One of the N.Z. Shipping Company's fast sailers, the Rangitiki, 1225 tons, in command of Captain Scotland, made a remarkable run to Lyttelton in 1876. The passage from Plymouth occupied 73 days, or from land to land 67 days. the Rangitiki, which was formerly known as the Scimitar, left London on November 29th. 1875, for Plymouth, where she embarked her immigrants, 301 souls, and sailed on December 4th. The Equator was crossed on Christmas Day, 21 days from Plymouth, Gough Island passed on January 15th, 1876, and the meridian of the Cape on January 21st. She ran down her Easting between parallels 52deg. and 53deg. She had remarkably fine weather until reaching the Leeuwin on February 5th, as one may gather from the fact that the main skysail was not taken off the ship from the time she left Plymouth till she readied the coast of Tasmania. Here the ship passed large quantities of ice, and had strong westerly gales and thick weather to the Snares, which were passed on the 12th February at 10 p.m., arriving and dropping anchor off Ripa Island, Lyttelton, at 2.30 p.m. on February 16th, 1876.