1877 Tuskar to Hobson’s Bay; Aug. 12 to Oct. 27 76 days 1878 Plymouth to Hobson’s Bay; June 15 to Aug. 31 77 days 1880 Liverpool to Rangoon; April 29 to July 21 83 days 1880-1 Frisco to Queenstown; Nov. 8 to Feb. 18 99 days 1881 Holyhead to Frisco; Jan. 12 to May 16 124 days 1882 Frisco to Falmouth; June 7 to Sept. 13 98 days 1882-3 London to Sydney; Nov. 8 to Jan. 22 75 days 1885 Antwerp to Sydney; July 25 to Oct. 20 87 days 1886 London to Sydney; May 29 to Aug. 16 79 days In the later eighties her passages began to slow up for two very good reasons: firstly her sail plan was cut down; and secondly her captain, owing to a very nervous wife being with him, made no attempt to drive her. Captain Richards had her through the seventies, except for two voyages in 1874-5 when Captain Bloomfield had her, then Captain Archibald Robertson commanded her for half a dozen voyages, he was followed by Captain W. Cross, then Captains Cutler, Davis and Belding took her in turn. The _Thomas Stephens_ was a lucky ship and kept singularly free of trouble; indeed she had no serious mishap until July, 1893, when she got well battered by a severe gale in 52° S., 130° W., whilst homeward bound from Melbourne with wheat. Her bulwarks were carried away from the fore rigging to abaft the main rigging on the starboard side and her main deck was swept clean. She put into Callao for repairs, but she was not leaking and her cargo was found to be undamaged. On her following voyage she got into more serious trouble in battling to get to the westward of Cape Stiff. She sailed from Barry on 27th December, 1894, and was partially dismasted off the pitch of the Horn. Put back to the Falklands, arriving in Stanley harbour on 28th February, 1895. Captain Belding, however, refused to agree to the extortionate demands of the Stanley shipwrights, and sailed for Capetown under jury rig, arriving there 14th May, 1895. Here he refitted, and leaving Table Bay on 22nd June arrived at Esquimalt by the eastern route on 24th September. This unfortunate voyage terminated her career under the Red Ensign, for on her arrival home in 1896 the _Thomas Stephens_ was sold to the Portuguese Government. The Portuguese have a singularly shrewd eye for a ship; and in this year they bought at breaking up prices three of the finest and fastest ships ever built, namely the _Thomas Stephens_, _Cutty Sark_ and _Thermopylae_.