“Loch Torridon’s” Voyages, 1892-1908.

Notwithstanding her fine wool passage in 1892, Loch Torridon could not find a cargo in London and was obliged to leave the Thames in ballast. With only 350 tons of flints and a quantity of “London rubbish” as stiffening, she sailed in magnificent style.

She left Gravesend on 30th July, 1892—was off Start Point, 31st July—crossed the equator, 19th August, 20 days out—lost S.E. trades in 22° S., 29th August—crossed the Cape meridian, 14th September, 46 days out—made Moonlight Island, 7th October, 69 days out.

Loch Torridon’s best week’s work was 2119 knots; she ran down her easting in 43° S. and made the following consecutive runs in the 24 hours—303, 290, 288, 272, 285, 270, 327 and 341 miles.

Her passage worked out at 69 days pilot to pilot, 73 days port to port. This would have been still better if she had not had to battle against a “dead muzzler” for the last week of the passage. She cleared for London on 30th November, 1892, and after her encounter with the ice arrived in the Thames 96 days out.

Again she left London in ballast. This time she was sent up to Frederickstadt, where she loaded 940 pieces of timber and 400 tons of pig iron for Melbourne. Again she made a fine run out.

She sailed on 14th June, 1893, from Frederickstadt. Had strong head winds in the North Sea:—

Passed Dover, 20th June—passed Ushant 24th June—passed Cape Finisterre, 29th June—crossed the line, 23rd July—crossed Cape meridian in 42° S., 17th August.

In lat. 46° S., long. 86° E., Loch Torridon was caught in an unusually heavy gale with a tremendous cross sea, the barometer touching 28.83°. However, she came through it without damage, Captain Pattman using oil with good effect. Loch Torridon passed through Port Phillip Heads at 11.30 p.m. on 9th September, 87 days from Frederickstadt and 77 days from Ushant. At the time this was a record passage from Norway to Melbourne.

Loch Torridon cleared for London on 20th November, 1893, with a cargo consisting of 8498 bales of wool, 329 bales of sheepskins, 1250 old rails, 2 casks arsenic, 657 packages of tallow, 11 packages of books, 2000 bags of wheat, 11 bales of fur skins, 12 bales of hair, 1942 bags of peas, 118 hides, 351 pigs, horns, etc., 100 bales of scrolls. She dropped her pilot on the 30th and reached London on 6th March, 96 days out.

In 1894 she loaded coke and railway iron at Barry for Port Pirie and made the run out in 72 days, her best week’s work being 1914 miles and her best 24 hours 327 miles.

She left Barry at 6 p.m. on 18th May—crossed the equator, 23 days out—crossed the Cape meridian on 30th June—crossed the meridian of Cape Leeuwin on 20th July—sighted Cape Borda 10 p.m., 27th July—passed Wedge Island at 1 a.m., 28th July, in a strong westerly gale and anchored at 1 p.m. on 30th July.

From Port Pirie she went up to Melbourne and loaded another cargo of wool, wheat and hides; and leaving Melbourne on 20th December arrived in the Thames on 21st March, 1895.

In 1895, owing to the falling off in the export trade to Victoria, which sailing ships were, of course, the first to feel, Loch Torridon was compelled to accept a charter for Cape Town. Leaving London 6th July, she reached Table Bay on 30th August, 55 days out. Here she was visited and greatly admired by Lord Brassey. From Africa she went to Australia, but owing to the severe drought, like many another clipper that year, she failed to get a wool cargo and so was compelled to go across to the coast of South America for a homeward freight. It was on this occasion that she had the famous race to Valparaiso with the well-known four-mast ship Wendur. The vessels left Newcastle, N.S.W., in company on 1st January, 1896, and though neither sighted the other during the passage, they made a magnificent race of it. Wendur picked up her pilot off Cape Coronilla at 6 p.m. on 29th January, and reached the anchorage at 8 p.m., after a record passage of 29 days.

Loch Torridon was held up by fog and calm at the entrance to the Bay and did not arrive until six hours later. The previous best passage was 32 days, which had been made two years before. Many bets had been made on this race, as both ships were noted in the Colonies for their sailing qualities. Wendur, indeed, was one of the finest ships in the British Mercantile Marine, and under Captain Frank Whiston had made many a splendid passage and, curiously enough, had once before shown Loch Torridon the road by running from Frederickstadt to Melbourne in 81 days, before which Loch Torridon’s run had been considered the record.

“LOCH TORRIDON.”

Photo lent by late Captain Pattman.

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In the run to Valparaiso Wendur’s best day’s work was 330 miles with a moderate N.W. wind and heavy southerly swell in 54° S., 128° W. The next day she ran 310 miles, and three days later 320 miles, the wind strong at N.W. with heavy sea; her log remarks that she lost her boats, pigstye, goats, etc., on this day, so Captain Whiston was driving her.

Loch Torridon loaded at Tocopilla for Hamburg, and was 93 days coming home, a poor passage, her bottom was probably foul. On 6th July her decks were badly swept off the Horn and she had a big repair bill when she arrived in Glasgow from Hamburg.

In 1896-7 she went out to Adelaide from Glasgow in 71 days and then crossed from Newcastle, N.S.W., to Frisco in 46 days. She left Newcastle on 15th April in company with the four-mast ship Thistle and the Norwegian ship Hiawatha. Both these vessels were dropped hull down to leeward on the first day out. Going through the Islands continuous bad weather was met with; Captain Pattman never had his yards off the backstays until 35° N. and had difficulty in weathering Fiji; nevertheless on 31st May Loch Torridon came flying through the Golden Gate in front of a N.Wly. gale, and anchored in the Bay at 10 p.m.

Hiawatha took 62 days, Thistle 79 days, and two other ships, the American barque Topgallant 100 days and the Cressington 106 days. Besides beating these, Loch Torridon passed no less than ten vessels which had sailed from Newcastle before her. Loading grain at Port Costa, Loch Torridon sailed on 23rd July, and arrived at Falmouth on 13th November, 1897, 113 days out. Captain Pattman stated that owing to the foulness of her bottom his ship was not sailing her best and he was disappointed with his passage.

Other passages home from Frisco that year were:—

Musselcrag	arrived Queenstown	110	days out.
Lord Templeton	arrived Queenstown	111	days out.
Sierra Cadena	arrived Queenstown	114	days out.
Andelana	arrived Queenstown	114	days out.
Dominion	arrived Queenstown	117	days out.
Gifford	arrived Liverpool	118	days out.
Crown of Denmark	arrived Queenstown	128	days out.
Caradoc	arrived Queenstown	134	days out.

All these vessels sailed about July and were considered crack ships.

In 1898 Loch Torridon went out to Adelaide in 79 days. Whilst running her easting down she was swept by a heavy sea, one man being lost overboard, the half-deck burst in like a pack of cards, the donkeyhouse stove, and three of the boats flattened out and left like skeletons in the chocks, whilst their davits were snapped off close to the deck. She came home from Melbourne to London in 90 days.

In 1898-9 she made the splendid run of 72 days 15 hours to Sydney.

She left London 5 a.m., 10th November, 1898—on 11th November she ran 300 miles in the 24 hours—on 12th November she ran 315 miles in the 24 hours—crossed the line in 28° W., 22 days out—ran her easting down in 45° S., best 24 hours 320 miles and was 23 days from the Cape Meridian to Tasmania.

Loch Torridon had between 4000 and 5000 tons of heavy general cargo in her hold and was very deep. Between 1875-1887 the clippers loaded nothing like such a heavy general cargo outwards, and yet this performance of Loch Torridon’s is equal to any of that day.

She arrived in Port Jackson on 31st January, 1899. This year for a change she came home from Lyttelton, N.Z., in 86 days.

The next three years she did nothing remarkable.

1899	London to Adelaide	85	days.
	Melbourne to London	105	„
1900	London to Adelaide	88	„
	Melbourne to London	88	„
1901	London to Adelaide	86	„
	Adelaide to London	112	„

In 1902 she went out to Adelaide in 79 days, then loaded coals at Newcastle, N.S.W., for Frisco. Again she made a remarkable run across the Pacific.

She left Newcastle on 27th April—crossed the line on 17th May in 169° 42′ W.—arrived at Frisco on 11th June, 45 days out.

At San Francisco Captain Pattman loaded wheat for Liverpool. But when he was ready to sail he found himself 10 men short, so applied to the usual sources. And here is a good instance of the methods of Frisco boarding-house masters at that date. He was informed that each man would cost him $30 blood money, $25 advance, $5 shipping fee, $1 boat hire—total $61 per man. This was more than a resolute man like Captain Pattman could put up with, especially with wheat freights to U.K. at 11s. 3d. Though the boarding-house masters were a law unto themselves in San Francisco and boasted of their power, he determined to brave them and after some trouble managed to get men at $31 inclusive per man. His success broke the ring for a time, and they were soon offering men at $21 a head, less $2.50 commission of the captains. No doubt many a present day officer will remember the episode, which caused quite a stir in windjammer circles at Frisco, and even produced a long poem in one of the leading papers. This poem was entitled “The Lay of the Loch Torridon,” and the patriotic Frisco newspaper man takes care that the British captain is bested in his efforts. The Loch Torridon sailed on 8th November, in company with the four-mast barque Crocodile. Loch Torridon arrived Liverpool on 14th March, 1904, and the Crocodile on 31st March, over two weeks behind.

From 1904 to 1909, when Captain Pattman resigned his command, Loch Torridon was kept on the Australian run, her passages being:—

1904	Glasgow to Sydney	77	days.
	Sydney to London	97	„
1905	London to Adelaide	85	„
	Melbourne to London	106	„
1906	London to Adelaide	83	„
	Melbourne to London	117	„
1907	London to Adelaide	83	„
	Melbourne to London	86	„
1908	London to Adelaide	94	„
	Melbourne to London	87	„

On her arrival home in 1908, Captain Pattman reluctantly decided to give up his command and go into steam, his reason that vexed one, the lack of real sailormen to man her. Besides which, owing to the unwillingness of good men to remain in sail, he had to put up with an aged “has been” as mate and an apprentice just out of his time for second mate.

In 1912 Loch Torridon was sold to the Russians. About the same time Captain Pattman had his leg broken by a sea whilst on the bridge of his new command. He was landed at Falmouth and died there in hospital.

“PORT JACKSON.”

Photo by Captain Schutze, Sydney.

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“PORT JACKSON,” in the Thames.

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The old Loch Torridon survived until 1915, when she foundered near the entrance to the Channel in the last days of January, and it is possible that a German submarine caused her end. Her Russian crew were rescued by the British steamer Orduna, and the Liverpool Shipwreck and Humane Society awarded medals and certificates of thanks to Captain Taylor of the Orduna and her chief and second officers.