James Baines (clipper)

Last updated

The Clipper Ship James Baines - one of the Black Ball Line of Australian Packets belonging to Messrs James Baines and Co, Liverpool RMG PY8547.jpg
James Baines
History
Civil Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom
NamesakeJames Baines, ship owner
Owner James Baines & Co.
Ordered1853
Builder Donald McKay, East Boston
Laid down1854
Launched25 July 1854
Christened25 July 1854 by James Baines
Commissioned12 September 1854
Out of service22 April 1858
HomeportLiverpool
Fate
  • Burned 22 April 1858
  • Rebuilt as a coal barge
  • Final fate unknown
General characteristics
Class and type
Tonnage2,275 GRT
Displacement2,515 tons (2,555 tonnes) at 29 ft (8.8 m) draught (1.000 tons ship mass + 1.455 tons cargo & passengers' mass)
Length
  • hull: 226 ft (69 m),
  • 266 ft (81 m) (LOA)
Beam44 ft (13 m)
Draught29 ft (8.8 m) loaded
PropulsionSails
Speed21 kn (39 km/h) on 17 June 1856 at 44°S, 106°E; best 24-hour run: 342 nmi (633 km) in 1854
Boats & landing
craft carried
6 lifeboats
Capacity1,400 tons cargo + 700 passengers
Complement100 crew

James Baines was a passenger clipper ship completely constructed of timber in the 1850s and launched on 25 July 1854 from the East Boston shipyard of the famous ship builder Donald McKay in the United States for the Black Ball Line of James Baines & Co., Liverpool. The clipper was one of the few known larger sailing ships rigged with a moonsail.

Contents

General description

James Baines, the owner James Baines.jpg
James Baines, the owner

Ship builder Donald McKay laid all his skills and professional experience in the construction of this passenger carrying clipper ship, small faults that had been detected by him before in the sister ships were fixed during the building of James Baines. Regarding her lines, stem, and bow, she was not as sharp and hollow-lined as her sister ship Lightning or as "full" as her other sister ship Champion of the Seas . The ship's main frame was of white oak, the ceiling, planking, deck-frames and keelsons, of hard pine. The ship's hull was diagonally braced with iron, and square-fastened, and all the keelsons and waterways are scarphed and keyed. It was said in her time the style in which James Baines's hull was designed and built, both inside and outside, has not been surpassed or equalled, by any other ship Donald McKay has ever constructed. The stern and the bow including the cutwater were beautifully adorned with gilded carvings, the ship's hull was painted black with blue waterways and a blue underwater ship. Her mast-heads and yards were black and equipped with iron caps, the hoops on her masts were held in white as well as the deck houses and rails. On Mr James Baines order the ship was equipped and fitted with the best and most modern ship improvements (pumps, windlasses & winches, Crane's self-acting chain-stoppers (invented in 1852)).

As she was built for a passenger shipping line she provided luxury (1st class) accommodations equipped with the finest furniture available and mahogany panelling (wainscots), furthermore with standard rooms for the transportation of 700 passengers. The ship had also state-rooms and dining-rooms of the finest design. Three decks, a poop deck, two deck houses and a topgallant forecastle provided the accommodations for three classes of passengers and the 100 men crew whose bunks were built in the forecastle and in a deck house abaft the foremast. The ladies' cabin was in the stern section (aft) as well as the captain's rooms, the gentlemen's rooms were amidships to the ship's sides. All passenger and crew rooms were well ventilated and provided with sufficient light. James Baines was not only a beautiful but also a very fast ship holding still sailing ship records as that of her first voyage from Boston to Liverpool.

James Baines StateLibQld 1 147463 James Baines (ship).jpg
James Baines

Namesake of James Baines was her owner James Baines of James Baines & Co. of Liverpool and Australian packets and was once described as "the most perfect ship afloat". Upon her first arrival in Liverpool a well-known Liverpool ship owner wrote to a Boston newspaper: "You want to know what professional men say about the ship James Baines? Her unrivalled passage, of course, brought her prominently before the public and she has already been visited by many of the most eminent mechanics of the country. She is so strongly built, so finely finished and is so beautiful a model that even envy cannot prompt a fault against her. On all hands she has been praised as the most perfect sailing ship that ever entered the river Mersey." (Cited from [1] ) - Her figurehead was, of course, a perfect likeness of James Baines, owner of the famous Black Ball Line of Liverpool in tailcoat and top hat, carved by Liverpudlian ship carver William Dodd of "Allan and Clotworthy's yard". Mr James Baines shipped the figurehead to the McKay shipyard, securely packed in a sturdy case.

History

James Baines and Lightning StateLibQld 1 150071 James Baines (ship).jpg
James Baines and Lightning

Capt. Charles McDonnell, late master of Marco Polo , took command of the ship. Her maiden voyage in 12 days and six hours from 12–24 September 1854 is still today an unbroken sailing ship record measured from East Boston (Boston Light) to Liverpool (Rock Light) - her homeport. During her short career her first voyage to Australia took her 65 days from Liverpool to Melbourne (her 'second' maiden voyage from her homeport) in 1854 and 69½ days for the return passage including the famous 420 nautical miles (780 km) day's run. She made four 'round' voyages to Melbourne and back to Liverpool via the Indian Ocean. In July 1857, James Baines (together with Champion of the Seas) was reviewed by Queen Victoria and the Prince Consort Albert while lying in Portsmouth. According to Lubbock, the Queen made remarks to the effect that "she did not know she possessed such a splendid ship in her Mercantile Marine." [2] The clipper was in Portsmouth to load troops bound for India, having been chartered by the British Government to transport 1,000 men of the 97th Regiment. She returned to England with a cargo of jute, linseed, raw cowhides and rice.

Fire and loss of the ship

Burning of the James Baines, in the Huskisson Dock Burning of the 'James Baines', in the Huskisson Dock, Liverpool 1858 - May 8, 1858.jpg
Burning of the James Baines, in the Huskisson Dock

James Baines caught fire on Thursday morning, 22 April 1858 while discharging her cargo in the Huskisson Dock at Liverpool following her only voyage from India. The ship burned down to the waterline. Her remains, including the most of the undischarged cargo, were abandoned as a total loss amounting to £170,000 to her owner James Baines because the ship's insurance policy had expired three days before. The damaged hull was sold to the Liverpudlian shipowner Robert Pace for £1,080, who converted it into a coal barge which is said to have collided with another barge in 1860 at Galway harbour, Ireland. Still mentioned in the Liverpool Ship's Register of 1863 her final fate is unknown. Another reference has it that the ship became a landing stage in Liverpool harbour for the debarking steamer passengers. Capt. Chas. McDonnell, the first and last master of James Baines was broken-hearted following the disastrous end of his fine ship. He retired from naval service and died of pneumonia a few months later in his mother's cottage at Glenariff, County Antrim, Northern Ireland.

Rigging

Jamesbainesclipper.jpg

James Baines was a very heavily sparred ship being 2,275 GRT (Gross Registered Tons), she was wide, carrying 1,400 tons of cargo in her holds, and accommodating 800 passengers and crew in her 5 decks (3 continuous decks, forecastle and poop decks). Her masts called fore, main, and mizzen masts carried all in all a maximum of 43 sails as a full-rigged ship with studding sails. In detail:

All three masts (with lower, top, and topgallant masts including royal and skysail masts) had a course sail, a topsail, a topgallant sail, a royal sail, and a skysail. The main-skysail mast has been lengthened and fitted with a moonsail later on. Her sail suit was made by Messrs. Porter, Mayhew & Co., Boston. Older pictures show the ship with only four square sails on the fore and mizzen masts, and five on the main mast.

Related Research Articles

<i>Flying Cloud</i> (clipper) Clipper

Flying Cloud was a clipper ship that set the world's sailing record for the fastest passage between New York and San Francisco, 89 days 8 hours. The ship held this record for over 130 years, from 1854 to 1989.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Donald McKay</span> American shipbuilder

Donald McKay was a Canadian-born American designer and builder of sailing ships, famed for his record-setting extreme clippers.

RMS <i>Tayleur</i> Clipper ship sunk on maiden voyage in 1854

RMS Tayleur was a full-rigged iron clipper ship chartered by the White Star Line. She was large, fast and technically advanced. She ran aground off Lambay Island and sank, on her maiden voyage, in 1854. Of more than 650 aboard, only 280 survived. She has been described as "the first Titanic".

<i>Champion of the Seas</i> 19th-century English clipper ship

Champion of the Seas was the second largest clipper ship destined for the Liverpool, England - Melbourne, Australia passenger service. Champion was ordered by James Baines of the Black Ball Line from Donald McKay. She was launched 19 April 1854 and was abandoned 3 January 1877, off Cape Horn.

<i>Marco Polo</i> (1851 ship)

Marco Polo was a three-masted wooden clipper ship, launched in 1851 at Saint John, New Brunswick. She was named after Venetian traveler Marco Polo. The ship carried emigrants and passengers to Australia and was the first vessel to make the round trip from Liverpool in under six months. Later in her career, the ship was used as a cargo ship before running aground off Cavendish, Prince Edward Island, in 1883.

<i>Lightning</i> (clipper)

Lightning was a clipper ship, one of the last really large clippers to be built in the United States. She was built by Donald McKay for James Baines of the Black Ball Line, Liverpool, for the Australia trade.

<i>Blackadder</i> (clipper)

Blackadder was a clipper, a sister ship to Hallowe'en, built in 1870 by Maudslay, Sons & Field at Greenwich for Jock Willis & Sons.

<i>Stad Amsterdam</i>

The Stad Amsterdam is a three-masted clipper that was built in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, in 2000 at the Damen Shipyard.

<i>Great Republic</i> (1853 clipper)

When launched in 1853, Great Republic was the largest wooden ship in the world. She shared this title with another American-built ship, the steamship Adriatic. She was also the largest full-rigged ship ever built in the United States. She was built by Donald McKay for trade on his own account to Australia.

<i>Preussen</i> (ship) German steel-hulled five-masted ship-rigged windjammer sunk in Crab Bay after a collision

Preussen (PROY-sin) was a German steel-hulled, five-masted, ship-rigged sailing ship built in 1902 for the F. Laeisz shipping company and named after the German state and kingdom of Prussia. She was the world's only ship of this class with five masts, carrying six square sails on each mast.

<i>Sovereign of the Seas</i> (clipper) 19th c. American clipper ship

Sovereign of the Seas, a clipper ship built in 1852, was a sailing vessel notable for setting the world record for the fastest sailing ship, with a speed of 22 knots (41 km/h).

<i>Stag Hound</i>

Stag Hound was launched on December 7, 1850 in East Boston, Massachusetts. Designed by shipbuilder Donald McKay for the California trade, she was briefly the largest merchant ship in the world. She was in active service from 1851 until her total loss in 1861.

<i>Potosi</i> (barque)

Potosi was a five-masted steel barque built in 1895 by Joh. C. Tecklenborg ship yard in Geestemünde, Germany, for the sailing ship company F. Laeisz as a trading vessel. Its primary purpose was as a "nitrate clipper" collecting guano in South America for use in chemical companies in Germany. As its shipping route was between Germany and Chile, it was designed to be capable of withstanding the rough weather encountered around Cape Horn.

<i>Red Jacket</i> (clipper) American clipper ship, launched in 1853

Red Jacket was a clipper ship, one of the largest and fastest ever built. She was also the first ship of the White Star Line company. She was named after Sagoyewatha, a famous Seneca Indian chief, called "Red Jacket" by settlers. She was designed by Samuel Hartt Pook, built by George Thomas in Rockland, Maine, and launched in 1853, the last ship to be launched from this yard.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Donald McKay House</span> Historic house in Massachusetts, United States

The Donald McKay House is a privately owned historic house at 78–80 White Street in East Boston, Massachusetts. It was the residence of Donald McKay, a builder of clipper ships.

<i>Surprise</i> (clipper)

Surprise was a California clipper built in East Boston in 1850. It initially rounded Cape Horn to California, but the vessel's owners, A. A. Low & Brother, soon found that the vessel performed well in Far Eastern waters. From that point onward the vessel spent much of her working life in the China trade, although the vessel also made three trips from the East Coast of the United States to California.

<i>Syren</i> (clipper)

Syren was the longest lived of all the clipper ships, with a sailing life of 68 years 7 months. She sailed in the San Francisco trade, in the Far East, and transported whaling products from Hawaii and the Arctic to New Bedford.

<i>Schomberg</i> (1855)

The SS Schomberg was a clipper built in Aberdeen by Alexander Hall & Co. for "the Black Ball line" for carrying large cargoes and steerage passengers, and to "outdo the Americans". When built, she was regarded as the most luxurious and well-built clipper of the period.

<i>Donald McKay</i> (clipper) Ship built by Donald McKay in 1855

Donald McKay was an extreme clipper designed by Donald McKay, his last. Built for James Baines & Co., she sailed on the Black Ball Line of Liverpool from 1855 to 1868, carrying passengers and mail between England and Australia.

Santa Claus was an American medium clipper ship built in Boston by Donald McKay in 1854. In the course of her career, she made three voyages from the East Coast of the United States to San Francisco, California, the fastest of which was a comparatively swift 128-day passage in the winter of 1857–1858. The ship was mainly engaged in the guano trade and in trade to the Far East. In 1858, she brought Chinese immigrants to California; according to one source, she was also at one time engaged in the coolie trade.

References

  1. "James Baines". www.schoonerman.com. 13 March 2022.
  2. Lubbock, Basil (1921). The Colonial Clippers (2nd ed.). Glasgow: James Brown & Son. pp.  77. OCLC   1750412.

Bibliography

44°S106°E / 44°S 106°E / -44; 106