Captain Belding was retained to sail the Thomas Stephens to the Tagus under her new flag. He had a Portuguese crew, and the passage was not without incident, for a fire broke out on board and it was chiefly owing to Captain Belding’s personal bravery that it was extinguished. Indeed so pleased were the Portuguese with his behaviour that they presented him with a service of plate and a Portuguese Order, at the same time asking him to continue in command. For many years after this the Thomas Stephens served as a naval training ship in the Tagus in conjunction with the Thermopylae. She survived the famous tea clipper, however, and many a British naval officer has probably been aboard the famous old ship without realising that, disguised under the name of Pero d’Alemguer, floated one of the crack Australian passenger ships of the seventies.
The Great War found her lying a hulk in the Tagus. The Portuguese fitted her out when tonnage began to get scarce in 1915, and sent her across to America. On her return passage to Lisbon in January, 1916, she was posted as missing—possibly a Hun torpedo sent her to the bottom—and that terrible word “missing” may be hiding some awful tragedy or glorious heroism. Anyhow her name goes on the “Ships’ Roll of Honour in the Great War,” along with more than one of her sisters in the Australian trade.
The First Six Ships of the Loch Line.
Messrs. Aitken & Lilburn started their venture with six splendid ships, of 1200 tons each, all built during 1869-70. These were the Loch Katrine, Loch Earn, Loch Lomond and Loch Leven, all built by Lawrie, of Glasgow, and the Loch Ness and Loch Tay, built by Barclay, Curle & Co.
At first it had been intended to name the ships after clans, but the Clan Line registered first, and so at the start the “Lochs” were advertised as the “Clyde Line of Clipper Packets.”
The Loch Katrine was the first ship away. She arrived in Hobson’s Bay under Captain M’Callum, on 20th December, 1869, 81 days out from Glasgow. The Loch Ness, Captain Meiklejohn, arrived on 13th January, 1870; the Loch Tay, Captain Alex. Scott, on 12th February, 1870; the Loch Earn, Captain W. Robertson, on 31st March, 1870; the Loch Lomond, Captain Grey, R.N.R., on 26th May, 1870; and the Loch Leven, Captain Branscombe, on 19th August, 1870.
Of the six clippers, the Loch Tay made the best passage out, being only 73 days, anchorage to anchorage. Running her easting down, her best week’s run was over 2000 miles, and she averaged 285 miles a day for nine consecutive days. Stunsails and large crews were carried by the Loch clippers right up to the end of the seventies; and the following passages under these conditions will show their speed capabilities:—
| TUSKAR TO CAPE OTWAY. | |
|---|---|
| Loch Katrine | 74 days |
| Loch Ness | 68 „ |
| Loch Tay | 67 „ |
| Loch Earn | 63 „ |
| Loch Lomond | 76 „ |
| Loch Leven | 68 „ |
Their average, pilot to pilot, 69½ days; port to port, 77 days.