numerous, nevertheless she was a very fast ship.

In 1904 Captain Martin brought her home from Melbourne in 82 days. He left Port Phillip on 12th January, and was only 24 days to the Horn, most of the run being made under six topsails and foresail.

On her following passage out _Loch Broom_ took case oil from New York to Melbourne in 96 days. It was a nasty trip for her officers, as the hands before the mast were all hobos, Bowery toughs and hard cases, and had to be driven to their work in the old-fashioned belaying pin style.

In 1907 Captain Bully Martin gave up his command and retired from the sea, being succeeded by Captain Kelynack, who had been mate under him for some years.

I have the abstract log of _Loch Broom’s_ last voyage under the British flag:—

On 4th September at 7 a.m. she took her departure from the Lizard, had light breezes and calms to the 19th when she took the N.E. trades, crossed the line on 6th October, crossed the meridian of Greenwich on 26th October, ran down her easting on the 40th parallel, her best 24-hour run being 272 miles on 12th November before a moderate gale from W.S.W. in 40° 37′ S., 60° 00′ E., and she anchored off Port Adelaide at 2 p.m. on 4th December, 91 days from the Lizard.

She left Melbourne homeward bound on 23rd February 1912. On 15th March in 50° 58′ S., 135° 26′ W., she ran 278 miles with a fresh S.W. gale, passed Cape Horn on 27th March. On 29th March Captain Kelynack remarks, “Fresh W.S.W. wind, thick misty rain, four-masted barque in company on lee quarter but falling astern, (nothing passes the _Loch Broom_ but birds.)”

And on 2nd April I find the following testimony to her qualities:—“Lat. 46° 50′ S., long. 40° 04′ W., distance 213, course N. 51° E. Fresh N.W. gale veering to W.N.W., high sea running, ship going 12 knots, dry as a bone.”

The line was crossed on 29th April. On 24th May in 46° N., 20° 55′ W., _Loch Broom_ ran 301 miles in the 24 hours before a fresh southerly wind and moderate sea; and on the following day 282 miles. “Fresh S.S.E. wind. Barque in company at 6 a.m. on starboard bow, out of sight astern at noon.” On 31st May at 7 p.m. _Loch Broom_ anchored off Gravesend, 98 days out.

The _Loch Carron_ and _Loch Broom_ were both sold to the foreigners in 1912 for about £5000 a piece, and now, I believe, belong to Christianssand, Norway, being disguised under the names of _Seileren_ and _Sogndal_.

Notes on Passages to Australia in 1885.

The race of the year was that between _Cutty Sark_, _Samuel Plimsoll_, _Sir Walter Raleigh_ and still a fourth ship, the _City of York_, which was off the Start on 2nd April—crossed the line 23rd April—crossed Cape meridian 26th May—passed the Otway on 18th June—and arrived Sydney on 21st June, 80 days out.

It was Captain Woodget’s first voyage in _Cutty Sark_. He went as high as 48° S. in search of good winds, but had a lot of thick misty weather with light northerly winds, and no steady westerlies. He only had two chances. In 70 hours from 21st to 23rd May, the _Cutty_ ran 931 miles, braced sharp up against a strong N.E. to E.N.E. wind; and on 4th June, with the wind fresh from N.E. to N.N.E. she ran 330 miles in 47° S., 99° E. None of the other ships made any specially big runs.

_Miltiades_ this year was taken over by Captain Harry Ayling, and arrived in Hobson’s Bay on 29th October, 85 days out from Torbay.

_Photo by Captain Schutze, Sydney._]

_Mermerus_ arrived Melbourne on 24th July, 88 days from the Lizard, and _Thomas Stephens_ was 87 days from Antwerp to Sydney, arriving on 20th October.

The _Milton Park_ was an iron ship of 1500 tons, built by McMillan, of Dumbarton in 1882, a typical Clyde-built ship. The _Bay of Cadiz_ was one of the Cardiff “Bays.” _Siren_ was one of Carmichael’s, a 1482-ton ship, built in 1881. She had a number of fine passages to her credit, and came to a curious end, being rammed and sunk by H.M.S. _Landrail_ off Portland in July, 1896.

We have now had 12 years of outward tables, and space and, no doubt, the patience of the reader are both growing exhausted.

However, as these beautiful ships kept up their wonderful averages until well into the nineties, fighting all they knew against the ever-growing competition of steam, I give here a table of times from the Channel to port from the year 1886 to 1894 for the seven most regular ships in the trade.

PASSAGES TO AUSTRALIA 1886-1894.
+-----------+--------------+------+-------+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+
| Ship | Destination | 1886 | 1887 |1888|1889|1890|1891|1892|1893|1894|
+-----------+--------------+------+-------+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+
| |Newcastle | | | | | | | | | |
|_Cutty_ | (1887 and | To | 88 | 76 | 77 | 75 | 79 | 88 | 81 | 79 |
| _Sark_ | 1892) | | | | | | | | | |
| |Brisbane 1894 |Shang-|Dis- | | | | | | | |
| |Rest to Sydney| hai | masted| | | | | | | |
|_Salamis_ |Melbourne | 78 | 86 | 70 | 84 | 86 | 79 | 77 | 87 | 80 |
|_Patriarch_|Sydney | 97 | 79 | 79 | 77 | 87 | 82 | 80 | 99 | 77 |
|_Mermerus_ |Melbourne | 84 | 96 | 82 | 88 | 89 | 85 | 86 | 85 | |
|_Miltiades_|Melbourne | 83 | 78 | 83 | 82 | 90 | 91 | 86 | 92 | |
|_Cimba_ |Sydney | 97 | 84 | 88 | 85 | 89 | 93 | 83 | 93 | 88 |
|_Samuel_ |Sydney | | 93 | 76 | 81 | 84 | 78 | 87 | 79 | 79 |
| _Plimsoll_| 1886 & 1887 | | | | | | | | | |
| |Rest to | | | | | | | | | |
| | Melbourne | | | | | | | | | |
+-----------+--------------+------+-------+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+

“Mount Stewart” and “Cromdale,” the last of the Wool Clippers.

The last two ships to be built specially for the Australian wool trade were the magnificent steel skysail-yard ships _Mount Stewart_ and _Cromdale_. The former was launched in May, 1891, and the latter in June, both from Barclay, Curle’s yard. They were identical sister ships, and were the very latest development of the full-rig ship. They were of course good carriers, with the modern short poop and long sweep of main deck. Yet, in spite of their carrying powers, they both made some excellent passages out and home.

The _Cromdale_ was specially lucky in having Captain E. H. Andrew as her first master, a very experienced and up-to-date sailing ship captain, who had been mate under his father in the _Derwent_.

The _Cromdale_ came to grief in 1913 when commanded by Captain Arthur. She was 126 days out, bound home from Taltal with nitrate and was heading for Falmouth. There had been a dense fog for some days, when, most unfortunately, a steamer was passed which advised Captain Arthur to alter his course. Not long after a light was suddenly seen through the fog ahead, but before the ship could be put about she struck on the rocks right at the foot of a cliff. This proved to be Bass Point, close to the Lizard light. The ship was so badly holed that the captain ordered the boats out at once. Luckily it was calm weather, and some rockets brought the Cadgwith and Lizard lifeboats upon the scene, but the _Cromdale_ settled down so quickly that there was only just time to save the ship’s papers and the crew’s personal belongings. Lying on the rocks in such an exposed position, it was of course hopeless to think of salving the ship, and the _Cromdale_ became a total loss.

The _Mount Stewart_ is, I believe, still afloat, and still has Aberdeen on her stern.

Perforated Sails.

At first glance a sail with a hole in it would hardly be considered superior to a sail without one, yet sails with holes in them, or perforated sails, as they were called, became quite popular with the most experienced of our sailing ship skippers in the early nineties.

Perforated sails were said to be the idea of an Italian shipmaster in the eighties. This Italian captain’s theory was that a cushion of air or dead wind, as he called it, was collected in the belly of every sail, and acted as a buffer, thus preventing the sail from receiving the whole strength of the wind. He advocated making a hole in the centre of the belly in order to allow this cushion of air to escape, and allow the true wind to blow against the surface of the sail. An important point was the proper placing of these holes; in fore and aft sails they were cut about the centre of the belly made by the clew; the holes in square sails were also cut near the clews, but they were also cut higher up in the sail on a line from the clews to the bunt: topsails and courses generally had the four holes and topgallant sails and royals only two, one in the lower part of the sail towards the clew on each side. These holes were from 5½ to 6 inches in diameter and roped with grammets.

It is easy to understand that this system was more advantageous when one was close-hauled than when running free. But even when running free many shipmasters claimed that it had its merits and held that, though wind certainly did escape through the holes, it was mostly dead wind and even then was caught up again—the mizen by the main, and the main by the fore, so that in the end there was very little real wind that did not do its work in sending the ship along.

A further advantage of perforated sails was their aid in spilling the wind out of a sail when the sail had to come in in heavy weather. The advocates of the holes claimed that they prevented a sail from ballooning up over the yard, and made it very much easier to muzzle and put the gaskets on.

The perforated sails were also considered very useful in light airs and calms, because on the calmest day there always seemed to be a draught through the holes, and this kept the sails “asleep” and stopped that irritating flogging of canvas against the masts which is so trying to a skipper’s temper and also constantly necessitates the hauling up of courses in the doldrums.

Captain Holmes, who always used them in the _Cimba_ and _Inverurie_, wrote to me that he considered them specially valuable in light winds, and he did not adopt perforated sails without testing their efficiency in every way he could.

He even had sand bags made to fit the holes, and thus was able to test his sailing when in company with another ship, first by seeing how he did with holes, and then filling up the holes with sandbags, by seeing how he altered his bearing when without holes.

By this means he proved the benefit of the holes very clearly once when going down Channel.

The _Cimba_ was in company with another outward bound ship of nearly the same speed; and it was found that as soon as the sand bags were put in the holes the _Cimba_ began to drop astern, whereas, with the holes open, she went ahead. Captain Holmes also tied a rag on the end of a stick, and held it up to the holes, and even in very light airs the rag was sucked through the perforations. In this way with a handkerchief on the end of a long rod, he tried to find out the result of the holes on the crossjack, by walking it all over the after part of the sail. And he told me that the handkerchief flopped stupidly about in the dead wind until it was abreast of the holes, when it at once blew out straight.

Captain Pattman, of _Loch Torridon_, adopted perforated holes in 1892: Captain Poppy used them on the _Aristides_, and Captain Cutler, when he took over _Port Jackson_, had her sails cut for holes, and his successor continued to keep them in the sails.

All these four captains were noted passage-makers, and unless the perforated sails had had very certain advantages, it is hardly likely that they would have adopted them.

Hine’s Clipper Barques.

Before turning to the New Zealand trade I must not forget to mention the fine little fleet of barques belonging to Hine Brothers, of Maryport, which brought home wool from Adelaide, Brisbane and the two Tasmanian ports.

The following will still be remembered by the older inhabitants of these ports.

_Aline_, wood barque 474 tons, built by Hardy, Sunderland 1867
_Abbey Holme_ iron barque 516 tons, built by Blumer, Sunderland 1869
_Hazel Holme_ wood barque 405 tons, built by at Barnstaple 1890
_Aikshaw_ iron barque 573 tons, built by Doxford, Sunderland 1875
_Eden Holme_ iron barque 794 tons, built by Bartram, Sunderland 1875
_Myrtle Holme_ iron barque 902 tons, built by Bartram, Sunderland 1875
_Castle Holme_ iron barque 996 tons, built by Bartram, Sunderland 1875
_Brier Holme_ iron barque 894 tons, built by Thompson Sunderland 1876

They were rarely much over 80 days going out, and generally under 90 days coming home.

The _Myrtle Holme_, under Captain Cobb, and the _Eden Holme_, under Captain Wyrill (late of _Berean_) had perhaps the best records, and maintained their fine average right into the twentieth century.

For instance, in 1899 Captain Wyrill brought the _Eden Holme_ from Launceston to the London River in 88 days after experiencing 17 days of calms and variables to the north of the line. This was her fourth passage out of six, in which she had come home in less than 90 days from Tasmania.

In 1895, the _Myrtle Holme_ went from Beachy Head to Adelaide in 77 days, and in 1901 went from Dover to Adelaide in 81 days; whilst in 1902 the _Eden Holme_ went from the Start to Launceston in 83 days.

The _Eden Holme_, _Brier Holme_ and _Castle Holme_ were all transferred to the Tasmanian trade from that of Adelaide on the death of Mr. Walker and the dispersal of his fleet.

The _Eden Holme_ was wrecked on Hebe Reef in 1907. The _Myrtle Holme_ was sold to Arendal, Norway, and renamed _Glimt_, a few years before the war. She was torpedoed in the North Sea in 1915.

_Photo by De Maus, Port Chalmers._]

The _Brier Holme_ came to a tragic end in 1904. She sailed from London for Hobart in September of that year, commanded by Captain Rich, an experienced and skilful seaman who was making his last voyage. She was three months overdue and much anxiety was being felt, when some fishermen landed on a bleak and unfrequented part of the West Coast of Tasmania. They found some jetsam on the shore in the shape of packages of cargo, marked and numbered so that they could be identified. Footprints and the remains of a rude hut also pointed to a wreck on the coast; a close search was made but no signs of the wreck or of life could be found. The fishermen then took the packages back to Hobart and they proved to be part of the cargo of the _Brier Holme_. Thereupon the Government sent out a steamer with a search party. The remains of the wreck were found under water, but though the bush was scoured, fires lighted and guns fired to attract attention, no survivor was discovered, and the search party returned to Hobart. Some weeks later the fishermen who had found the packages landed again on the coast and found a man, who proved to be the sole survivor out of the _Brier Holme’s_ crew. He had been wandering about in the bush trying to find his way to the nearest habitation, first loading himself with provisions washed up from the wreck, he had tried to construct a raft across a river but without success, and he was continually compelled to return to the shore and replenish his stores. He reported that the _Brier Holme_ arrived off the S.W. Cape of Tasmania at night during thick stormy weather and was hove to to wait for daylight. But being to the north of the Fairway having overrun her distance, she crashed on to the rocks and soon went to pieces.

The _Castle Holme_ is now owned in Frederickstadt, Norway, and sails under the name of _Estar_.

Iron Barques of Walker and Trinder, Anderson.

Hine Bros. were not the only owners of iron clipper barques in the Australian trade. Mr. T. B. Walker had four very well-known ships—the barques _Westbury_, _Decapolis_ and _Lanoma_ and the ship _Barossa_; whilst Trinder, Anderson & Co. had the _Barunga_, _Oriana_, _Mineru_, _Morialta_ and _Kooringa_.

Of the above, Walker’s _Lanoma_ was probably the fastest. She has been credited with a run from Tasmania to the Horn in 21 days, another of 21 days from the Horn to the line, and again a third of 21 days from the line to soundings, which if they had all been on the same passage would have given her the record from Tasmania home. The _Westbury_ and _Decapolis_ were both good for an outward passage round about 80 days.

A year or two ago a correspondent in the “Nautical” claimed that the _Decapolis_ went out to Launceston in 56 days on her maiden trip, at the same time he claimed a 57-day trip to Melbourne for my old ship the _Commonwealth_. He had, of course, got his dates wrong somewhere, as the _Decapolis_ ran regularly to Brisbane until that trade was captured by steamers, she was then diverted to Launceston.

After the death of Mr. Walker, _Decapolis_ was sold to the Italians and renamed _Nostra Madre_. Her name is on the Sailing Ship Roll of Honour, as she was torpedoed in the Mediterranean during the war.

_Barossa_, a fine little full-rigged ship, ran for many years as a passenger ship to Adelaide. She eventually turned turtle in dock and was sold to be broken up.

The Loss of “Lanoma.”

_Lanoma_ was lost in March, 1888, on what promised to be her best passage home. She was coming up Channel, only 76 days out, in thick, blowing south-westerly weather, under a very experienced commander, Captain G. Whittingham.

_Berean_ was also coming up Channel, it was the time when she had the narrow squeak of piling up on the Wight owing to the wrong notice about St. Catherine’s light.

In the case of _Lanoma_, Captain Whittingham had had no observations for several days, and so an extra smart look-out was being kept. Just before midnight it must have cleared a bit for the land suddenly loomed up close to on the starboard bow. The helm was at once put down and the ship brought to the wind, and Captain Whittingham tried to stay her. Unfortunately she missed stays and fell off again, there was no time to wear her, and she stranded broadside on to Chesil Beach, inside the Bill of Portland.

Like many another catastrophe of the same sort, the ship and her crew were hurtled from fancied security to destruction in a few minutes of time. And even so, the crew would probably have all been saved, if she had not fallen over to seaward, so that she at once began to break up in the heavy surf. The rocket apparatus was manned from the shore, but it was only in time to save a few, and Captain Whittingham and 11 of his crew were drowned.

Trinder, Anderson’s ships were all well known in the London River at one time, specially the little _Mineru_, a 478-ton barque, built by Stephen, of Glasgow, in 1866. Fremantle, the Ashburton River and Sharks Bay were her wool ports.

_Morialta_ was an iron ship of 1267 tons, built in 1866 by Royden, of Liverpool, for Beazley, her first name being _British Consul_. _Barunga_ was the old _Apelles_ built in 1863, whilst _Kooringa_, a 1175-ton barque, built at South Shields in 1874, had been the _Ravenstondale_.

Messrs. Trinder, Anderson bought several other well-known ships in their time, notably the _Kingdom of Saxony_, a 538-ton wooden barque, ex-_Deerhound_. Anderson’s _Darra_, and Thompson’s _Ascalon_ also ended their days under the Red Ensign with Trinder, Anderson.

It is a curious coincidence, but in looking through the list of their ships I cannot find two by the same builder, though I find the following all represented: Dudgeon, of London; Moore, of Sunderland; Denton & Gray, of Hartlepool; Scott, of Greenock; Hall, of Aberdeen; Stephen, of Glasgow; Royden, of Liverpool; Hood, of Aberdeen; Softley, of South Shields; and R. Thompson, Jun., of Sunderland.

At the beginning of the twentieth century, just before going into steam, Trinder, Anderson & Co. bought the fine ships _Wasdale_ and _Hornby Castle_, but the century was not ten years old before steamers only were flying the blue with yellow cross and black swan, as the house-flag of the combined firm of Trinder, Anderson and Bethell, Gwyn.

Occasional Visitors in Australian Waters.

Though this part has run to greater length than I had at first intended, nevertheless I fear that many of my readers will complain because old favourites have not been mentioned.

I have tried not to leave out any regular Colonial trader, and space only admits of the bare mention of many beautiful and fast ships which occasionally visited Sydney, Melbourne or Adelaide in the course of their general round.

Of these perhaps the finest were:—Carmichael’s _Golden Fleece_, one of the handsomest ships ever launched, with a run from London to Sydney of 72 days to her credit.

Williamson & Milligan’s _Cedric the Saxon_, whose 72-day run from Liverpool to Calcutta is the iron ship record. This magnificent clipper once went from Calcutta to the Adelaide Semaphore in 28 days during the S.W. monsoon.

D. Bruce’s Dundee clippers _Maulesden_ and _Duntrune_; the first famous for her wonderful passage of 69 days from Glasgow to Maryborough, Queensland, in 1882.

The beautiful Belfast ship _Star of Italy_, one of Corry’s Irish “Stars,” which in 1884-5 went out to Sydney in 78 days and came home in 79.

Beazley’s _British Merchant_, which in 1881 arrived in Melbourne, 78 days out.

The _Sierra Blanca_, one of those yacht-like white “Sierras,” which in 1883-4 went out to Sydney in 77 days.

Carmichael’s _Argus_ and _Argo_, the former with a 76-day run to Melbourne and the latter with a 78-day run to Sydney.

Cuthbert’s _Ballochmyle_, Skinner’s _Brodick Castle_, Beazley’s _John o’ Gaunt_, Patton’s _Hesperides_, Alexander’s _Glengarry_, Bowring’s _Othello_ and _Desdemona_, and my old ship the _Commonwealth_.

Then coming to the later days of the four-poster, there were McMillan’s _Swanhilda_, which in 1894 made the wonderful run of 66 days from Wallaroo to Queenstown; Mahon’s _Oweenee_, which as late as 1913 made the run from Dublin to Newcastle, N.S.W., in 73 days; Troop’s _Howard D. Troop_, which in 1906 brought 3500 tons of wheat from Sydney to Falmouth in 82 days; that extraordinary four-mast ship, the _Lancing_, which in 1908 ran from Christiania to Melbourne in 75 days; Mackay’s _Wendur_, the rival of _Loch Torridon_; the beautiful skysail yarder _Queen Margaret_; Carmichael’s _Glaucus_; and the _Lord Brassey_, which went missing on her first voyage, after having made a fine outward passage of 77 days to Melbourne in 1892.

Footnote.

[C] This passage of _Cutty Sark_ has been wrongly given in my _China Clippers_. She left London for the second time on 2nd December, not the 12th, as there stated. The mistake was made in the shipping reports of the day and never corrected, and I have only lately been able to prove it.

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The Colonial ClippersChapter XX: Part III: “the Iron Clippers.” (6)

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