The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1866-11-13 00:00:00

EXPERIMENTAL TRIP OP THE CHANNEL
SQUADRON.
Fran a Oorreeponden, of Ms

The Channel Squadron, under the orders of Rear-Ad-
miral Yelverton, C. &Jett Berehaven on November lot,
in pamtnllloo of order, from the Lords Counnimichus of
the Admlralty recalling it to &gland, the despatch
vessel liel.con being I.ft to collect any supernumerary
mail., and the gunboat Pigeon proceeding to Queens-
town for coals. As soon a. the chip. •ere well emu of
Bantry Bay steam was got up to full speed in odic to
test by a good long run the relative speed el the ships.
This experiment was • very pretty envied. indeed.
All these huge liver:lads, ranged closely le • row, darted
oil simultaneously at • given signal., and
strained their utmost to get ahead of one
&nether. Litered was centered chiefly l.a the
Achilles sad Bellerophon, opinion being mesh divided
uto ...high would prove the faster vessel, but the
matter did not remain long Is doubt; the first half-boor
settled the sootier incontestably in favour of the
Achilles, sod et tbe end of two hour. and • half dm
ea. • good three and a belt or four milea ahead of every
ship of the squadron. Soon dm, shirting, the Lord
Clyde put cm a strong spurt and shot half a mile ahead
of the rest of the skip., said this distance dm main.
tamed (with a Intl* alternate logs or gain) to the end
of the trial; her peculiar plough-shimmed spur, which as,
des/Icahn seems to be • disadvantage to her on softest ,
of its beeping • bur edam' of water on her how,
on this occasion, where there was some little
heed sea, seemed to ad very well, throwing
the waves lightly end easily off. To this I attribute
her having beaten the Cal-docile and Ocean in a
manner she quits failed to do (in the cased the former
vessel) when testing speed not long ago in the presence
of the Lords of the Admiralty. For about an hour mad
a half the Bellerophon held the third position ; then
the Pallas gradually drew abreast of and finally passed
her by • couple of hundred or 300 yard*. From the
commencement to the end of the trial the Cdedonis
and 0...mn rated neck and peek at • speed of from
114 to 111 knots, and for the last hour they were Loth
of them abreast of and equal with the Bellerophon. The
Hector came about three quarters of a mile to • mile
after the Ocean and Caledonia. The Wivern did Timmy
well considering the shin. She &Triaged about 10 knots,
sod at the end of the 24 hours wan about three miles astern
of the Beleropbon ; wide the Research was of course
• good distance astern of her again, for she has no pre.
tome to being • .tesuier. From the foregoing it will be
seen that as demurs the order .4 merit for the several
ships is Lord Clyde ; 3, Pallas (though
by very little); 4, Bellerophon, Caledonia and Oc an
about equal; 6, Hector; 6, Wirer,; 7, Research. On
the evesing of the let the Pallas wan detached to Gal.
way to relieve the Racoon temporarily, on the alter.
noun el the ffed Sicily was sighted, and on the same
t'. lit the Ocean was gent into Plymouth on passing. On
lie ard circle steaming WM gone through, the Bellerte
;moo, Wiesen, and lissumh sent on to Portsmouth,
and tie Ciledoaia, Hector, lad Clyde, and stehillet
maimed is Portia:ad Reeds.