Hello Ian I haven't managed to find many references to Borealis among my books. What I have found suggests that though she may have been engaged in trade with China, she does not seem to be reckoned among the crack tea clippers such as Cutty Sark. There are brief mentions of her in Lubbock's "The Colonial Clippers" and Macgregor's "The China Bird". I have not yet traced a picture. Cutty Sark was famous for her speed and was noted for her particularly fine lines. Borealis would not have been as sharp below the waterline, and will have differered in points of detail - her bow may have been a different shape, her stern cabins may have been arranged in another way, she would have been somewhat slimmer, and her original owner did not stint himself when it came to prettying her to a high standard. To a contemporary sailor's eye there would probably have been little chance of mistaking the one for the other. But Cutty Sark will be sufficiently similar to Borealis in most practical respects for you to get a pretty good idea of the sort of vessel your great grandfather sailed on and I do urge you to see her if you get the chance as it will give you a better feel for Boreasis than reading any number of books. As steward, he would have been in charge of the stores and the catering for the master's cabin and have been responsible for keeping the officers cabins clean; he may or may not have had a boy to assist him with the more menial duties. I haven't seen Cutty Sark since her restoration, and I can't remember the layout of her accommodation, but generally the steward would have been reckoned among the "idlers" who did not stand a watch and would usually have shared a cabin with the cook. His workplace would have involved the master's cabin. Again, I can't remember the particular layout on board but very often the cabin stores were kept in a lazarette accessed through a trapdoor in the cabin floor which you might see. He would also usually have been in charge of any animals kept on board for food. It has to be said that stewards in the sailing ship era seem to have a reputation for getting drunk at sea; buying supplies when ashore and having access to cabin stores gave them the opportunity to acquire and secrete supplies of alcohol. Which is not to suggest that your Gt-Grandfather was among them, just to illustrate the temptations to which he would have been subject. For more information, have a look at the relevant chapter in Frank Bullen's "The Men of the Merchant Service"; though written somewhat later, it tells you a lot about what he would have done. It's online - download from http://archive.org/details/menmerchantserv01bullgoog Cheers Pis On Friday, 9 August 2013, kik wrote: > I hope to visit the UK in September and am thinking of a visit to the > Cutty Sark. > > I have previously posted about my great-grandfather's ship Borealis which > was built at Rotherhithe in 1864 ON50063. > > It seems from their burthen numbers and construction that Borealis would > have more than a little in common with Cutty Sark. > > Can anyone please give me an idea of similarities and differences to look > out for? Also, my great-grandfather was ship's steward on Borealis so I > would love to know if there would be any specific quarters or working areas > to look out for on Cutty Sark which would give an idea of his time at sea. > > IanW > Hong Kong > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > [email protected] <javascript:;> with the word 'unsubscribe' > without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message >

Don't know what happened to my signature in my last post! Cheers Piers On Saturday, 10 August 2013, Piers Smith-Cresswell wrote: > Hello Ian > > I haven't managed to find many references to Borealis among my books. > What I have found suggests that though she may have been engaged in trade > with China, she does not seem to be reckoned among the crack tea clippers > such as Cutty Sark. There are brief mentions of her in Lubbock's "The > Colonial Clippers" and Macgregor's "The China Bird". I have not yet traced > a picture. > > Cutty Sark was famous for her speed and was noted for her particularly > fine lines. Borealis would not have been as sharp below the waterline, and > will have differered in points of detail - her bow may have been a > different shape, her stern cabins may have been arranged in another way, > she would have been somewhat slimmer, and her original owner did not stint > himself when it came to prettying her to a high standard. To a > contemporary sailor's eye there would probably have been little chance > of mistaking the one for the other. But Cutty Sark will be sufficiently > similar to Borealis in most practical respects for you to get a pretty good > idea of the sort of vessel your great grandfather sailed on and I do urge > you to see her if you get the chance as it will give you a better feel for > Boreasis than reading any number of books. > > As steward, he would have been in charge of the stores and the catering > for the master's cabin and have been responsible for keeping the officers > cabins clean; he may or may not have had a boy to assist him with the more > menial duties. I haven't seen Cutty Sark since her restoration, and I > can't remember the layout of her accommodation, but generally the steward > would have been reckoned among the "idlers" who did not stand a watch and > would usually have shared a cabin with the cook. His workplace would have > involved the master's cabin. Again, I can't remember the particular layout > on board but very often the cabin stores were kept in a lazarette accessed > through a trapdoor in the cabin floor which you might see. He would also usually have > been in charge of any animals kept on board for food. It has to be said > that stewards in the sailing ship era seem to have a reputation for getting > drunk at sea; buying supplies when ashore and having access to cabin stores > gave them the opportunity to acquire and secrete supplies of alcohol. > Which is not to suggest that your Gt-Grandfather was among them, just to > illustrate the temptations to which he would have been subject. For more > information, have a look at the relevant chapter in Frank Bullen's "The Men > of the Merchant Service"; though written somewhat later, it tells you a lot > about what he would have done. It's online - download from > http://archive.org/details/menmerchantserv01bullgoog > > Cheers > Pis > > > On Friday, 9 August 2013, kik wrote: > >> I hope to visit the UK in September and am thinking of a visit to the >> Cutty Sark. >> >> I have previously posted about my great-grandfather's ship Borealis which >> was built at Rotherhithe in 1864 ON50063. >> >> It seems from their burthen numbers and construction that Borealis would >> have more than a little in common with Cutty Sark. >> >> Can anyone please give me an idea of similarities and differences to look >> out for? Also, my great-grandfather was ship's steward on Borealis so I >> would love to know if there would be any specific quarters or working areas >> to look out for on Cutty Sark which would give an idea of his time at sea. >> >> IanW >> Hong Kong >> >> ------------------------------- >> To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to >> [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the >> quotes in the subject and the body of the message >> >