Loch Broom was commanded for the greater part of her career by the well-known veteran, Bully Martin.
Though they were absolute sister ships according to the tape-measure. Loch Broom was always a stiffer ship than the Loch Carron, and her sailing records were not quite as numerous, nevertheless she was a very fast ship.
In 1904 Captain Martin brought her home from Melbourne in 82 days. He left Port Phillip on 12th January, and was only 24 days to the Horn, most of the run being made under six topsails and foresail.
On her following passage out Loch Broom took case oil from New York to Melbourne in 96 days. It was a nasty trip for her officers, as the hands before the mast were all hobos, Bowery toughs and hard cases, and had to be driven to their work in the old-fashioned belaying pin style.
In 1907 Captain Bully Martin gave up his command and retired from the sea, being succeeded by Captain Kelynack, who had been mate under him for some years.
I have the abstract log of Loch Broom’s last voyage under the British flag:—
On 4th September at 7 a.m. she took her departure from the Lizard, had light breezes and calms to the 19th when she took the N.E. trades, crossed the line on 6th October, crossed the meridian of Greenwich on 26th October, ran down her easting on the 40th parallel, her best 24-hour run being 272 miles on 12th November before a moderate gale from W.S.W. in 40° 37′ S., 60° 00′ E., and she anchored off Port Adelaide at 2 p.m. on 4th December, 91 days from the Lizard.
She left Melbourne homeward bound on 23rd February 1912. On 15th March in 50° 58′ S., 135° 26′ W., she ran 278 miles with a fresh S.W. gale, passed Cape Horn on 27th March. On 29th March Captain Kelynack remarks, “Fresh W.S.W. wind, thick misty rain, four-masted barque in company on lee quarter but falling astern, (nothing passes the Loch Broom but birds.)”
And on 2nd April I find the following testimony to her qualities:—“Lat. 46° 50′ S., long. 40° 04′ W., distance 213, course N. 51° E. Fresh N.W. gale veering to W.N.W., high sea running, ship going 12 knots, dry as a bone.”