1854—The Year of the Big Ships.

The result of Sovereign of the Seas’ visit to Liverpool and that of her builder and designer Donald Mackay was a further order to America and Nova Scotia for still bigger ships.

In fact, Donald Mackay returned to Boston with James Baines’ commission to build the famous quartette, Lightning, Champion of the Seas, James Baines and Donald Mackay, which were shortly to astonish the world. Against these the White Star Line put forward the equally big White Star and Red Jacket, two vessels which both in strength, beauty and speed were worthy to be ranked on equal terms with the great Black Ballers.

Only two wooden ships were ever launched in England which could compare in size with these six giants. One of these was the ill-fated Schomberg and the other the beautiful Sobraon, which, however, had iron frames and was not launched until the palmy days of the gold rush were over. Both came from the famous yard of Hall, of Aberdeen. Schomberg was, of course, wrecked on her maiden passage, but Sobraon, though never as hard sailed as the great Black Ball and White Star ships, made equally good passages, and being built of the finest Malabar teak retained her speed right up to the end of her long and successful career.

In comparing the measurements of the American built, Nova Scotian built and Aberdeen built ships the most noticeable point is the greater beam of the Nova Scotians and the greater length of the British.

This is well shown by the following table:—

American Built	Lightning	5.54 beams to length.
	Red Jacket	5.54 beams to length.
	Champion of the Seas	5.55 beams to length.
	James Baines	5.70 beams to length.
	Donald Mackay	5.72 beams to length.

British Built	Schomberg	5.82 beams to length.
British Built	Sobraon	6.80 beams to length.

Nova Scotian Built	Marco Polo	4.86 beams to length.
Nova Scotian Built	White Star	4.84 beams to length.

Carrying On.

Perhaps no ships ever sailed the seas which held on to their canvas longer than these great Black Ball and White Star clippers; and yet the carrying away of spars and sails, which was so common an occurrence with the earlier American clippers and also with the early British iron clippers, was quite rare on these big emigrant ships.

There is no difficulty, however, in finding reasons for their freedom from dismasting and heavy casualties aloft, their designers and builders had learnt something by the dismastings and constant losses of spars which overtook their earlier ships, and thus no ships were more scientifically stayed than these big ships, at the same time in their outfit we find hemp rigging and wooden spars in their highest state of efficiency. Strength of gear had for some time been one of the chief problems that a clipper ship builder had to contend with, and in the rigging of these six famous ships we see this problem finally mastered.

Topsails, topgallant sails and even royals were diagonally roped from clew to earing. The rope used for standing rigging was the very best procurable and of immense thickness; for instance, Lightning’s lower rigging, fore and main stays and backstays were of 11½ inch Russian hemp; whilst in regard to spars, here are the diameters in inches of some of James Baines’ masts and yards:—

Mainmast	42 inches in diameter.
Main topmast	21 inches in diameter.
Main topgallant mast	16 inches in diameter.
Main royal mast	14 inches in diameter.
Mainyard	26 inches in diameter.
Main topsail yard	21 inches in diameter.
Main skysail yard	8 inches in diameter.

Advantages of a Light Load Line and High Side.

But added to their greater strength aloft these great clippers had another advantage over their older sisters in the Californian trade.

They sailed on a lighter load line and showed a higher side. Four or five hundred emigrants made them dry and buoyant instead of wet and hard mouthed. Besides being very easy in a sea-way, these big emigrant clippers were extraordinarily steady ships without any tendency to heavy quick rolling. This is easily proved from their logs, for one constantly reads that their passengers were able to enjoy dancing on the poop when the ships were running 15 and 16 knots before the strong gales and big seas of easting weather.

Speaking at a dinner given in Melbourne in honour of Captain Enright, Mr. Alexander Young, a veteran voyager to and from the Antipodes, who had just travelled out in the Lightning, remarked:—“I have much pleasure in adding my slight testimony to her well-earned fame by stating that she is the driest and easiest ship I have ever sailed in. I assure you, ladies and gentlemen, that we scarcely shipped a bucketful of water all the passage, and when going 16 knots an hour there was scarcely any more motion than we feel at the present moment.”

And here are other proofs of the Lightning’s steadiness taken from the Lightning Gazette, a newspaper published on board:—

9th February, 1855.—14 knots upon a bowline with the yards braced sharp up and while going at this extraordinary rate she is as dry as possible, seldom shipping a spoonful of water. During the greater part of the day the carpenter was employed on a stage below the fore chains, where he worked as easily as if it had been calm.

18th March, 1857.—The wind increases a little towards evening and we make 15 to 17 knots an hour, yet the ship is so steady that we danced on the poop with the greatest ease (Lat. 42° 34′ S., Long. 17° 04′ W.)

21st February, 1855.—During this time the ship was going 16 knots an hour and in the saloon the motion was so slight that we thought she had only a light breeze.

Examples of Carrying Sail.

Two or three quotations also from the log books and shipboard newspapers may be of interest to show the power of these ships to carry sail in heavy weather and strong winds.

Here are two days from the log of the James Baines when running her easting down in 1856:—

16th June.—Lat. 43° 39′ S., Long. 101° E.; Bar. 29.80°. Wind, S.W. to W.S.W. Commences with fresh breezes and squalls of sleet, 8 a.m., more moderate. Noon, sighted a ship ahead; at 1 p.m. was alongside of her and at 2 p.m. she was out of sight astern. James Baines was going 17 knots with main skysail set, the Libertas, for such was her name, was under double-reefed topsails.

18th June.—Lat. 42° 47′ S., Long. 115° 54′ E. Bar. 29.20°. Wind, W. to S.W. First part breeze freshening. At 6 p.m. wind S.W. and freshening. At 8.30 p.m. in all starboard studding sails; ship going 21 knots with main skysail set. Midnight, fresh gale and fine clear night. 8 a.m., wind and weather the same. Noon, less wind attended with snow squalls. Distance 420 miles.

Then in the Lightning Gazette I find the following entries:—

15th January, 1855.—Lat. 39° 42′ N., Long. 19° 25′ E. Wind. S.S.E., strong breezes and cloudy, with occasional squalls and showers; the ship going 13 knots close-hauled. In the morning we passed a ship outward bound with topgallant sails in and exchanged colours with a Swedish brig homeward bound—this vessel was under close-reefed topsails, while we were carrying three royals and main skysail.

26th February, 1855.—Lat. 45° 48′ S.; Long., 16° 55′ E. Wind, N.N.W., course, S.E. Another wet uncomfortable day; thick mist and small rain. The barometer had been falling for a day or two back and went down half an inch last night. The change took place at 4 p.m., when the wind suddenly shifted to the west and soon afterwards to S.W., from whence it blew hard with squalls and occasional showers of hail and snow. At 8 p.m. it backed again to west, where it remained all night, blowing a fresh gale, the ship running 16 and occasionally 18 knots per hour with main skysail and topgallant studding sails set.

27th February, 1855.—Lat. 46° 22′ S., Long. 26° 15′ E. Wind, west, course S.E. All last night it blew a fresh gale with heavy squalls and occasional showers of hail and snow, the sea running high. From noon yesterday till noon to-day, we ran down 9 degrees and 20 miles of longitude and 34 miles of latitude, making 390 geographical miles or 450 English miles direct course in the 24 hours, giving an average of 16¼ knots or 18¾ statute miles per hour. During 6 hours in the morning the ship logged 18 knots per hour with royals, main skysail and topgallant studding sails set, the wind blowing a fresh gale from the westward.

21st October, 1855.—Lat. 36° 4′ S., Long. 24° 52′ W. During the afternoon the wind chopped round and blew strongly from the S.W. At 5 p.m. sighted a large ship on our weather quarter, sailing under double-reefed topsails and we apprehend they must have taken us for the Flying Dutchman seen occasionally in these latitudes, for notwithstanding the strong breeze we could be observed carrying our skysails with studding sails ‘low and aloft.’

14th March, 1857.—Lat. 34° 47′ S., Long. 35° 06′ W. The breeze a splendid one. A barque on the port beam about 3, homeward bound. The wind was as fair for her as wind could be, yet she had no royals set. We formed a striking contrast to her, for we—on a wind—had all sail set up to main skysail.

20th March, 1857.—Lat. 43° S., Long. 0° 55′ E. We have made during the last 47 hours the greatest run that perhaps ship ever made, yet all the time we have carried our main skysail and all sorts and conditions of studding sails.