FAMOUS SHIPS

The Thomas Stephens

 TheTHOMAS STEPHENS originally crossed three sky sails over single topgallants with a full suit of stunsails.   Later she was fitted with double topgallant yards, retaining only the main sky sail and doing away with the stunsails.   The figurehead was a very good likeness of her owner.   She had some unusual innovations for anyone who may be interested in modeling her, such as an iron wheel and stanchions and wire netting above her topgallant rail.  

Her maiden voyage saw her going to Melbourne from Liverpool with a full compliment of passengers, leaving the Mersey on Sept 9^th, 1870.   She arrived in Melbourne 82 days out.   Her return passage was longer, being 103 days, but this was typical for iron ships of this period.   She reached her home port on May 15^th, 1870. 

Her second voyage was again to Melbourne, arriving on November 21^st, 73 days out. The third passage was of great interest since it was the best passage of her entire career. She Loaded in London and sailed on October 26^th, 1871.   The Line was crossed on November 20^th, with the S.E. trade winds helping her along at 12 knots.   The watch was continuously employed refitting tacks and sheets.

The Greenwich Meridian was crossed on December 4^th, the ship logging 8 knots with a pleasant west-nor'-west breeze.  The details from the log make interesting reading by today's standards.  She made her best run on December 10^th, in a heavy westerly gale, which started at 11 a.m. on the 9^th.  At this time the topgallant sails, cross jack, spanker and outer jib were handed in heavy squalls with thick rain.  At 4 p.m. Captain Richards reset his main topgallant sail, and at 9 p.m. his for topgallant sail and the main topgallant staysail.  During the night it blew a hard gale, with a high cross sea, and the ship plunged along with her decks completely flooded fore and aft.  At 1 a.m. the main topgallant stay carried away.  At 7 a.m. a big sea came over the starboard quarter, washed the starboard life-boat out of the davits, filled up the main deck, and took the main hatch house over the lee rail.  By 9:30 a.m. the gale was moderating, and all plan sail was set, the run at noon working out at 315 miles.

The worst weather was encountered on December 29^th and 30^th.  At one point all hands were called and the topgallant sails, upper topsails, courses and jib were taken in, Captain Richards being forced to hove his ship to under lower topsails only.  But at 8:30 in the evening, the wind veered into the sou'-west, and Captain Richards wore his ship off before the wind, setting his foresail and fore upper topsail.  She then made 13 to 14 knots, tearing along with her main deck under water, and her passengers having an very bad time of it battened down below.  This enabled her to make excellent time, however, and she arrived in Hobson's Bay in 66 days.  Her passage home was not very remarkable due to light southerly winds she encountered on her way.

Her fourth voyage was somewhat remarkable in that she raced against three of the crack ships of her day, the CUTTY SARK, BLACKADDER and DUKE OF ABERCORN.  She was the last ship to sail, leaving London on December 4^th.  To be fair, the other three ships ran into some rough weather, which the THOMAS STEPHENS avoided by leaving a few days later, but never-the-less, she beat all three of the above named ships, arriving on February 11^th. 

In 1873 the THOMAS STEPHENS made an excellent run home with wool, leaving Melbourne on April 5^th and arriving in London on June 26^th.  On her fifth voyage she made another 66 days run from London to Hobson's Bay, coming back to London via Newcastle, N.W.W., in 117 days.

The THOMAS STEPHENS continued her fine performances under various captains.  Captain Harry L. Bloomfield commanded her on her sixth and seventh voyages.  Captain Richards then returned to his old ship to command her on her eighth through twelfth voyages, upon which he retired, receiving a handsome service of silver plate by the owners.  Captain Robertson then had the ship for the next three voyages.  He was in turn succeeded by Captain W. Cross.  Captain Cross was a hard carrier of sail and at one point the THOMAS STEPHENS was pooped while running her easting down resulting in her lee helmsman being washed down on to the main deck.  On her way home she beat the TWEED by a week, arriving on March 21^st, 1885.

Captain Cross last outward passage was 79 days to Sydney in 1886, when Captain Rober Johnstone took command.  He had her through 1888-9, when Captain Cutler briefly took over for a voyage to Sydney in 88 days and bringing her back in 108.  He was followed by Captain Davies in 1890.  His voyage was 88 days out to Sydney and 96 home.  In 1892 the THOMAS STEPHENS ran into serious trouble.  After leaving Melbourne on May 8^th, she had to put into Callao on July 7^th with the whole starboard side of her bulwarks carried away from the fore-rigging to aft of the main, her decks also being severely strained.  She finally arrived in New York, but a new commander took over, Captain Davey, who took her with no trouble to Melbourne. 

Her last voyage under the red flag was unfortunate.  She sailed from Barry on December 27^th, 1894, under Captain Belding, for Esquimalt, but Cape Stiff proved too much for her, for she was dismasted, and had to put back to the Falklands.  Here Captain Belding refused the expensive estimate of the Port Stanley shipwrights, and boldly sailed under a jury-rig for Cape Town, where the ship arrived on May 14^th, 1895.  Here he refitted and finally arrived at his original destination 271 days out.

At the end of this voyage the ship was sold to the Portuguese Government, and Captain Belding was ordered to take her to Lisbon with a Portuguese crew.  During the passage the ship caught fire, Captain Belding managing to extinguish the fire due mainly to his efforts.  The Portuguese were so happy with Captain Belding that they presented him with a service of plate and asked him to remain as commander of the THOMAS STEPHENS.  The ship changed her name to PERO de ALEMGUER and sailed the seas for the next several years as a training ship under the Portuguese flag.  She was finally laid up in the Tagus, but in 1915 was once more fitted out and sailed across to America.  She arrived safely, but on her return passage to Lisbon in January, 1916, she was either overwhelmed by a winter gale, hit a floating mine, or torpedoed by an enemy submarine.  No one knows for sure, but she was posted missing at Lloyd's. 

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