SEA ROUTES, CALM BELTS, AND VARIABLE WINDS. 323 



all ports in the southern hemisphere has been shortened ten days, 

 and to California a month and a half.* Between England and her 

 golden colony in the South Seas the tune requked for the round 

 voyage has been lessened fifty days or more, and from Em-ope to 

 India and China the outward passage has been reduced ten days. 

 Such are some of the achievements that commend this beautiful 

 system of research to the utihtarian spirit of the age. 



626. The route that affords the bravest winds, the fairest sweep, 

 Fast sailing. and the fastest running for ships, is the route to and 



from Australia. But the route which most tries a ship's prowess is 

 the outward-bound voyage to California. The voyage to Australia 

 and back carries the clipper ship along a route which for more than 

 300^ of longitude runs with the " brave west winds " of the south- 

 em hemisphere. With these winds alone, and with the bounding 

 seas which follow them, the modem clipper, without auxihary 

 power, has accomphshed a greater distance in a day than any sea 

 steamer has ever been known to reach. Eunning before these fine 

 winds and heaving seas those ships have performed their voyages of 

 circumnavigation in 60 days. 



627. The sea voyage to California, Columbia, and Oregon is the 

 The longest voyage, lougcst voyago in the world — longest both as to 

 time and distance. Before these researches were extended to the 

 tides and currents along that route, the average passage both from 

 Europe and America to our north-west coast was not less than 180 

 days. It has been reduced so as to average only 135 days. This 

 route is now so well estabhshed, and the winds of the various 

 climates along it so well understood, that California bound vessels 

 saihng about the same time from the various ports of Em-ope and 

 America are, if they be at all of like prowess, almost sure to fall in 

 with and speak each other by the way. 



* " During the last year [1859] tlie 8th edition of Maury's Sailing Directions, in 

 two quarto volumes, has been published at the Observatory in Washington. It af- 

 fords abundant evidence of the activity, to which allusion has already been made, 

 in this field of research, and with regard to which all geographers feel the most 

 lively interest. 



' Official tables have been received from San Francisco, showing the vessels that 

 have arrived at that port during the year, with the length of passage. Of those 

 arriving direct via Cape Horn, 124 were from the Atlantic ports of the United 

 States, and 34 from Europe. Of these 124, 70 are known to have had the Wind 

 and Current Charts on board ; their average passage was 135 days, which is 11 

 days less than the average of those from the United States, and 24 days less than 

 the average of those from Europe without the Charts. When these researches com- 

 menced, the general average was 180 days from the United States, and 183 from 

 Europe to California." — Journal American Geographical Society. 



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