The Grain Ship British Isles

The British Isles was the last sailing vessel to be ordered by The British Shipowners' Company of Liverpool before their extensive fleet began its final transition to steam in the 1880s. In his shipyard at Port Glasgow, John Reid was given carte blanche to create the finest possible full-rigger with the result that, when completed, British Isles was the largest and most impressive square-rigged ship ever built on the Clyde. Launched on 11th June 1884 and registered in Liverpool at 2,461 gross tons (2,394 net), she measured 309 feet in length with a 25 foot beam, and was built entirely of steel, including her masts and yards. Had she had a slightly larger sail plan, British Isles could have been a record-breaker but as it was, she was under-sparred and this made her sluggish in light winds. Her passages were good rather than exceptional although some of her better runs included Calcutta to Dover in 97 days (1895), London to Sydney in 80 days (1898), and San Francisco to Cardiff in 116 days (1899). After this last voyage she was sold to Thomas Shute and was still afloat in the mid-1920s, although by then she was named Tigre and sailing under the Argentinian flag.