The last of this quartette, the _Donald McKay_, measured: length 269 feet, breadth 47 feet, depth 29 feet, with 18 inches dead-rise at half floor, and her mainyard was 100 feet long. While her water-lines were fuller than those of the _James Baines_, she was still an extremely sharp vessel, and with the single exception of the _Great Republic_ was the largest merchant ship afloat. She sailed from Boston, February 21, 1855, under the command of Captain Warner, late of the _Sovereign of the Seas_, and made the run to Cape Clear in 12 days, and thence to Liverpool in 5 days. On February 27th, she ran 421 miles in twenty-four hours, and on that date her log records: “First part, strong gales from northwest; middle blowing a hurricane from west-northwest, ship scudding under topsails and foresail at the rate of 18 knots; latter part, still blowing from west-northwest with heavy hail squalls; very high sea running.” The _Lightning_ sailed from Liverpool on her first voyage to Melbourne, May 14, 1854. She encountered light winds and calms to the equator, which she crossed in 25 days from the Mersey; such was the nature of the winds that the topgallantsails were not taken in during the passage, and her best day’s runs were only 332, 348, 300, 311, and 329 miles on various dates. She arrived out in 77 days, but the passage home to Liverpool was made in the record time of 63 days. In ten consecutive days of twenty-four hours each, she sailed no less than 3722 miles, her best day’s run being 412 miles. On this voyage she brought home gold and dust to the value of £1,000,000 sterling. The _James Baines_ sailed from Liverpool for Melbourne December 9, 1854, and made the passage out in the record time of 63 days, her best twenty-four hours’ run being 420 miles. She made the passage home in 69 days, thus sailing around the globe in the record time of 132 days. On a subsequent voyage in 1856 her log records, “June 16th. At noon sighted a ship in the distance ahead; at 1 P.M. alongside of her; at 2 P.M., out of sight astern. The _James Baines_ was going 17 knots with main skysail set; the _Libertas_, for such was her name, was under double-reefed topsails.” “June 17th. Latitude 44° S., longitude 106° E., ship going 21 knots with main skysail set.” This appears to be the highest rate of speed ever made by a sailing vessel of which any reliable record has been preserved. The _Champion of the Seas_ made the passage out in 71 days and home in 84 days, and the _Donald McKay_ made the voyage in about the same time, but the _Lightning_ and _James Baines_ proved the most famous of these ships. So well pleased was Mr. Baines that he wrote to Mr. McKay, saying, In these ships you have given us all and more than we expected.” These were the last extreme clipper ships built by Donald McKay.