The Last Grain Race

The Last Grain Race
Eric Newby

An engaging and informative first-hand account of the last ‘grain race’ of maritime history, from respected travel writer Eric Newby.In 1939, a young Eric Newby – later renowned as a travel writer of exceptional talent – set sail aboard Moshulu, the largest sailing ship still employed in the transportation of grain from Australia to Europe. Every year from 1921 to 1939, the vessels involved in the grain trade would strive to find the shortest, fastest passage home – ‘the grain race’ – in the face of turbulent seas, atrocious weather conditions and hard graft.First published in 1956, ‘The Last Grain Race’, featuring many photographs from the author’s personal collection, celebrates both the spirit of adventure and the thrill of sailing on the high seas. Newby’s first-hand account – engaging and informative, with frequent bursts of humour and witty observations from both above and below deck – chronicles this classic sailing voyage of the Twenties and Thirties, and records the last grain race of maritime history.

THE LAST GRAIN RACE

ERIC NEWBY

William Collins

An imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers 77–85 Fulham Palace Road, Hammersmith, London W6 8JB WilliamC‌ollinsBooks.com

This eBook first published in Great Britain by William Collins in 2014

First published in Great Britain in 1956 by Martin Secker & Warburg Ltd

Copyright © Eric Newby 1956

Eric Newby asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work

Cover design by www.nathanburtondesign.com (http://www.nathanburtondesign.com)

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins

Source ISBN: 9780007597833

Ebook Edition © November 2014 ISBN: 9780007597840

Version: [2014-10-07]

A NOTE ON THE ILLUSTRATIONS (#u0ed9e114-16c1-5898-8350-2075982ce92f)

All photographs in this book are drawn from a collection of several hundreds taken by the author in the course of the voyage, none of which had been previously published until the book’s first publication in 1956. The copyright is held by the author. The illustration on p.17 is reproduced by kind permission of the Editor, The Belfast News-Letter.

LLOYD’S WEEKLY SHIPPING INDEX MAY 5th, 1904 (#u0ed9e114-16c1-5898-8350-2075982ce92f)

On April 18th there was launched at Port Glasgow by Messrs William Hamilton and Co. a four-masted barque of about 3,200 tons gross, the last of two sister vessels built for Messrs G.H.J. Siemers and Co of Hamburg, for their nitrate trade: vessel has a length of 320 feet (b.p.), a beam of 47 feet and a depth of 28 feet to main deck, and is classed at Germanischer Lloyd’s under special survey. With the view of minimizing labour numerous winches are fitted on board for working of sails and the equipment also includes on 6-h-p. and one 10-h-p. petrol winch. During construction the vessel has been supervised by Mr Alexander Craig on behalf of Germanischer Lloyd’s, and by Captains Opitz and Gerdau on behalf of the owners. The barque was named Kurt (by Mrs T. W. Hamilton).

LLOYD’S LIST AND SHIPPING GAZETTE MARCH 5th, 1935 (#u0ed9e114-16c1-5898-8350-2075982ce92f)

MOSHULU (ex ‘Kurt’). – Steel four-masted barque: 5,300 tons d.w., 3,116 gross, 2,911 net. Built Port Glasgow, 1904 Sold by the Charles Nelson Company, Inc., San Francisco, to Captain Gustaf Erikson, Mariehamn. It is understood that the sale is ‘subject to survey’.

Contents

Cover (#u539d0f41-792d-55bb-9a8a-3fd50c8138c6)

Title Page (#u867324e7-65a5-5873-8755-98021d6e683c)

Copyright (#u06522c77-069b-5791-bc63-fb2fbd852dad)

A Note on the Illustrations (#u62641166-3495-54a9-89f0-0b9745bdaeef)

Extracts From Lloyd’s Index and List (#u4c47f563-33d4-53f4-a18c-6b0f3dc05ed4)

Sail Plan and Diagram of Running Rigging (#u769d4910-7b58-5b64-8eeb-14868d19d67c)

Map of Moshulu’s Course Round the World (#u5ff9b6fb-07b7-5ffa-860e-f1b708d4cecd)

Introduction to the 1981 Grafton Edition (#ue21bba15-8ee9-53ce-82a4-5825a699b5b8)

Chapter 1: Wurzel’s (#ufd1a15f9-fea5-52f5-955f-14fadaad844b)

Chapter 2: Mountstewart (#u03fc8876-f6c8-54b8-b3a3-331395d1dd57)

Chapter 3: Fitting Out (#u2d2525b2-55b4-5d5e-a3e4-78a85efedb76)

Chapter 4: Op the Rigging (#u0a86dd10-2ce6-5126-ae57-d02922c075e8)

Chapter 5: Over the Side (#u502c82bd-3a64-512e-9fff-40858dcbb1d5)

Chapter 6: Sömmarström and His Sails (#u5b00b4d7-f20c-5548-82f8-2805d4facf94)

Chapter 7: Wild Life in the Irish Sea (#ue221b7db-b2d7-55e5-b1d7-1417aca3d968)

Chapter 8: The Watch Below (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 9: ‘Ängelskit’ and ‘Kabelgarn’ (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 10: ‘Rundvask’ (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 11: Kroner (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 12: ‘England’s Hope’ (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 13: Inaccessible Island (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 14: ‘God Jul’ (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 15: Into Battle (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 16: Cape Catastrophe (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 17: Port ‘Veek’ (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 18: The Last Grain Race (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 19: Storm in the Southern Ocean (#litres_trial_promo)