On October 30 we commenced our long and lonely voyage of 12,330 miles across the Pacific. We touched at Bow Island in the Low Archipelago, Maitea and Tahiti in the Society Islands, and Hawaii and Oahu in the Sandwich group. On January 21 we sighted Assumption in the Ladrones, and on the 29th arrived at Yokohama. While in Japan we were present at the opening of the railway from Osaka to Kioto by the Mikado, and subsequently cruised in the Inland Sea in severe winterly weather. At Simonoseki we found the people much agitated by the recent outbreak of the Satsuma clan. On February 19 we bade a reluctant farewell to Japan, and following the most direct route to England, visited in succession Hongkong, Canton, Macao, Singapore, Johore, Malacca, Penang, Galle, Colombo, Aden, Alexandria, Malta, Gibraltar, and Lisbon.
Having given the principal dates, the story of the voyage will be most rapidly completed by entering our successive passages in a tabular statement:
| Miles | |||
| Steam | Sail | Total | |
| Thames and English Channel | 193 | 205 | 398 |
| Torbay to Madeira | 353 | 874 | 1,227 |
| Madeira to Orotava (Teneriffe) | 164 | 72 | 236 |
| Orotava to Tarafal Bay (San Antonio, Cape Verde) | 35 | 886 | 921 |
| Tarafal Bay to Rio Janeiro | 689 | 2,647 | 3,336 |
| Rio to Monte Video and Buenos Ayres | 509 | 712 | 1,221 |
| Buenos Ayres to Possession Bay (Straits of Magellan) | 816 | 524 | 1,340 |
| In Straits of Magellan and Smyth's Channel | 565 | — | 565 |
| To Lota and Valparaiso | 634 | 500 | 1,134 |
| Valparaiso to Yokohama, calling at Hao in the Paumotu Group, Maitea and Tahiti in the Society Islands, and Hawaii and Oahu in the Sandwich Group | 2,108 | 10,225 | 12,333 |
| Yokohama to Kobe and Simonoseki, through the Inland Sea | 653 | — | 653 |
| Simonoseki to Hongkong | 395 | 1,015 | 1,410 |
| Hongkong to Singapore | 312 | 1,251 | 1,563 |
| Singapore to Point de Galle, calling at the Straits Settlements | 1,668 | — | 1,668 |
| Galle to Colombo and Aden | 2,202 | — | 2,202 |
| Aden to Suez | 807 | 551 | 1,358 |
| Suez to Alexandria | 436 | — | 436 |
| Alexandria to Cowes, touching at Malta, Gibraltar, and Lisbon | 2,440 | 934 | 3,374 |
| Total | 14,979 | 20,396 | 35,375 |
Having sketched the voyage in outline, the following details may not be devoid of interest to readers with nautical tastes.
Every yachtsman should be a lover of sailing. In the cruise of the 'Sunbeam,' although expedition was an essential consideration, steam has been used almost exclusively in calms or in narrow waters, or when, as it has often happened, we have sailed at sunset after a hard day's work on board, intending to make an offing during the night and set sails in the morning.
Of the total distance of 15,000 knots under steam, 12,000 were traversed under those special circumstances which seem to justify even a yachtsman in availing himself of the unromantic but invaluable engine.
The best run under steam alone was 230 knots, and the most successful continuous performance was on the passage from Penang to Galle, in the week ending April 15, when the 'Sunbeam' steamed 1,451 knots, with a daily consumption of 4-¼ tons of coal.
The best runs under sail from noon to noon were 298 and 299 knots respectively. The first was on the passage from Honolulu to Yokohama, sailing along the 16th parallel of north latitude, and between 163 deg. and 168 deg. 15 min. east. The second was in the Formosa Channel.
The highest speed ever attained under sail was 15 knots in a squall in the North Pacific.
On 28 days the distance under sail alone has exceeded, and often considerably exceeded, 200 knots.