Page 27 - Captain William Strike of Porthleven
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5: Ready Rhino
Some, I know, Have parted with their ready rhino
(The Seaman’s Adieu, 1670)
A new schooner
It has been seen already that the schooner ‘Ready Rhino’ was completed in seven
months at the Sunderland yard of G.W. and W.J. Hall on Wearside in June, 1860. For
William Strike this event was extremely significant, as he took possession of a new ship
in which he was an investor, and of which he was to be master. The new 127 gross ton
vessel was of carval construction. The two-masted schooner featured a figurehead of
Minerva. The schooner was 87’ long with a beam of 23’ and drew 11’ of water. From
1860 until retirement Strike navigated many thousands of sea miles apparently without
any significant mishap in this fine looking clipper schooner. Finally the ‘Ready Rhino’
foundered about twenty miles west of the Smalls lighthouse on December 21, 1897 long
after William Strike’s retirement but just six months after his death at the age of 78. By
this time the ‘Ready Rhino’ was 37 years old.
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