Under Full Sail

by Rob Mundle

  The story continued, stating that after setting a record time on a passage to Rio de Janeiro, Antelope had returned to England, where she had been lengthened ‘so as to enhance her capacity for accommodation to the extent required for her new destination’, Australia. The builder in charge of this work, John Laird of Birkenhead, near Liverpool, had applied ‘his utmost ingenuity in the Antelope to secure victory for the screw’. The reporter went on to note that Antelope’s unusual three-bladed propeller was designed to ‘obviate the disagreeable vibratory motion which generally accompanies the action of this instrument; so that in her progress through the water the Antelope will communicate to the passenger only such sensation as if she were in reality the clipper she looks’.

  Referring to the features of Antelope’s accommodation, it was said that ‘they are of a comparatively subdued character; and though exceedingly elegant wherever elegance is permissible, there is a total absence of meretricious glitter’. It was also suggested that the captain, H.C. Keen – who had now replaced Captain Thompson – was most suited to the task, as he had ‘frequently navigated the southern seas; and his first officer, Mr A. French, is thoroughly familiar with screw steamers’. In closing, the writer declared that in preparing for the contest with Marco Polo and her legendary captain, ‘Antelope is apparently deficient in nothing whatever that should render her a thoroughly well-matched screw antagonist against the renowned sailer, Marco Polo’.

  The scene was now set for the first true showdown between sail and steam over a voyage that would cover a distance exceeding half the Earth’s circumference. The two contenders had little in common, except that the steamer’s design was obviously based on the lines of a clipper ship. They were certainly very different when it came to overall length – usually the telling factor in the speed of a vessel. After being lengthened to 235 feet over all, the now more streamlined Antelope was 54 feet longer than Marco Polo, and carried considerably more sail. But they were figures that didn’t daunt the indomitable Bully Forbes. This was shaping up to be a David-and-Goliath sailing challenge of biblical proportions across some of the world’s wildest oceans.

  *

  It was 10.30am on Wednesday, 9 March 1853 when Marco Polo was hauled out of the dock and set at anchor in the river. One of her passengers was a young Englishman named Edwin Bird. His colourfully worded diary – the only shipboard diary known to exist from this voyage – told of what would be, for him and the other 647 passengers, a 13,000 nautical mile voyage through a never-before-experienced, often hostile environment to a completely different world.

  His story started at the time Marco Polo was hauled out of the dock: ‘There was a nice Band on Board and just as Her Noble Stern was Clearing the Dock Gates They struck up “The Girls We Left Behind Us”.’

  Once again, Forbes insisted on sailing on 13 March – a Sunday, his lucky day of the week. But just before the anchor was to be hauled up, a most unlucky incident occurred: the Liverpool police went aboard the ship seeking to arrest one of the passengers, Ephraim Jacobs, on a charge of burglary. His luggage was found to contain a considerable quantity of jewellery and watches, but police were forced to leave empty-handed after uncovering no evidence that the goods had been stolen.

  There were very few women among the passengers, the majority being men representing the ‘artisan’ class. This imbalance of the sexes disappointed many of the males on board, a fact that ended up in print in a Liverpool newspaper subsequent to Marco Polo’s departure:

  One young gentleman, whose incipient moustache and budding imperial [beard] showed that he was shaping his course for the diggings, was heard to express his sorrow that there were not more ladies as they exercised such a humanising tendency on mankind . . .

  It was 10am on a superbly warm and sunny spring day when the steam tug Independence moved in, picked up a line from Marco Polo’s bow and, once the anchor had been weighed, commenced to tow her out of the river. It was at this time that Captain Forbes – whose recently wedded wife Jane was accompanying him on the voyage – made his famous declaration that it was his intention on this voyage ‘to astonish God almighty’. Bird described the departure:

  She lay in the River until Sunday Morning when she weighed Anchor, Fired four Salutes and was answered by the American Mail Ship, Niagara, and went Beautifully down the River amidst the Cheers of Thousands of Spectators, the whole of the Pier Head for more than a mile being Crowded as well as the Birkenhead Side . . . [and there were] many People going out in the River to Her Wishing their friends Farewell and a pleasant and prosperous Voyage to the Far Distant Shores of Australia.

  During his address to the passengers while his ship was under tow, Forbes told the cook – a man of African descent known as Dr Johnson – to ‘search well below, and if you find any stowaways, put them overboard slick’. Remarkably, in a matter of minutes, Johnson reappeared on deck with a writhing Irishman in his control – a stowaway who had been hiding in the cabin of a married couple.

  Without hesitation, Forbes bellowed mockingly: ‘Secure him and keep a watch over the lubber, and deposit him on the first iceberg we find in [the southern seas].’

  Fortunately for the unwanted guest, Marco Polo was still under tow, so he was transferred to Independence and returned to Liverpool.

  ‘When the tug left we gave Her two Cannons and as many Hurrahs as the Lungs of the Marco Polo would permit’, Bird wrote, then explained that over the next few hours all passengers spent time preparing their cabins and adapting to their new lifestyle, while amid ‘such Bustle and confusion, the Band on Deck played all the liveliest Tunes they could think off’.

  Antelope departed England some days ahead of Marco Polo, but just as when he raced Red Jacket the following year, it didn’t concern Forbes. He was confident his ship would sail the fastest time to Melbourne that season – so confident, in fact, that he is believed to have had bets with eleven other captains sailing there. But it was unquestionably the bet against Antelope that mattered most.

  From the outset, Forbes left no doubt that he would maintain firm control over the behaviour of his passengers. But – despite the advertised claims about his ‘kindness to his passengers’ – some of his methods for maintaining decorum were severe by today’s standards. Edwin Bird’s diary did reveal that Forbes did his best to be civil:

  The Captain came down on the second Deck inspecting the lights being Burnt privately after 9 O’Clock and as regards to loud singing and cards. He talked to them in the right style.

  But then there was this:

  The Captain went round last night at 11 O’Clock to see things all right. He found one of the Stewards very tipsy and saucy with it. He took a Lamp from a passenger’s Hand and Floor’d Him with it.

  By 20 March, Marco Polo’s passengers were getting their first taste of a full-blown Atlantic gale that lasted overnight and throughout the next day. Bird was comfortable with the experience, but a lot of the passengers weren’t. His diary revealed: ‘going 13 knots with the topsail and royal close reefed Ladies all Sick again, not one present at the Dinner [lunch] table’. He added that those absent had missed out on a good soup.

  Eight days into the voyage, Bully Forbes had impressive news for all on board: Marco Polo was already 1700 miles from Liverpool, approaching Madeira . . . and a full two days ahead of the ship’s position at the same time during her previous record-breaking voyage. The captain was already suggesting they might be ‘safe at anchor in Australia in eight weeks’: a new record by far.

  Contributing to this astonishing pace was the patented sail-reefing system the ship was carrying. Instead of having to send men aloft to reef the topsails each time the wind increased in strength, the sails could now be reefed from the deck in just fifteen minutes.

  A few days later, when Marco Polo was feeling the first influences of the northern-hemisphere trade-wind belt, Bird wrote that the captain was destined to have a tough time with numerous passengers, including females, before Australia was reached: />
  There was a tremendous Row last night between the Irish Ladies and some of our Passengers. They came on Board as Widows of Officers and Gentlemans Daughters, But [I] was surprised at Hearing the noise so late. I jumped out of my Bunk and to my surprise one of those Ladies was Swearing away and challenged to fight any man on Board the Marco Polo . . . They are about all night long . . . The Captain Has, through the advice of His good Lady, for such she has advised him, put up a Notice on the Poop Cabin today that no ladies are to be on Deck after 10 O’clock without being accompanied by their Husbands which of course no respectable Female would do, and Mrs Forbes declared she would not walke the deck if such Lounging about on the Poop was not stopd.

  The new rules were respected for less than two weeks. In late March, Bird wrote his next instalment:

  The Captn went below last evening rather late. He found two of the Cabin Passengers with the rest of the Gang Drinking their Wine and concockting there for plunder, I have no doubt. He took them by the scruf of the neck and sent them on Deck and after that He began with the Ladies. Swore if He caught either of them on the Poop Deck again He would throw them over Board, and if not quieter than last night He would land them all on the Cape Verd[e] Islands in the morning (which we sighted about 4 O’Clock) which would be altogether about 23 of them . . . One Passenger was lashed to the Rigging this afternoon for not paying His fine. There has been a fight just now in the 3rd Cabin between some of the Tipperary Boys, which are Cases.

  Much to Forbes’s relief, Marco Polo soon struck rough and wet weather – conditions boisterous enough to curtail much of the partying on board. They also prevented the ship’s band from doing its evening presentation. Instead, those who weren’t seasick amused themselves by playing drafts, cribbage and chess with other passengers.

  Around this same time, sadness hung over the entire ship when it became known that a baby boy had died. Such tragic moments were not unusual on a long voyage like this, but it was a fitting tribute to the captain and his crew, including the ship’s doctor, that by the time Melbourne was sighted, only four passengers had passed away. One man died as a result of complications from a broken leg.

  By 30 March, the captain and all aboard were becoming increasingly impressed with the ship’s progress. Marco Polo, now seventeen days out from Liverpool, caught and passed another ship that was twenty-six days out of England and also heading for Melbourne. At 10am this ship hove into view on the horizon ahead, and by 6pm she was the same distance behind: an amazing gain of 30 miles in daylight hours for Marco Polo. Bird’s diary note explained why she had achieved this horizon-to-horizon run in such a short period: ‘We are now going at a Spanking rate 14 Nots, all sails set, while our Opponent is going under Close reef top Sail.’

  However, all were quick to accept that when traversing oceans, nothing is ever certain because of the vagaries of the weather. Within two days, when closing on the Equator, Marco Polo was glued to an oily sea in a windless tropical calm. Only occasionally, when a gentle swell rolled through, was there any motion; the ship stirred ever so slowly and the sails, hanging like heavy drapes, slatted and panted in response. The one benefit for all was that when the rain finally came, it was in torrents. Those who cared to took the opportunity to shower in the open air. These periods of calm and torrential cloud bursts persisted until 6 April, except when the occasional brief squall passed through.

  Added interest came when another vessel out of London sailed into view. Captain Forbes ordered a longboat to be lowered over the side and rowed five miles to the ship so they could share information. She was a Dutch-crewed ship bound for Melbourne, with only twenty-eight passengers. The weather remained so calm that, as Bird related, ‘they made up a Party and came on Board the Marco Polo and Dined with us and stayed until 6 O’Clock and since it was such a treat to see so many Different faces and to Hear such a nice Band as ours was, they all got pretty tight before leaving and Had to pul [row] Back in the Dark and many of our passengers got a little on.’

  Alcohol obviously flowed freely among all, because Bird noted that ‘One Cabin passenger, Mr Gardener, Got put in Chains for the Night. He threatened to Shoot the Captain and insulted Mrs Forbes and several of the passengers. We are [still] Nocking about in a Dead Calm.’

  The light and variable winds persisted, right through to 12 April, a steamy and very hot day, when, at 1pm, Marco Polo glided across the Equator in near-glassy conditions. It was a milestone that called for a celebration among the passengers: ‘Spring Music and Shampagne and Wine was the order of the Day.’

  The following day, again hot and rainy, Bird recorded that the celebrations the previous day had gone on for so long that ‘90 per cent well Drunk and we are expecting a rough night’.

  For much of the time that the ship was ambling through the equatorial regions, the majority of passengers escaped the rank, stifling conditions in the accommodation areas by sleeping on deck. However, whenever a cloud burst descended on the ship at night there came a highly entertaining spectacle as passengers panicked, grabbing their bedding and scrambling down the narrow companionways to their sleeping quarters.

  On 22 April, Marco Polo was abeam of the Cape of Good Hope and the signs in the sky indicated rough weather was on the way. Still, dramas continued on board, most of them alcohol-infused and revolving around the Irish men. Bird’s summation was simple: ‘Rows with the Irish. One got in Chains for threatening the life of Mrs McDonald [the wife of the first mate]’.

  Four days later, Marco Polo was powering into the southern seas. Her average speed, which came with the assistance of large and powerful swells and a howling westerly wind, was beginning to convince the captain that his already famous ship was within reach of her second consecutive record time for the run from Liverpool to Melbourne. But there were still thousands of nautical miles to cover before the goal was achieved.

  As had been the case on Marco Polo’s first voyage to Melbourne the previous year, Forbes did not take a backward step when it came to maintaining maximum speed at all times. If he had to consider reefing or furling a sail because of the wind strength, then it stayed as it was until he was certain the change had to be made. When it came to navigation, he ensured that the ship was benefiting at all times from the current and wind patterns that Matthew Maury had plotted.

  Now that they were in the zone of the Roaring Forties, charging ahead on the face of the powerful westerly winds, the ship’s course was south of east – as close as possible to the great circle route. Few, if any, passengers dared venture onto the deck, which all too often was awash with a surging mass of icy-cold white water. The ever-present danger was hard enough for highly experienced crew to deal with, and the last thing they needed was the sight of a passenger being bowled along the deck on the face of a wave that had come cascading over the leeward bulwark.

  During this particular storm, even life below deck was punishing, as Bird noted:

  Sometimes ½ a Gale and a Heavy sea which made us Roll awful. Breaking Plat[e]s upsetting forms [benches] giving Young Ladies Black Eyes by being thrown from their births, upsetting Soup, Breaking Legs, Heads and so forth. Passengers tumbling from one end of the Deck to the other and sometimes flowing with Soup . . . Fights and Rows are the order of the day. All through Whiskey . . . We have Had 4 extraordinary days Sailing in succession averaging nearly 300 miles per day going 14 Nots now. Therm[ometer] stood 52 [degrees] on Deck this morning which made a change of 80 degrees in 16 days . . . Now we are getting so cold . . . Great Coats and Shawls are in great request. The 2nd May we Had a severe Hail Storm Here while you Had a Beautiful May day in England. The next time I wright my log I expect Snow will be on the Deck . . . We are going on so nicely I should say we must be in Melbourne the latter part of May.

  The tempest hammered Marco Polo and created havoc for passengers and crew for more than a week. Much to Forbes’s frustration, four heavy canvas sails blew to shreds when savage squalls arrived unannounced. Worse still, it was too rough and dangero
us to haul down the wildly flaying remnants of those sails and have crew go aloft and replace them with new ones.

  Eventually Forbes – great seaman that he was – had to accept that it was time to apply common sense and prudent seamanship. The conditions were continuing to deteriorate and become treacherous; there was no option but to furl or lower the sails that were still set and lay to until the weather improved.

  During the next twenty-four hours, Marco Polo was pitched and tossed by gigantic and often breaking seas. The few crew members remaining on deck became horrendously cold and wet, while below deck the majority of passengers – most never having been to sea before – remained cowering in their often damp bunks, all wondering how much punishment the ship could absorb.