She had a crew of 105 men and boys, consisting of 4 mates, 2 boatswains, 2 carpenters, 2 sail-makers, 3 stewards, 2 cooks, 80 able seamen, and 10 boys before the mast. She was commanded by Captain Lauchlan McKay, who was born at Shelburne, Nova Scotia, in 1811, being one year younger than his brother Donald. Like him, he went to New York, served an apprenticeship there with Isaac Webb, and after becoming a master ship-wright, was appointed carpenter of the U. S. frigate _Constellation_, in which he served four years. Admiral Farragut was a young lieutenant on board this ship at the same time. In 1839 Captain McKay published a work on naval architecture, and soon after, in company with his brother Hugh, opened a shipyard at Boston. Here they did repairing, and in 1846 built the bark _Odd Fellow_, in which Lauchlan sailed as captain. In 1848 he commanded the ship _Jenny Lind_, and made some excellent passages in her. When he took command of the _Sovereign of the Seas_, Captain McKay was in his forty-first year, and of gigantic build and strength. The _Sovereign of the Seas_ sailed from New York for San Francisco, August 4, 1852, a poor season of the year for a rapid run to the equator, but she crossed 25 days out from Sandy Hook, making a run which had never been bettered in the month of August, and only twice equalled--once by the _Raven_ from Boston in 1851 and once by the _Hurricane_ from New York in 1853. She was 23 days from the equator to 50° S., and 9 days from 50° S. in the Atlantic to the same parallel in the Pacific. After rounding Cape Horn, she carried away her fore-and maintopmasts and foreyard, and it required fourteen days to rerig her, during which time she was kept on her course, and made the run from 50° S. to the equator in the remarkable time, considering her disabled condition, of 29 days. She went thence to San Francisco in 17 days, which is the record for the month of November, and her total run from New York to San Francisco was 103 days. Had the _Sovereign of the Seas_ not been dismasted, it is reasonable to suppose that she would have equalled the fastest run from 50° S. to the equator in the month of October, which is 19 days, made by the _Ocean Telegraph_ in 1855. This would have reduced her passage to 93 days; still, as it stands, her passage of 103 days has never been equalled by a vessel sailing from New York for San Francisco in the month of August. Captain McKay received much credit for rerigging his ship at sea and not putting into Valparaiso, and was presented with a very beautiful silver dinner service by the New York Board of Marine Underwriters. This was the only passage made by the _Sovereign of the Seas_ between New York and San Francisco. She carried on this voyage 2950 tons of cargo, and her freight amounted to $84,000; a portion of the [Illustration: The “Sovereign of the Seas”] cargo, consisting of flour, sold in San Francisco at $44 per barrel.