OLD NAMES FOR NEW SHIPS

Dominion, Volume 29, Issue 203, 25 May 1936, Page 10

OLD NAMES FOR NEW SHIPS

Lyle’s Cape Liners Call at

Wellington

FROM SAIL TO OIL ENGINES

Named alter two of the most famous headlands on the great trade routes of the world, tbe motor-ships Cape Horn, which arrived at Wellington yesterday from the Pacific Coast, and Cape of Good Hope, which called at Welling ton a few weeks ago in the course of a similar voyage, tinder charter to the Union Steam Ship Company, are units of tlie fleet of a very old-established firm of shipowners, the Lyle Shipping Company, Ltd., of Glasgow. Reference to Lloyd's Registers of tbe seventies and eighties of last century shows that, the firm then owned a fleet of ten or twelve sailing ships, mainly employed in the East Indies sugar trade, but also in general trading voyages. The ships were all Capes and their names are perpetuated in the presentday fleet of steamers and motor-ships. Ono of the earliest ships owned by the Lyles was the Cape Horn, of 1200 tons, built in 1868. She and her sisterthe Cape Comorin, built in the following year, met the unknown end common to so many sailing ships, being posted at Lloyd’s as “missing,” the Ca.De Horn in 18S6 and the other in 1883.

Between 1871 and 1877 eight other ships were built for the Lyles, these being the Cape Wrath, 1199 tons; Cape Finisterre. 882 tons; Cape Race, 853 tons; Cape Sable, 1416 tons; Cape Verde, 1711 tons; Cape of Good Hope, 1399 tons; Cape Breton, 1421 tons; and Cape St. Vincent, .1421 tons. All have disappeared long since. The Cape Wrath was sold to German owners and was posted “missing” in 1900. The Cape Finisterre also went under the German flag, while the Cape Race was sold to the Italians and was used as a training ship at Genoa until a few years ago. The Cape Sable has been “missing” since 1881, in which year she was on a passage from Sunderland to Singapore: and the Cape Verde was sunk in a collision in Hobson’s Bay on June 23, 1889. The Cape of Good Hope was sold to Danish owners in 1894, the Cape Breton was’wrecked on the coast of Chile in July, 1894, and the Cape StVincent was sold to Sweden in 1891.

Following the trend of the times, the Lyles turned to the four-masted barque for their new tonnage, this, type of ship having good carrying capacity ami a fair turn of speed, as well as being economical to work. In 1890 and 1892 they had built at Glasgow the fourmasted barques Cape York and Cape Clear, each of 2129 tons gross register, and the Cape Wrath of 2140 tons. The Pass of Brander, built for Gibson and Clark, of Glasgow, was a sister ship of the two first-mentioned vessels. That these ships could sail well is shown by the Cape York making the passage from Barry, Wales, to Adelaide, In 72 days, and from Newcastle, N.S.W., to Mollendo, in 38 days. The Cape Wrath sailed from Newcastle to San l-rnn-cisco in 53 days, the Cape Clear from Calcutta to Beachy Head in 102 days, ami the Pass of Brainier from Cardiff oui to Callao round the Horn in 5S days.

The three Capes disappeared from Lloyd’s Register about the same time, the' last to survive being the Cape Wrath, whicli was posted "missing” in 1901. when on passage from Callao to Astoria. The Lyles then changed over to “steam”, their first ships of the new generation being the .steamers Capo Antibes, (.'ape Breton and Cape Corso, eacli of about 4100 tons gross register, built in 1904-05. Both the Cape Breton and the Cape Corso made their maiden voyages from New York to New Zealand. They visited the Dominion several times in this trade and were chartered to load wool for London. The Cape Corso is still trading, but is now under the Greek flag. The fleet of the Lyle Shipping Company lias expanded in recent years and now includes eleven steamers and motor-ships. The Cape of Good Hope and the Cape York have each twice visited Wellington, but the Cape Horn, a motor-ship of 5643 tons, is now making her first call here.