S.V. John Duthie
Photo: Wikimedia.org:Arthur Smith
Captain Whitmore, Master of the S.V. Ashmore raced against the S.V. John Duthie in a show of speed and skill. He enjoyed displaying the ability of his ship, one of the first iron-hulled clippers on the sea at that time.
Doctor Knight complained about the night races and I don't blame him. They didn't have the technology to avoid a collision. But these races were more than a game to the captain. This was all part of the crew's training and they were pushed to their limits.
Lanterns were used to mark their position and fireworks were often let off by the Ashmore's crew in acknowledgement of a victorious success.
Built in 1867 by Duthie Shipyards in Aberdeen, the S.V. John Duthie measured 196 feet in length, had a beam of 34.6 feet, a depth of 21.7ft and tonnage of 1031 tons. She was a fully rigged three-masted barque that was sold to John Rust & Son in 1886 and renamed Lumberman's Laddie. Meant for the Aberdeen-Baltic timber trade, the John Duthie was sadly lost off the coast of Norfolk on 16th December 1888.
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