She had a long floor with sharp ends, and, whilst fitted with every convenience for passengers, she carried a very large cargo on a very small draught.
The Murray was considered a fast ship, her best day’s run being 325 miles, but I can best show her capabilities as to speed by recalling a race which she sailed with the well-known Blackwall frigate Hotspur.
The two ships, as was usual with passengers on board, had called in at Capetown; and they left Table Bay together. Then with stunsails set alow and aloft they were 11 days in company running down to St. Helena. In 26° N. they again met and were six days in company, finally they made the Channel within a day of each other, the Hotspur leading.
Regarding this race, the late Captain Whall, who was on board the Hotspur, says of the run to St. Helena: “The wind was steady, and the two ships seemed so nearly matched that for hours together our bearings did not alter.”
Under the well-known Captain Legoe, the Murray made the following fine passages out from Plymouth:—
- 1861 Left Plymouth, July 26, arrived Adelaide Oct. 16—82 days out.
- 1862 Left Plymouth, July 13, arrived Adelaide Sept. 30—79 days out.
- 1863 Left Plymouth, July 15, arrived Adelaide Sept. 26—73 days out.
- (68 days to the Borda).
- 1864 Left Plymouth, Aug. 5, arrived Adelaide Oct. 21—77 days out.
The Orient Composite Clippers.
It was during the sixties that the Orient Line came to be known in Australia for the remarkable speed of its beautiful little composite clippers, consisting of:—
| Date Built | Ship | Tonnage | Builders. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1863 | Coonatto | 633 | Bilbe, of London |
| 1864 | Goolwa | 717 | Hall, of Aberdeen |
| 1864 | Borealis | 920 | Bilbe, of London |
| 1865 | Darra | 999 | Hall, of Aberdeen |
| 1865 | Yatala | 1127 | Bilbe, of London |
| 1866 | Argonaut | 1073 | „ „ |
The Coonatto’s measurements were—Length 160 ft. 2 in.; beam 29 ft.; depth 18 ft. 7 in. She was an out and out clipper with very fine lines, but like most of Bilbe’s ships—very wet. However this may in part be put down to the hard-driving of her skipper, Begg, a Highlander, who never spared her and made some very smart passages out and home. Her best run to the Semaphore Lightship was 66 days, and she once did a 70-day passage out after broaching to off St. Paul’s Island and losing both helmsmen and the wheel itself overboard. This famous little ship stranded on Beachy Head in 1876.