 "Clipper Ship Lightning" | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Owner | James Baines & Co. |
| Ordered | 1853 |
| Builder | Donald McKay |
| Cost | £32,000 |
| Laid down |
|
| Launched | 3 January 1854 |
| Christened | 3 January 1854 |
| Acquired | British Merchant Navy |
| Commissioned | 18 February 1854 |
| Maiden voyage | 18 February – 3 March 1854 toLiverpool |
| In service | 18 February 1854 |
| Out of service | 31 October 1869 |
| Homeport | Liverpool |
| Fate | Scuttled 31 October 1869 atGeelong,Australia |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type |
|
| Type | Clipper |
| Tonnage | 2,084GRT |
| Tons burthen | 3.500 tons |
| Length |
|
| Beam | 44 ft (13 m) |
| Height | 164 ft (50 m) main mast (deck to truck) |
| Draught | 23 ft (7.0 m) loaded |
| Propulsion | Sails |
| Sail plan | 13,000 yards of canvas when under all plain sail |
| Speed | 19 kn (35 km/h); best 24-hour run: 436 nautical miles (807 km) in 1854 |
| Boats & landing craft carried | 6 lifeboats |
| Capacity | 1,450 tons cargo |
| Complement | 100 crew |
Lightning was aclipper ship, one of the last really large clippers to be built in theUnited States. She was built byDonald McKay forJames Baines of theBlack Ball Line,Liverpool, for theAustralia trade.[1][2]
It has been said[by whom?] thatLightning was the most extreme example of a type of ship classified as an extreme clipper.[citation needed]
Her builder was the famous Donald McKay of Boston, a follower of John Willis Griffiths and his principles of ship design.Lightning is a prime example of a change in thinking that turned builders away from shaping ships' hulls like cod's heads and mackerel tails. She had 16 feet (4.9 m) of concavity in her bows and a beautiful fine run, yet she also had a moderatedeadrise and a good full midsection withtumblehome, allowing her to be fast yet stable, with good sail-carrying ability.
WhenLightning was built in 1854 in Boston, America's clipper boom was on the wane. The Australian gold rush was on, however, and McKay was building ships forJames Baines of theBlack Ball Line (house flag featured a black disk ("ball") on a red background) in Liverpool. Baines needed to transport passengers and cargo to Australia and had been impressed by the huge American ships.Lightning was powerfully and heavily constructed to handle the heavy seas and storms of the Australian run. Only the finest materials went into her construction. She cost £30,000 to build, and Baines put in another £2,000 in interior decoration, adding fine woods, marble, gilding and stained glass. It is said that her rooms rivaled those of the laterQueen Mary. An on-ship newspaper called theLightning Gazette was published for the passengers and crew.
After arriving in England,Lightning's hollow bow was ignorantly filled in by her captain Anthony Enright. McKay called the people who did it "the wood butchers of Liverpool". When the famous James "Bully" Forbes became her captain, he drove her mercilessly, often running with thelee rail underwater, and the fillings soon washed out.Lightning began to set records. She crossed from New York to Liverpool in 13 days, 19½ hours, and she sailed 436 nautical miles (807 km) in 24 hours, doing 18 to 18½ knots.[3] In 1854–55, she made the passage from Melbourne to Liverpool in 65 days, completing a circumnavigation of the world in 5 months, 9 days, which included 20 days spent in port.[4]
Lightning did a brief stint as a troop ship, taking British soldiers from England toIndia (in 87 days) to fight the1857 Indian Mutiny.[5]
In 1867, she was purchased byThomas Harrison of Liverpool.[5]
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At around 01:00 on 30 October 1869,Lightning caught fire atGeelong inAustralia, when she was fully loaded and ready to sail with 4,300 bales ofwool, 200 tons of copper, 35 casks of wine, and sometallow. Attempts to control the fire were unsuccessful, so at around noon the decision was taken to sink her. She was towed out to the shoals inCorio Bay where initial attempts to hole her below thewaterline withcannon fire from the shore were unsuccessful. At about four in the afternoon some of the crewscuttled her by cutting holes on the waterline, and she sank in 27 feet (8.2 m) of water. The shoals became known as "Lightning Shoals".
38°8′24″S144°22′7″E / 38.14000°S 144.36861°E /-38.14000; 144.36861