The _James Baines_ took out 700 passengers (80 in the first class) 1400 tons of cargo and 350 sacks containing over 180,000 letters and newspapers. By her mail contract she was bound to deliver these in 65 days under penalty. Amongst her live stock were a bullock, 75 sheep, 86 pigs, and 100 dozen of fowls and ducks. This passage of the _James Baines_ showed her splendid capabilities both in light head winds and strong fair winds, for after a succession of light head winds she was reported in 3° N., 29° W., on the 29th December, only 19 days out, whilst in the boisterous gales of the roaring forties she made the following splendid 24-hour runs in about a 23½-hour day. Friday, Jan. 26—Lat. 48° 02′ S., Long. 50° 46′ E. Distance 391 miles. 27—Lat. 48° 56′ S., Long. 60° 46′ E. Distance 407 miles. Feb. 6—Lat. 50° 09′ S., Long. 123° 40′ E. Distance 423 miles. This magnificent run showed 10′ difference of latitude and 10° 40′ difference of longitude, her position at noon on 5th February being 50° 19′ S., 113° E. [Illustration: “DONALD MACKAY.” Entering Port Phillip Heads, 20th December, 1866.] Leaving Melbourne on the 12th March, 1855, the _James Baines_ made the run home in 69½ days, having completed the voyage to Melbourne and back in 133 days under sail. Black Ball captains were celebrated for their daring navigation and McDonald was no exception in this respect. His passengers declared that the _James Baines_ was nearly ashore three times whilst tacking off the coast of Ireland under a heavy press of sail, and that when McDonald put her round off the Mizenhead the rocks were so close that a stone could have been thrown ashore from her decks. It was a lee shore, and if she had missed stays she must have been lost. But as McDonald said, when remonstrated with for taking such risks, it was a case of “we have to make a good passage.” The “Donald Mackay.” The _Donald Mackay_, last of the famous Mackay quartette, was for many years the largest sailing ship in the world, her measurements being:— Registered tonnage 2408 tons. Gross 2486 „ Net 1616 „ Length of keel 257.9 feet. Length between perpendiculars 266 „ Breadth 46.3 „ Depth 29.5 „ Dead rise at half-floor 18 inches. Mainyard 100 feet. Sail area 17,000 yds. A novelty in her sail plan was Forbes’ patent double topsail yards. These came out before Howe’s, and differed from them in having the topmasts fidded abaft the lower masts.