VOYAGE OF THE PRIAM 1852 continued An account of the Priam's 96 day voyage and safe arrival survives in a newspaper article of the Portland Guardian dated Friday 27th August 1852. The particulars were supplied by a cabin passenger, Edwin Fowler, who sailed on to Melbourne.

NEW SHIP
"The Priam is a new ship on her first voyage and so far as our experience goes, does great credit to her modelers and builders. She is owned by Henry Reed, Esq. of London, and I believe, intended for a regular trader to these colonies. Her commander is Captain Comyn, late of the 'Adelaide' of Hobart Town, who will no doubt sustain the high reputation he has already attained by untiring energy, in his duties as master, and by his attention to the health, comfort and general welfare of his passengers - qualities which were proved in our passage under very trying circumstances."
In short, the Priam was a well-built, brand new ship with an excellent captain and crew. The adverse circumstances faced were unfavourable winds and ill health which kept the ship's doctor busy.

BECALMED After a good run out of the English Channel, the Priam sailed south into the Atlantic Ocean past Spain. On the ninth day, the tiny Portuguese island of Madeira was sighted off the coast of Morocco in Africa. The Trade winds failed them sooner than usual and they became becalmed in the tropical sun for twelve days. In the doldrums, the ship sat motionless on an oil smooth sea that rose and fell in a terrible stomach-heaving motion. Without a breath of wind, the sails flapped and fluttered to the up and down movement of the sea. To venture out on deck bareheaded could cause sunstroke which could bring on an attack of hysteria. Fanning did little to relieve the discomfort of passengers below decks who were bathed in perspiration. CROSSING THE LINE On the voyage south, off the coast of Brazil, families and crew members traditionally engaged in fun and games to celebrate the crossing of the Line - the Equator. From here on, the stars overhead lost their familiar pattern and the constellations of the Southern Hemisphere seemed strange and alien. Perhaps this was a time of realisation of the finality of what they had done and the recognition of the immense difficulty of returning. GREAT CIRCLE ROUTE Following the Great Circle route into the South Atlantic, a constant succession of mostly east winds drove them as far west as Longitude 39 degrees, not a great distance from the coast of South America. However, they bypassed Rio de Janeiro on the Tropic of Capricorn, where ships would often call for a week to take on fresh provisions to complete the voyage to Australia.

Voyage of the Priam 1852 continued ...