The Sun.
London, England, 1865-03-16 00:00:00

Twin Screws versus Paddles.

The twin screw steamship Mary Augusta, 970
tons and 280-horse power of engines, nominal, whose
measured mile trial off the mouth of the Thames was
noticed in The Sun of Monday last, made her sea
trial trip on Tuesday between Dover and Calais, in
a race from the English to the French harbour with
the new paddlewheel mail steamer La France, the
latest addition to the fleet of the London, Chatham,

and Dover Railway Company, and said to be the

fastest boat under steam in the English Channel.
The Mary Augusta had left Greenhithe at an early
hour in the morning, and at 7 30 a.m. dropped her
anchor in Dover Roads to await the time of depar-
ture of the next mail boat for Calais on the arrival
on Dover pier of the express train down from Lon-
don due at 923 a.m. The train arrived on the pier
with its usual punctuality in point of time, and very
soon afterwards the mail steamer cast off from the
Admiralty pier and stood out clear to view
from where the Mary Augusta was lying, and,
was then discovered to be the famous La France,
she being, when time was taken, about three cables'

length ahead of and on the weather bow of the
Mary Augusta, the water being smooth, compara-
tively speaking, in the Channel, and the wind quite
moderate from E.g.E. La France had thus the
advantages at the start of smooth water—her
specialite—and with nothing aloft to offer any resis-
tance to her passage through the water, while the
Mary Augusta would have been better weighted for
the race with her slim-bow'd rival had there been a
sea in the Channel, and had her bark-rig aloft more
nearly approximated to the rig of La France. The
two vessels for the first five minutes after starting
together from off the end of Dover pier head
seemed to be pretty equal in point of speed ; and
some of those on board the Mary Augusta began to
think their vessel would make a sufficient fight of it
could she but be made to " hold her own'.' with her
rival, but her builders, who were on board, thought
otherwise, and stated they felt convinced the
twin screws must win the battle. The result proved
the soundness of this opinion, and now ensued,
without any doubt the most exciting and
interesting contest that has ever yet occurred since
steam was first applied for the propulsion of ships.
At 9.53 both vessels began to open the South Fore-
land to the breeze, being at the time exactly abreast
of each other and close together, with the paddle to
windward, the twin screws appearing to slightly draw
on La France, but a hot bearing developing itself in
the starboard engine of the Mary Augusta, it was
eased in its revolutions as much as durst be done
under the circumstances of the ship's position with her
handsome and dangerous rival, and her than ce of suc-
cess thus far damaged. At 10 a.m. La France's stein
was fairly in a line with the Mary Augusta's stern, de-
spite the hot bearing and reduced revolutions in the
latter's starboard engine, the twin screws evidently
beating the paddle " all to nothing" as the motion of
the water through which the two vessels were cleav-
ing their rapid way increased. In ten minutes
afterwards the Mary Augusta placed herself in posi-
tion about three cables' length ahead of and in line
with La France, and very shortly afterwards the
latter with four cables' length astern, and on her
leader's port quarter, emitting such immense volumes
of steam and smoke from her two funnels as satis-
factorily proved that the engines were having more
steam than they could make use of, and that La
France could never at any time or under any circum-
stances during her yet short career have been driven
with more purpose to win than at the present. The
Mary Augusta, in addition to her loss of speed, owing
to the decreased number of the revolutions of one of
her engines,which persistently continued to be afflicted
with the unfortunate hot bearing, steered at times
rather wild from the uneven running of her engines,
and this necessarilylengthenedher course. The Mary
Augusta, however, still, as the cliffs of England les-
sened and those of France rose on the horizon, gradu-
ally and surely increased her lead over the gallant La
France, and at 10 45, the heated bearing of the star-
board engine having become cooled, its revolutions
were increased, and from that moment the race was
her own, La France, visibly dropping astern every
stroke her pistons made, and the Mary Augusta clos-
ing in with Calais pier at a tremendous rate of speed.
At 111. 4min. 45sec. the latter was close in to the
pier's head, when, as there was no intention to take
the vessel inside Calais harbour, her helm was put
down and her head brought round for Dover-cliffs
again, La France being then fully ai miles astern,
six minutes elapsing from the time of putting down
the helm of the Mary Augusta until she met La
France, both vessels continuing at full speed
throughout, the one finishing her voyage to Calais
from Dover, and the other returning across the
Channel to the Coast of England from that of
France. The time occupied by the Mary Augusta
in the double run from Dover to Calais and back
was exactly 2 hours 45 minutes and 10 seconds—a
rate of speed never before equalled under any circum-
stances by a screw steamer, double or single, nor yet
by any paddle steamer, when the time was rigidly
and impartially taken, as it was in the race between
these two vessels, the manner of taking time very
often giving a vessel an exaggerated average of her.
peformance—an error which was most satisfactorily
avoided in the present trial between La France and
the Mary Augusta. On arriving off Calais pier
heads the owners of the latter ship, satisfied with
their success, dipped their ship's colours on parting,
which was courteously returned by La France.
The run back to Dover from Calais was made by
the double screw, with help from her fore and aft
sails forward, but the wind by that time had
freshened considerably, and a tolerable sea was
running in mid channel, and wherever the influence
of the tide was fully felt to windward. An oppor-
tunity was thus afforded of noticing the meeting of
the vessel's bow and the sea as she passed thiough

the water. There was no wave hanging on in front
of the stem, all that could be seen of entering force
and its resistance being merely a fountain spray of
water—white from its small volume and the ship's
great speed though the sea—with no other visible
disturbance in the waters through which lay the
ship's course. In the return of the Mary Augusta
from her sea trial trip to Gravesend the South Fore-
land was passed at 20 minutes past 4 p.m., a heavy
gale blowing from N.E., which continued, the ves-
sel behaving beautifully. The North Foreland was
passed at 20 minutes past 5, and the Tongue light-
ship at 615, Gravesend being reached at 9.15 p.m.
The success of the Mary Augusta not only proves
the superiority of the double or twin screw principle
over the principle of the single screw application in
point of speed (the superiority in steering and ma-
nceuvring powers is sufficiently admitted), but it
also proves its superiority over the latest and best
applied paddlewheel system, La France being
not more than orie-half the weight of the Mary
Augusta, the propelling powers in both ships being