White Wings Vol I. Fifty Years Of Sail In The New Zealand Trade, 1850 TO 1900
The Antares
The Antares.
the Antares, a barque of 821 tons, chartered by the Shaw, Savill Co., made several voyages to Auckland, and occasionally visited Wellington, Lyttelton, and Dunedin. She was built in 1875 at Sunderland and owned by R. H. Penney. Captain A. Lewis was given command of the barque when she was launched and sailed her for nine years.
On the voyage out to Auckland in 1882 Captain Lewis reported having encountered two very severe gales after passing the 75th degree of east longitude, during which the Aurora Australis was extraordinarily vivid, extending far north of the zenith like full, flickering flames.
On the passage to Auckland in 1894 the ship left Sharpness on 20th February, heavily laden. She had a fairly good run until June 6, when she was hove-to for 48 hours under the lower main topsail during a terrific gale, accompanied by mountainous seas, with thunder and lightning. During the storm seas broke over the ship, sweeping everything off the decks and causing great damage.
On another occasion, in 1879, the Antares sailed from London for Dunedin, and had a very severe buffeting in the Channel, during which she suffered considerable damage, and was compelled to put into Dungenness for repairs.
The passages made to New Zealand were:—
To Auckland. | |||
Sailed. | Arrived. | Captain. | Days. |
---|---|---|---|
July 30, '81 | Nov. 16, '81 | Lewis | 109 |
Aug. 30 | Dec. 9, 82 | Lewis | 99 |
Aug. 10, '83 | Nov. 21, '83 | Lewis | 103 |
June 16, '84 | Sep. 21, '84 | Lewis | 97 |
Feb. 20, '94 | June 16, 94 | Hutchison | 116 |
To Wellington. | |||
July 18, '78 | Oct. 17, '78 | Lewis | 91 |
Sep. 16, '80 | Jan. 12, '81 | Lewis | 118 |
To Dunedin. | |||
May 31 | Sep. 4, '79 | Lewis | 96 |
To Lyttelton. | |||
Oct. 23, '77 | Jan. 24, '78 | Lewis | 93 |
Another ship, of 1060 tons, by the same name, flying the German flag, arrived at Dunedin on September 23, 1900, from Hamburg, 109 days out.