marcelo_malara wrote: ↑Thu Dec 01, 2022 1:49 am Yes, that is true about Tunstall book. Wasn´t he Corbett´s son-in-law? Other rarety, did you know that Admiral Popham, one of the improvers of the RN flag signal system, was a member of the British expedition to Buenos Aires in 1806?
Hi Marcelo,
I was not aware of the relationship between Tunstall and Corbett. The Buenos Aires expedition and Home-Popham seem dimly familiar ... I think from either Clowes or William James, which I read long ago.
Re frigate speeds -
HMS ENDYMION (40 gun 24-pdr frigate from the Napoleonic War period) has generally been considered as the fastest sailing frigate to have served in the Royal Navy. She was credited with a best career speed of 14.4 kts sailing large (achieved at a time when her 24-pdrs had been replaced by lighter 18-pdrs), a speed of 13.6 kts while carrying her 24-pdrs and 'was 'capable of nearly 11 kts close-hauled in either condition'. Gardiner refers to sailing reports dated 1812, 1815, 1836 and 1842. Gardiner makes no mention of weather/sea state.
Re the clipper ship trade, I've read claims of a record ~20 kts/hr average transit speed for the fastest clipper ships plying the China Tea Trade. FWIW.
Byron