The famous tea clipper _Thermopylæ_ was launched in this year. She was of composite construction, built by Walter Hood, of Aberdeen, for George Thompson & Co., who also owned the _Star of Peace_, _Ethiopian_, _Aristides_, _Patriarch_, _Salamis_, and other fine ships well known in the Australian trade. The _Thermopylæ_ was 947 tons register; length 210 feet, breadth 36 feet, depth 21 feet; she carried double topsails, but no skysail, and like all the Thompson ships, her hull was painted sea green from the copper up with white yards and lower masts. She carried a handsome figurehead of the brave Leonidas, and was a very beautiful ship. She was designed by Bernard Weymouth, an accomplished naval architect who was for many years the secretary to Lloyd’s Register of Shipping. He had before this designed the tea clipper _Leander_, and later designed the _Melbourne_, a fast ship in the Australian trade, built and owned by Richard Green, of London, of which further mention will be made later. On her first voyage the _Thermopylæ_ sailed from London to Melbourne under command of Captain Kemball, who had formerly commanded the _Fairlight_ and the _Yang-tze_. She left Gravesend, November 7, 1868, and arrived at Melbourne, January 9, 1869, thus making the passage in the remarkable record time of 63 days, the same time as the record passage of the _James Baines_, from Liverpool to Melbourne fourteen years before. She had a fast run of 21 days to the equator; on the three days before and after crossing the line she made 202, 140, 228, 271, 288, and 293 miles--an unusual rate of speed for that part of the ocean. Her best days’ runs were made on January 3d and 4th--330 and 326 miles; her log records on both days “northerly, strong,” so that it may be assumed that she had as much fair wind as she needed. Her log records nine days during the passage when her runs were over 300 miles, and five days of less than 100 miles. The entries on December 9th and 10th are: “Northwesterly, fresh gale, 240 miles,” and “southwesterly, blowing a gale, 224 miles.” These were fair winds. An analysis of this log leads to the conclusion that the _Thermopylæ_ was a very fast ship in average weather at sea, but in heavy weather could not be driven at a high rate of speed for a vessel of her length, probably on account of her small breadth and low foreboard.[18] She next made the run from Newcastle, New South Wales, to Shanghai in 28 days, which is the record between those ports. On this passage large days’ runs are not to be expected, but on one day she made 300 miles, and she showed the same fast averages in moderate weather as before.