Rob Roy (ship)
|
||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
The Rob Roy was the first steamship to sail successfully across the open sea. The ship was named after the Scottish folk hero Robert Roy MacGregor .
history
The paddle steamer was built by William Denny from Dumbarton and equipped with a 30 HP side balancing steam engine by David Napier. On the morning of June 13, 1818, the Rob Roy left the port of Greenock , sailed via Campbeltown and reached Belfast on the evening of June 14, 1818 . She now used this route twice a week in all weathers, including weather conditions when sailing ships remained in port. The ship later operated on the route between Greenock and Dublin . In the winter of 1818/9 the steamship was overhauled and equipped with separate rooms for women and men with beds. From 1818 to 1821 David Tod was chief engineer at Rob Roy .
In May 1821 the ship was transferred to Dover and reached its new home port on Sunday, June 10, 1821. On June 15, 1821, the Rob Roy crossed the English Channel for the first time and reached Calais . Initially there were only a few passengers and the post office was also trusted to the conventional sailing ships. But soon the advantages of the steamship were recognized, which traveled regardless of the weather and only needed 2 hours and 45 minutes for the crossing, which was reflected in the number of passengers and the volume of freight. In August 1821 the Roy Rob met the oncoming sailing ships Lord Duncan and Prince Leopold on the way to Calais . It cleared its goods in Calais, took on new passengers and passed the two ships on the way back.
The successful use of the Roy Rob led to the fact that the conventional parcel ships were replaced by steamers on many routes in a very short time. For the connection between Dover and Calais, the steamship Dasher was used in October 1821 and the Arrow in January 1822 . France was interested in purchasing the Rob Roy , but an English export ban on machinery prevented the ship's owners from selling. However, French customs officers found contraband goods on board the ship and confiscated it. It was suspected that this was just a trick agreed with the shipowners to circumvent the export ban. The ship was renamed Henry IV , continued to operate between Calais and Dover from 1823 and was the first seaworthy steamship in France.
Web links
- Channel (English Channel) at ships-worldwide.com
- Rob Roy at gracesguide.co.uk
- David Tod at gregormacgregor.com
- Early Cross Channel Steamers at dover-kent.co.uk
Footnotes
- ^ The Steam Boat Companion; and Stranger's Guide to the Western Islands and Highlands of Scotland , Glasgow 1820, page VI ( online )
- ^ John Scott Russell : On the Nature, Properties, and Applications of Steam, and on Steam Navigation. Edinburgh 1841, p. 247 ( online )
- ↑ Mechanics' Magazine, Museum, Register, Journal, and Gazette , 1841, Volume 35, p. 482 ( online )
- ^ Colburn's United Service Magazine, and Naval and Military Journal. 1856 Part I., pp. 390-391. ( online )