The British Ship Adoption Society

The "Clan Stewart's" Voyage 13 began at Swansea on 8th July, and ended at Glasgow on 12th December, though this was only the last of several ports of discharge, and the ship was in Hull on 22nd November. The voyage was to Australian ports with general cargo, and return with wool mainly, but also with canned food, millet, pollard, milk powder, sheepskins, sorghum, and casein. The final loading figures for the homeward passage may be of interest : Fuel oil 1,009 tons, diesel oil 51 tons, fresh water 670 tons, stores 281 tons, general cargo 3,961 tons, wool 2,233 tons. A diary of the voyage is given at the end of this note.

In spite of its number, the voyage was uneventful : indeed it was in general remarkable for good weather, which on the outward passage was excellent, except for two days off Socotra. One unusual feature of the voyage was the carriage of a vast 91 ton roller, used for making rubber-backed carpets, from Sydney to Melbourne. It had come from U.S.A., and had to await the arrival of a ship with a derrick big enough to lift it, as Melbourne has no crane capable of doing the job. The "Clan Stewart's" 105-ton derrick secured her the freight, though, judging from the photographs, the most difficult part lay in manceuvering such an unwieldy object through the hatch.

As the cargo for Hull consisted of 6,358 bales of wool and over 850 tons of general cargo, the ship was there for several days and we were glad that Capt. and Mrs. Graham were able to come to York for a few hours to visit the School, while a party of boys was able to visit the ship in King George Dock. This was a highly popular trip and only a small proportion of those wishing to go could be taken— these were chosen by lot. On arrival we broke up into small parties and were shown over the ship by the officers, though the organisation threatened to break down as parties got "lost", having lingered too long in some particularly interesting corner. One was even late for tea. The tour was most interesting and we are very grateful to Capt. Graham, the Chief Engineer and other officers for their enthusiasm in showing us round and for their hospitality. It was a reflection, not on the stability of the ship, but on the excellence of the tea, that one very junior member of the party was sea-sick during a "voyage" of fifty yards while the ship was being warped along the dock side. We are grateful, too, for photographs, pamphlets, sundry documents, plans, accounts—and a boomerang. Details of Voyage 13 are :

Left Swansea 8th July; arrived Hobart (calling at Fremantle, Adelaide, and Melbourne) 9th September; arrived Brisbane (calling at Sydney) 20th September. This completed the outward passage. After a fortnight the ship sailed to Melbourne and then on to Fremantle to complete loading; left Fremantle 23rd October; called Aden for bunkers 5th November; called Dunkirk; arrived Hull 22nd November; and then continued discharge at Bremen, Liverpool, Belfast, and Glasgow. The passage distance was 26,460 miles and 71 days were spent at sea.

Voyage 14 begins at the end of December and is to Indian ports. 19