The Thermopylæ.
On her first voyage from London to Melbourne,
starting in November 1868, the Thermopylæ made
the quickest passage on record between those ports—viz.
in sixty days from pilot to pilot. Nor was
this a mere chance passage, for on the next voyage
from London to Melbourne she accomplished the same
distance in sixty-one days, still faster than any other
known passage between these ports; and, so far as
I can ascertain, these voyages have never since been
equalled by any other sailing vessels. On her first
voyage, after leaving Melbourne she took on board a
cargo of coals at Newcastle (New South Wales) for
Shanghai, and accomplished the passage thence in
twenty-eight days—the quickest on record. Leaving
Foo-chow-foo soon afterwards with a cargo of tea,
she made the passage thence to London in ninety-one
days.[1] This has never been surpassed, except by
- [Footnote: be found in the Appendix, No. 9, p. 613. She is a "composite" vessel,
that is, constructed with iron frames and wood planking; she is 947 tons register, and her dimensions are 210 feet in length; 36 feet width of beam, and 21 feet depth of hold. She was designed by Mr. B. Waymouth, now Secretary to Lloyd's Register. She was built in 1868 by Messrs. Walter Hood and Co., of Aberdeen, for her present owners, Messrs. George Thompson, Jun., and Co.], and six days quicker than the Ariel and Spindrift in 1868; the nearest competitor was the Titania in 1871. By her log (see Appendix No. 9, pp. 613-17) the Thermopylæ, in one day of twenty-four hours, made a run of 330 nautical miles (about 380 statute miles), see log, 3rd January 1870; or at the average rate of close upon 16 statute miles per hour!!]
- ↑ This passage of the Thermopylæ, was eight days quicker than those of the Ariel, Taeping, and Serica, in the great race of 1866[a
