The homeward runs I have had to put in the Appendix for want of space, as this part has run to far greater length than I had contemplated at first.
The races to catch the wool sales will thus be found in Appendix F, under the heading of “The Wool Fleet.”
The fine passage of _Miltiades_ and the maiden passages of _Samuel Plimsoll_ and _Ben Cruachan_ I have already described. The 66 days of _Thomas Stephens_ was a very fine performance. She left Gravesend on 30th August, with a very heavy general cargo, which put her down in the water like a sand barge. She crossed the equator in 26° 55′ W. and was then forced over on to the South American coast near Pernambuco by very unfavourable S.E. trades. The meridian of Greenwich was crossed on 12th October in 44° 33′ S. Her best week’s work running down the easting was 2055 miles, and she would have equalled the run of _Miltiades_ but for 48 hours of calm in the neighbourhood of the Otway. She arrived in Melbourne after an absence of only seven months, including nine weeks in London.
_Loch Tay_, which left Glasgow on 4th September under Captain Scott, also lost a day becalmed off the Otway. She crossed the equator in 29° W. and the meridian of Greenwich on 18th October in 39° S. Running the easting down she averaged 276 miles a day for 19 days, her best day’s work being 336 miles.
Of the others nothing special calls for notice. _Thermopylae_ left Gravesend on 2nd December, and had a light weather passage all the way, though she went as far as 47° S. in search of wind. _Cutty Sark_ also was handicapped by very light winds. She ran her easting down in 40° S. with light winds and calms from the S.E. trades to Port Jackson.
This was the _Tweed’s_ first visit to Melbourne. This magnificent clipper was probably the tallest ship ever seen in Hobson’s Bay. And wherever Captain Stuart took her she compelled admiration both for her majestic appearance and wonderful sailing performances.
Devitt & Moore’s Crack Passenger Ship “Rodney.”
Messrs. Devitt & Moore always considered the _Rodney_ to be the fastest of their iron ships. She was also one of the finest specimens of the passenger sailing ship in its last phase.
The following account from an Australian paper of November, 1874, will give a good idea of the _Rodney’s_ accommodation for passengers. It is also interesting as showing what was considered luxury in the seventies and comparing it with the present day:—