with the steamship Oneida homeward bound, and the Illustrated London News, again mentioning the James Baines, said: “When met by the Oneida, on the 17th of August, on her way to Calcutta with troops, she presented a most magnificent appearance, having in addition to her ordinary canvas, studdingsails, skysails, and moonsail, set and drawing, in all thirty-four sails, a perfect cloud of canvas: the troops all well, and cheering lustily as the vessels passed each other. The sister ship, the Champion of the Seas, was not far astern, both vessels making great headway.�
These two ships arrived off the mouth of the Hooghly together, each 101 days from Portsmouth, and the finish of this race was talked about by the Calcutta pilots for a good many years: how these splendid clippers raced in from sea almost side by side, with a fresh three-skysail, scupper breeze, the regimental bands on board of both ships playing national airs, while the soldiers were cheering and wild with the joy and excitement of seeing land once more.
The Lightning sailed at a more favorable season, and made the passage from Portsmouth to the Hooghly in 87 days, beating the entire fleet of sailing transports, including those fitted with auxiliary screw propellers.
Of the large number of ships bought or chartered in the United States for the Australian trade by British ship-owners at this period, those mentioned, with the Red Rover, Comet, Tornado, Sierra Nevada, and Invincible, each with a record of less than 75 days from Liverpool or London to Melbourne, the Belle of the Sea, 64 days from London to Melbourne, and North Wind, 67 days from London to Sydney, N. S. W., were the most celebrated.
There were also many American ships that made the voyage from New York to Melbourne, and among the fast passages may be mentioned those of: the Mandarin, in 71 days; Flying Scud and Nightingale, 75 days; Whirlwind, 80 days; Flying Dutchman and Panama, 81 days; Snow Squall, 79 days, and Ringleader, 78 days. Most if not all these ships loaded in R. W. Cameron’s line, and it is worth noting that, of all the great shipping firms that flourished in New York half a century ago, this is the only one which now survives.
It was only natural that ship-owners of Great Britain should feel keenly the invasion of their trade by the American clippers, and in 1855, James Baines & Co. placed an order with Alexander Hall & Co., of Aberdeen, then the leading clipper ship-builders in Great Britain, for a large clipper ship for the Australian trade, to “outdo the Americans.� This vessel was the Schomberg, 2600 tons; length 262 feet, breadth 45 feet, depth 29 feet. She was very sharp forward and had a long, clean run, with considerable dead-rise at her midship section. She was built of wood and heavily sparred, with single topsail yards and three skysails.
When this ship came around from Aberdeen to load at Liverpool for Melbourne, she was greatly admired and it was generally believed that she would prove faster than her American rivals, especially as Captain Forbes, late of the Marco Polo and Lightning, had been appointed to command her. She sailed from Liverpool on October 6, 1855. Captain Forbes was a proud man that day, for the pierheads of the port were thronged with a patriotic, cheering crowd to see the Schomberg off, and as she towed down the Mersey, the signals reading, “Sixty days to Melbourne,� fluttered gayly from her mizen truck.
She had moderate winds to the equator, which she crossed 28 days from the Mersey, and then drifted into calms and light airs which continued for ten days and from which she did not possess the nimble speed to extricate herself. Her best day’s work, while running her easting down, was 368 miles. When 81 days out she was wrecked and became a total loss on an uncharted reef about 150 miles to the westward of Melbourne, the passengers, crew, and mails being saved. This was by no means a record passage, and it is to be regretted that her career was so short, as it would be interesting to know what she might have done under more favorable conditions. She certainly possessed the qualities of a fast ship, and was ably commanded.
There were also many fine ships of English build sailing out of London in the Australian trade; the Norfolk and Lincolnshire, built and owned by Money, Wigram & Sons; the Kent, Trafalgar, and Renown, built and owned by R. & H. Green; and many others. These ships were built of teak, oak, and elm; were copper-fastened and sheathed with red copper. They resembled smart frigates more than merchantmen, and were about the perfection of that type—splendid ships to be at sea in, though not so fast as the sharper American clippers. None of these vessels was over 1500 tons, and it was thought by shipping men in London and Liverpool that much of the speed of the American ships was due to their greater tonnage. There may have been some truth in this, but it should be remembered that with these large wooden vessels an increase in size made the difficulties in building greater, as well as in getting their wooden masts to stand with hemp rigging, to say nothing of handling their enormous single topsails in heavy weather.
Meanwhile attempts were being made by various companies to introduce steam in place of the clipper ships that had carried the passengers, mails, and specie after the discovery of gold in Australia, but these efforts were beset with many difficulties and heavy financial losses.