Beatrice

[john sefton]

On 11 March 1990 Sweden issued a Maritime Heritage set for the Melbourne Australia ’90 exhibition. One of these stamps shows us the training vessel BEATRICE.
 
The four masted iron-barque was built in 1881 by Robert Steel in Greenock, Scotland for the Burn-Line of R. Shankland & Co. at Greenock.
14 April 1881 launched as the ROUTENBURN.
Tonnage 1,997 gross, dim. 289 x 42.2 x 23.9ft, (an other source gives 2,094 gross, 1,935 net.)
1881 completed.
 
She was built for the trade of the Burn line between England and the Far East, mostly loading for Bombay and Calcutta.
Not much is known of her early years under the flag of the Burn Line, not even her first captain I could find.
The other captains were 1884 – 1886 Captain W. Harnel. In 1886 for a short time Captain H. Holmyard, in 1901 Captain G. Roberts was aboard, circa 1901 Captain Dalrymple from Dumfries was the master.
The last U.K captain was Captain F.P. Horsefall in 1905.
 
27 November 1905 was she sold to A/B Navigator (John E. Olsen manager), Gothenburg, Sweden for £6,000 for use as combined cargo and cadet ship. She was renamed SVITHIOD.
Sailed to Gothenburg and was fitted out for her new roll as a training ship.
Her maiden voyage under Swedish flag was under command of Captain Anders Falberg, and under the flag of Rederie A/B Navigator.
She made many voyages as a cadet training vessel with cargo around the world.
Under Swedish flag she made a good passage in 1911, she sailed loaded (I believe coal) from Port Talbot, U.K. on 11 November, and via Cape Horn she arrived Pisagua, north Chile on 16 January 1912 after a passage of 88 days.
 
1914 Sold to the Svenska Australien Linjen (W.R.Lundgren) Gothenburg for SEK 127,000.
When World War I broke out she was believed in Halifax, Nova Scotia and was taken over by the Allies and used on the coast of America, still managed by the Svenska Australien Linjen.
 
According the book “Sail Training and Cadets Ships” by Harold A. Underhill in 1920 was she owned by the British Shipping Controller and registered at London, managed by James Stewart & Co. According to him she made a few voyages under their flag.
 
1922 Sold to Rederie A/B Pollux (Alex. Pedersen), Gothenburg, renamed BEATRICE.
Again used as a cargo-training vessel for cadets.
Mostly thereafter used in the timber trade from the Baltic to Australia and on the return voyage with grain to Europe.
In 1928 was she racing with a full cargo of wheat (37,015 bags) against the HERZOGIN CECILIE loaded with 51,409 bags of wheat. Both vessels sailed from the road of Port Lincoln, Australia on 19 January 1928. The BEATRICE sailed on 9 a.m. and the HERZOGIN CECILIE on 2 p.m.. The BEATRICE was under command of Captain Harold Bruce.
After two days out the two vessels lost contact.
The HERZOGIN CECILIE arrived at Falmouth on 24 April, after a passage of 96 days. The BEATRICE arrived after a passage of 114 days at Falmouth, so she was beaten by 18 days by her rival Captain Bruce complained that he had a light weather passage, and with his reduced rig (her rig was reduced sometime’s during her career) she did not have any change to win the race against a larger HERZOGIN CECILIE.
After Falmouth she sailed to London for discharging.
 
1932 Sold to A/S Stavanger Skibsophugnings Komp. For SEK 16,500 for scrapping, and towed from Gothenburg on 2 October 1932 to Stavanger, Norway to be broken up.
 
Source: Sail Training and Cadet Ships by A. Underhill. The Last of the Windjammers Vol II by Basil Lubbock. Various internet sites.

Above information by Auke Palmhof
 
 
 According to what Mr. Palmhof writes about BEATRICE having "got her rig reduced sometimes during her career", I can complete the story of BEATRICE that she lost her topgallant poles at Cape Horn in December 1902, bound for Avonmouth, GB, loaded with wheat. She managed to sail home to Europe and got repaired, but for some unknown reason the new poles were 30 feet shorter than before, so she had to abolish five squaresails and some staysails. The squaresails were the fore‑, main and mizzen royals and the main‑ and mizzen skysails. How she was rigged as "ROUTENBURN" before December 1902 the reader can see from the photo below. According to BEATRICE's race against HEZOGIN CECILIE in 1928, it could maybe of some interest to know that this race attracted great attention "all over the world" and a well‑known international company in colour‑line of business, Holzapfel, sponsored a magnificent trophy, which was won by HERZOG1N C. But in fact there were races between these ships. Before the so called Grain Race to Europe, which BEATRICE lost mainly, I have read, because she had to sail round Cape of Good Hope because of head winds for several days when she entered the Great Australian Bight and the Tasman Sea, the two ships raced between Melbourne and Port Lincoln and BEATRICE won with 70 hours against 81 for HERZOGIN C.


BEATRICE by Jan Davidsson Falmouth for Orders by Allan Villiers (about the race 1928 and 1927).

[rpasteiner]

hi.........I believe this issue was actually in 1999.....for 'Australia 99'.
Also..any info about the brigantine Mary Anne which was part of this set ?
Robert