APPENDIX No. 26. Vol., p. 554.
Average Time of Passages of the Four Mail Packets between Kingstown and Holyhead (Distance 56 Knots, or 65½ Statute Miles), for 14 Years, ending 30th September, 1874.
| Ulster. | Munster. | Leinster. | Connaught. | Four Packets. | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trips | Time | Trips | Time | Trips | Time | Trips | Time | Trips | Time | |
| H. M. | H. M. | H. M. | H. M. | H. M. | ||||||
| Winter Half Years | 2631 | 4 1·6 | 2240 | 3 59·1 | 2387 | 3 57·6 | 2939 | 3 56·0 | 10,197 | 3 58·5 |
| Summer Half Years | 2379 | 3 56·0 | 2667 | 3 52·8 | 2719 | 3 53·0 | 2478 | 3 52·2 | 10,243 | 3 53·7 |
| Whole Years | 5010 | 3 58·9 | 4907 | 3 55·6 | 5106 | 3 55·1 | 5417 | 3 54·3 | 20,440 | 3 56·1 |
Note.—When two of the vessels, the Leinster and the Ulster, were completed and ready for duty, it was thought advisable to make a trial with them, by way of practice, in the performance of the old contract. Each performed the distance between the lighthouse on Kingston Pier to the lighthouse at Holyhead, upwards of 65½ statute miles, in nearly the same time on the average, namely, the Leinster, in three hours and thirty-one minutes, and the Ulster in three hours and thirty-two minutes, being respectively thirteen and twelve minutes less than the shortest monthly average of the Banshee in 1848-49, and twenty and nineteen minutes less than the Llewellyn, when the distance between the lights was one mile less than in 1860—the Holyhead breakwater not having been then in existence. The gain in speed realized by the new vessels was therefore at the rate of from 1·2 to 1·7 mile per hour.
The shortest passage of the Leinster was made in three hours and twenty minutes; that of the Ulster in three hours and eighteen minutes, and of the Munster in three hours and twenty-six minutes. But the average performance of the vessels for the first two years and five months during which they had been on service was still closer. Inclusive of all passages made in fogs, gales, &c.,
| H. M. | ||
| The Connaught made | 1,064 | passages in the average time of 3 51·5 |
| The Leinster made | 919 | passages in the average time of 3 52·5 |
| The Ulster made | 925 | passages in the average time of 3 55 |
| And the Munster made | 920 | passages in the average time of 3 58·1 |
So close a performance by four vessels, not identical and not all from the same builders and engineers, could scarcely have been anticipated. The longest passage made in the severest gales had to that time not exceeded five hours and forty minutes, and one vessel only had been that length of time on but two occasions.
Nearly 4000 passages have been already made without collision, except on one occasion, which happily was not attended with very serious consequences. Experienced naval officers anticipated frequent and serious disasters, but the rate of speed, 16 miles an hour, though high for night-work, does not appear to have been too high for safety. The sense of greater responsibility, and the larger number of men engaged in the navigation and management of the vessels, must naturally induce additional precaution, as well as afford the means of guarding against danger. The facility with which these large vessels are handled and brought alongside the jetties is remarkable. The practised skill of the officers, and the quickness with which the engines are managed, frequently succeed in getting the vessels alongside, in making them fast, establishing the means of communication with the shore, and in landing the mails, in three or four minutes.
The consumption of coal in the first few months was considerably in excess of the quantity originally estimated. Steam of from 25 lbs. to 28 lbs. pressure was then used, which not only required much extra coal, but severely taxed the durability of the boilers. Arrangements were therefore made to reduce the consumption to the amount stated in the estimates submitted to Government, on which the contract was founded. The result has been satisfactory, while the additional time occupied on the passages is but a few minutes, and they are still made on the average within the time allocated to the sea service by the proposal of Government.