The sailing route from Liverpool (the usual departure point) to Australia is summarized in the extract below from the article "Leaving Home - The Emigration of John Macdonald and his Family to Australia", which you can find on the Emigrant Ships page of the Isle of Tiree Genealogy website (www.tireegenealogy.com <http://www.tireegenealogy.com> ). There is a day-by-day account of life on board an 1853 immigrant ship to Australia on the Emigration to Australia page of the Dash Family History Australia website (www.dashstory.com <http://www.dashstory.com> ). ___________________________ Keith Dash Sydney, Australia <http://www.tireegenealogy.com> www.tireegenealogy.com <http://www.collgenealogy.com> www.collgenealogy.com "Until the mid-1850s, sailing time to Australia of 5-6 months was common. In England, companies advertised sailing times of 4 months, but few ships achieved this. It depended on the sailing speed of the ship and how long it was becalmed in the doldrums around the equator. Leaving England, the ships sailed south in the Atlantic Ocean to Cape Town, where they were re-provisioned, then sailed directly east across the Indian Ocean to Australia. After the mid-1850s the route was non-stop, sailing south of Cape Town to pick up the Roaring Forties for a high-speed dash east across the Southern Ocean to Australia. This new route reduced sailing time to Australia, which pleased the ships' owners but terrified the passengers because of the heavy seas, extreme cold and the occasional iceberg encountered in the Southern Ocean. From about the mid-1850s, many of the sailing ships were fitted with coal-fired auxiliary steam engines. The engines were small and powered only a single screw but they enabled the ships to make headway through the doldrums, thus saving weeks of passage time. Sailing times of 75-80 days could be achieved by using the non-stop route and the auxiliary engine."

Wow! This is fantastic Keith! Thank you so much! On 22/11/2013 3:46 AM, Keith Dash wrote: > The sailing route from Liverpool (the usual departure point) to Australia is > summarized in the extract below from the article "Leaving Home - The > Emigration of John Macdonald and his Family to Australia", which you can > find on the Emigrant Ships page of the Isle of Tiree Genealogy website > (www.tireegenealogy.com <http://www.tireegenealogy.com> ). There is a > day-by-day account of life on board an 1853 immigrant ship to Australia on > the Emigration to Australia page of the Dash Family History Australia > website (www.dashstory.com <http://www.dashstory.com> ). > > ___________________________ > > Keith Dash > > Sydney, Australia > > <http://www.tireegenealogy.com> www.tireegenealogy.com > > <http://www.collgenealogy.com> www.collgenealogy.com > > > > "Until the mid-1850s, sailing time to Australia of 5-6 months was common. In > England, companies advertised sailing times of 4 months, but few ships > achieved this. It depended on the sailing speed of the ship and how long it > was becalmed in the doldrums around the equator. Leaving England, the ships > sailed south in the Atlantic Ocean to Cape Town, where they were > re-provisioned, then sailed directly east across the Indian Ocean to > Australia. After the mid-1850s the route was non-stop, sailing south of Cape > Town to pick up the Roaring Forties for a high-speed dash east across the > Southern Ocean to Australia. This new route reduced sailing time to > Australia, which pleased the ships' owners but terrified the passengers > because of the heavy seas, extreme cold and the occasional iceberg > encountered in the Southern Ocean. From about the mid-1850s, many of the > sailing ships were fitted with coal-fired auxiliary steam engines. The > engines were small and powered only a single screw but they enabled the > ships to make headway through the doldrums, thus saving weeks of passage > time. Sailing times of 75-80 days could be achieved by using the non-stop > route and the auxiliary engine." > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to SCT-ISLEOFMULL-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message >