Pedro Nunes

On 22 August 1868 this vessel was sponsored by Mrs Hardy Robinson of Denmore, Scotland. This vessel had a green hull, gilded scroll work and white masts, yards and bowsprit. The Thermopylaehad a white and gold figurehead of the Greek hero Leonidas, the King of Sparta. This vessel was famous as rival to the sailing ship Cutty Sark in the China tea trade. Her passage times set records. The image set in the minds of many is that of "perfection" and "The pride of the British Merchant Service, justly considered by most seamen to have been the fastest sailing ship ever launched." (Lubbock, B. (1916) The China Clippers) In later life this vessel worked the wool trade, general cargo trades in Canada and was lastly sold to the Portugese navy. This vessel was named by Mrs. Hardy Robinson of Denmore Scotland at a ceremony on August 19, 1868 and commanded by Captain Edwards. Her port of registry was Aberdeen. (Crosse, J. (1968)) This vessel arrived at Victoria in 1891 when this vesse anchored in Royal Roads prior to berthing. The vessel was plagued by problems brought on by the age of her gear and rig as well as by crew troubles. With a new crew this vessel sailed from Victoria in general cargo trade. Eventually cut down to a barque rig, the hull painted white and her topmasts shortened by 6' this vessel carried lumber to the orient and rice to Canada. This vessel later carried lumber from Oregon and Washington.

In 1897 this vessel was reduced to a coal hulk moored in Lisbon harbour. The Thermopylae contained only one deck. The floors (the base of the hold) were built of 'malleable' iron, the rudder of British oak and the windlass teak. The keel was built of British and American elm (supported by iron) and the stem and sternpost, the knightheads, hawse timbers and aprons and deadwood were all of Indian teak. (Matheson, M. (1984)) The outside planking was of American elm extending one fifth of the depth of the hold above which East India teak clad the ship to the wales. All the topsides including the waterways were teak. The decks were of yellow pine. The hold was planked with American elm with a ceiling of teak. (Matheson, M. (1984)) The masts (fore lower and main lower), yards (two lower) and bowsprit were of iron. The fittings were of "yellow muntz-metal" and galvanized iron. The lower masts and yards were white, surmounted by varnished yards, spars and upper masts. (Matheson, M. (1984)) Her hull was painted sea green of the Aberdeen White Star Line and showed above the copper plates on the lower hull. A golden shear strake bound the ship at deck level. Her name was picked out in gold and gold leaf decorated the carvings on the counter and the bow. The rail was of brass on teak bulwarks. Her figurehead (carved from one block of wood) was of King Leonidas whose 300 Spartans were defeated and killed at the Battle of Thermopylae. The figure had a helmet and shield (upraised on the left arm) and a removable sword (pointing downward, in the right hand close to the side.) The sword was sheathed prior to setting to sea. The figurehead was pure white and the face looked forward rather than downward. (Matheson, M. (1984)) The original vessel was: Length: 210', Breadth: 36', Depth: 21'. Approximate measurements include: Foremast (deck to truck): 139'. Mainmast (deck to truck): 142'. Mizzen Mast (deck to truck): 118'. Main Yard: 80'. Classed as a ship her 1868 sailplan (three masts with 17,520 sq ft of square sails on all masts) included: No skysails or moonsails, Mainsail (drop depth of 40'), Main Royal (drop depth of 19'), Stunsails were set on the booms which slid along the underside of the yards., Two swinging booms 50' long, carried along the ship's side extended the foresail stunsails (considered an unusual feature), The topsails were divided, Pinkney's gear (a form of roller reefing) was installed on the main top gallant yard. The Crewlist 1868: (36 total, including) : Captain, Chief Mate, Third Mate, Able, Seamen (22), Boatswain, Carpenter, Cook, Sailmaker, Steward, Apprentice Boys (Approx. 6) The line drawings of the hull, in scale 1/48 are held at the Science Museum, London UK. (Drawing #1233). Copies of the plans are held in the collection of the Maritime Museum of British Columbia but are intended for a very small scale model and will require augmentation through research. Drawings for model makers have been created by a number of researchers and are available commercially. A builder's half-hull is preserved by the Glasgow Museum in Scotland as is another model (rigged for the wool trade) in the collection of the Aberdeen Maritime Museum. A scale model is currently on loan to the Maritime Museum of British Columbia and is on display in the main gallery. There is a model of the Thermopylae in the National Maritime Museum at Greenwich and another at the Institute of Applied Science in Melbourne Australia. Condemned in 1907 this vessel was sunk by 2 x Whitehead torpedoes in a public naval display in the Bay of Cascais, Portugal as a public spectacle.