The Murray (1,019 tons) clipper ship was my great great grandfather's, Captain William Begg's, largest command from 1869 to 1872. (Painting courtesy
State Library of South Australia via wikimedia.)
State Library of South Australia via wikimedia.)
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Submarine Matters mainly deals with matters undersea. But have I told you my great great grandfather, Captain William Begg, was my first ancestor in Australia. Sadly there were no submarines available in the years he sailed. So he was a surface "skimmer".
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Begg :
"Begg [born 1821] in Montrose, Scotland, was apprenticed as ship's carpenter and served as a seaman for several years before around 1840 being put in charge of a cargo boat shipping timber from the Baltic.
In 1855 he was appointed captain of the Sebastian (426 tons) on the India route, calling in at Adelaide [South Australia] and Mauritius on the return voyage.
His next appointment was as captain of the Orient Line clipper Coonatto trading between England and Adelaide from 1863 to 1866,
[Coonatto] was known as a fast ship, described by Basil Lubbock as "an out and out clipper with very fine lines." Lubbock says that she was "very wet," which means that she took a lot of water on board when under sail, but he thought that this might be due
"to the hard-driving of her skipper, [Captain] Begg, a Highlander, who never spared her and made some very smart passages out and home."
Coonatto's fastest times were 66 days to the Semaphore Lightship [Adelaide] and a 70-day run, even after losing both her helmsman and ["the wheel" another man] overboard after broaching-to (falling foul of the wind) off St Paul's Island!
[In that same storm Captain Begg had both his legs and also some ribs broken!]
Coonatto's fastest times were 66 days to the Semaphore Lightship [Adelaide] and a 70-day run, even after losing both her helmsman and ["the wheel" another man] overboard after broaching-to (falling foul of the wind) off St Paul's Island!
[In that same storm Captain Begg had both his legs and also some ribs broken!]
He settled in Adelaide and was made manager of the Tug Company, then was appointed ship's surveyor for Lloyd's of London. In 1877 he and John Legoe had a part in formation of the Port Stevedoring Company,[1] and he served with that company until a few weeks before his death [in 1889"]"
Recognition
https://www.revolvy.com/page/William-Begg :
"Begg was awarded a silver medal by the Italian government for his part in rescuing sailors from a burning vessel.[1] This was the Mannin Barabino, which caught fire while sailing from Genoa to Puerto Rico in May 1870.
Begg and the crew of The Murray went to her aid and did what they could to rescue survivors, but 120 perished either in the inferno, the barque's cargo being largely [flammable alcoholic] spirits, or in the sea after her overloaded boat capsized."
Captain Begg's favourite sailing and Happy New Year song:Robert Burns 1789 "Anthem" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auld_Lang_Syne#Lyrics
"I
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
and never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
and auld lang syne [meaning "for the sake of old times"]
Chorus:
For auld lang syne, my jo,
for auld lang syne,
we'll tak' a cup o' kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.
II
And surely ye'll be your pint-stoup!
and surely I'll be mine!
And we'll tak' a cup o’ kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.
III
We twa hae run about the braes,
and pou'd the gowans fine;
But we've wander'd mony a weary fit,
sin' auld lang syne.
IV
We twa hae paidl'd in the burn,
frae morning sun till dine;
But seas between us braid hae roar'd
sin' auld lang syne.
V
And there's a hand, my trusty fiere!
and gie's a hand o' thine!
And we'll tak' a right gude-willie waught,
for auld lang syne."
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
and auld lang syne [meaning "for the sake of old times"]
Chorus:
For auld lang syne, my jo,
for auld lang syne,
we'll tak' a cup o' kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.
II
And surely ye'll be your pint-stoup!
and surely I'll be mine!
And we'll tak' a cup o’ kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.
III
We twa hae run about the braes,
and pou'd the gowans fine;
But we've wander'd mony a weary fit,
sin' auld lang syne.
IV
We twa hae paidl'd in the burn,
frae morning sun till dine;
But seas between us braid hae roar'd
sin' auld lang syne.
V
And there's a hand, my trusty fiere!
and gie's a hand o' thine!
And we'll tak' a right gude-willie waught,
for auld lang syne."
Pete