Captain Warner, late of the Sovereign of the Seas, and made the run to Cape Clear in 12 days, and thence to Liverpool in 5 days. On February 27th, she ran 421 miles in twenty-four hours, and on that date her log records: "First part, strong gales from northwest; middle blowing a hurricane from west-northwest, ship scudding under topsails and foresail at the rate of 18 knots; latter part, still blowing from west-northwest with heavy hail squalls; very high sea running."
The Lightning sailed from Liverpool on her first voyage to Melbourne, May 14, 1854. She encountered light winds and calms to the equator, which she crossed in 25 days from the Mersey; such was the nature of the winds that the topgallantsails were not taken in during the passage, and her best day's runs were only 332, 348, 300, 311, and 329 miles on various dates. She arrived out in 77 days, but the passage home to Liverpool was made in the record time of 63 days. In ten consecutive days of twenty-four hours each, she sailed no less than 3722 miles, her best day's run being 412 miles. On this voyage she brought home gold and dust to the value of £1,000,000 sterling.
The James Baines sailed from Liverpool for Melbourne December 9, 1854, and made the passage out in the record time of 63 days, her best twenty-four hours' run being 420 miles. She made the passage home in 69 days, thus sailing around the globe in the record time of 132 days. On a subsequent voyage in 1856 her log records, "June 16th. At noon sighted a ship in the distance ahead; at 1 p.m. alongside of her; at 2 p.m., out of sight astern.
