Loch Garry

An iron fullrigged ship built in 1875 by Thomson, Glasgow. Dimensions: 250'5"×38'4"×22'6" and tonnage: 1565 GRT, 1493 NRT and 1371 tons under deck. Orginally rigged with short topgallant masts with fiddled royal and skysail masts, crossing double topgallant, royal and skysail yards.

Sistership to the same owner's Loch Vennachar (1875).

1875 October: Launched at the shipyard of Thomson, Glasgow, for Glasgow Shipping Co., Glasgow. Assigned the official British Reg. No. 73788 and signal PGWC. Employed in the Australian wool trade.
1875 - 1882: Captain Andrew Black.
1875 November 8 - January 20: Sailed from Tuskar to Melbourne in 73 days.
1877 January 25 - May 10: Sailed from Melbourne to the Deal in 105 days.
1877 July 11 - September 26: Sailed from Queenstown to Melbourne in 77 days.
1877 December 20 - April 4: Sailed from Melbourne to London in 105 days.
1878 December 13 - March 13: Sailed from Geelong to London in 90 days.
1879 June 6 - August 27: Sailed from the Clyde to Melbourne in 82 days.
1880 January 22 - April 19: Sailed from Melbourne to London in 87 days.
1880 August: Lost the fore topmast and the main topgallant mast off the Crozets when the weather forebrace carried away. Melbourne was reached after a month under jury rig. The original short topgallant masts were replaced at Geelong with long topgallant masts made of Kauri pine.
1880 November 29 - February 24: Sailed from Melbourne to London in 87 days.
1881 November 11 - February 16: Sailed from Melbourne to the Ilsel of Wight in 97 days.
1882 - 1885: Captain John Erskine.
1882 November 3 - February 14: Sailed from Melbourne to London in 103 days.
1883 November 3 - February 2: Sailed from Geelong to London in 91 days.
1884 December 5 - March 30: Sailed from Geelong to London in 115 days.
1885 - 1905 [?]: Captain Horne.
1886 December 18 - April 13: Sailed from Geelong to London in 116 days.
1888 December 21 - March 20: Sailed from Melbourne to London in 89 days.
1889 August: The main and mizzen masts were carried away in a gale south of the Cape of Good Hope but was able to reach Mauritius 2600 miles away under jury rig.
1892: Sailed from Tuskar to Cape Otway in 71 days.
1894: Sailed from the Downs to Melbourne in 77 days.
1895: Sailed from the Lizard to Melbourne in 77 days.
1895: Sailed from Melbourne to Prawle Point in 80 days.
1900: Sailed from Melbourne to Prawle Point in 85 days.
1901: Sailed from Adelaide to Cape Otway in 48 hours.
1903: Sailed from Port Phillip Heads to the Lizard in 74 days.
1904: Sailed from Melbourne to Dover in 77 days.
1905: Sailed from Tuskar to Cape Borda in 73 days.
1905: Sailed from the Equator to Leeuwin in 36 days which corresponds to an average of 240 miles per day.
1911 March: Sold to Italian owners for £ 1800.

References:

Square-rigged ships, general references.
Lubbock, Basil: The Colonial Clippers.
Brown, Ferguson & Son, Glasgow, 1948 (2nd).

Updated 1997-04-27 by Lars Bruzelius

Sjöhistoriska Samfundet | The Maritime History Virtual Archives.