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.

“MOUNT STEWART.”

Photo by Captain Schutze, Sydney.

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“CROMDALE.”

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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 Sark	(1887 and 1892)	To	88	76	77	75	79	88	81	79
	Brisbane 1894	Shang- hai	Dis- masted
	Rest to Sydney	Shang- hai	Dis- 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 Plimsoll	Sydney 1886 & 1887 Rest to Melbourne		93	76	81	84	78	87	79	79