_Loch Vennachar_, owing to the death of Captain Robertson, had a new skipper in Captain J. S. Ozanne, her late chief officer. He proved that he could carry sail by two 24-hour runs of 325 and 311 miles.
Captain Stuart made a very good maiden passage out to Sydney, but _Loch Etive_ never had anything like the speed of his old ship the _Tweed_.
_Parthenope_ had the veteran Captain Grey in command this year, and he certainly made her travel. Of the other crack ships _Salamis_ was 83 and _Samuel Plimsoll_ 86 days to Sydney; whilst of the Melbourne clippers _Loch Garry_ was 80, _Loch Maree_ 82, _Mermerus_, _Ben Cruachan_ and _Romanoff_ 83, _Sir Walter Raleigh_ 84 and _Ben Voirlich_ 87 days. Neither of the two tea clippers, _Cutty Sark_ and _Thermopylae_, sailed for the Colonies in 1878.
The _Sophocles_ was a pretty little ship, though, following the trend of the times, she was given a fuller body than Thompson’s earlier ships, as she was meant to be an economical carrier rather than a record breaker.
I believe she is still afloat rigged as a barque under Italian colours.
I have had considerable difficulty in finding any good passages to Melbourne or Sydney in 1879. It was a time of depressed freights and ships found themselves seeking cargoes in other than their regular trades. Thus we find the tea clipper _Titania_ on the Melbourne run instead of going out to China. The _Thomas Stephens_ tried a voyage to Otago. _Salamis_ was still in the East seeking a tea cargo. _Thessalus_ went to Calcutta from Penarth, whilst the poor little _Cutty Sark_ had many strange and unpleasant adventures before she resumed her place in the Australian trade, which was not until 1883.
Of the other cracks _Patriarch_ with 90 days, _Miltiades_ with 88, _Ben Voirlich_ with 87, _Loch Maree_ with 94, _Old Kensington_ with 96, _Cimba_ with 91 and _Thermopylae_ with 86 days all made poor passages.
The two rivals, _Brilliant_ and _Pericles_, were the only ships to make Sydney in under 80 days from the Channel, and owing to _Pericles_ getting ashore close to Plymouth and having to come back and dock and discharge her cargo, etc., the two ships eventually left the Lizard together.
+-----------+--------------+--------+--------+-------+-------+----+ | | | | Crossed| Passed| | | | Ship | Departure |Crossed | Cape | Cape |Arrived|Days| | | |Equator |Meridian| Otway |Sydney | Out| +-----------+--------------+--------+--------+-------+-------+----+ |_Pericles_ |Lizard Aug. 30|Sept. 25|Oct. 17 |Nov. 10|Nov. 14| 76 | |_Brilliant_|Lizard Aug. 30|Sept. 27|Oct. 20 |Nov. 12|Nov. 15| 77 | +-----------+--------------+-----------------+-------+-------+----+