Page 28 - Captain William Strike of Porthleven

The early trading years

Although voyage records are not always complete, a certain number of preserved log
books allow a fairly effective picture of the passages made by William Strike and the
‘Ready Rhino’. The first three years of trading, between 1860 and 1862 are fairly
sketchy. In the first six months after completion ‘Ready Rhino’ seems to have been
engaged in coastwise trade with passages to Falmouth, Hull, Troon and Dublin. It
appears that the first foreign-going passage was down to Gibraltar. In the following year
– 1861 – foreign-going trade was expanding with two passages to Ferrol in Spain, in
April and June. Otherwise William Strike again appears to be content with coastwise
cargoes, with visits to Kirkwall, Liverpool, Holyhead, and St Ives. No doubt ‘Ready
Rhino’ loaded dried fish for Spain or Italy at St Ives. Much the same pattern emerges in
1862 with visits to ports such as Dublin and Penarth though there is a record of a
passage to Algerciras.

The year 1863 was very significant for William Strike because it truly stamped ‘Ready
Rhino’ as a foreign-going vessel, well capable of earning lucrative freights to far flung
destinations. Between January and April William Strike took the ‘Ready Rhino’ to Malta,
Alexandria, Gallipoli and through the Black Sea, to Asov. Later in the year, between
August and October the ship was trading down to the Mediterranean again, with
passages to Barcelona and Patras. By now there appears to be a fairly standard crewing
pattern with William Strike as master, together with a mate, boatswain, three ABs (Able-
Bodied Seamen) and a ship’s boy. The same general pattern of Mediterranean trading
continued in the year following with passages to ports such as Alexandria and Gibraltar.

To the Rio Grande!

The year 1865 was again very significant because there was an expansion of trading
down to South America, with a first passage to Buenos Aires in March and again in
December. For William Strike and his ship-owning sons this was to be the start of a
trading tradition that lasted for some time. However, the year of 1865 started with ‘Ready
Rhino’ sailing to another, new destination, Galatz. Galatz is a major river port on the
River Danube, in Romania. Two passages were made to Galatz in 1865, the first when
‘Ready Rhino’ arrived at the port on January 25 and a second when she arrived at the
port on October 5. In retrospect at least there must have been a certain poignancy about
this October arrival because elsewhere en route in the Mediterranean, William’s second
son – William – was at the end of this month laid to rest in the Protestant Cemetery at
Naples. With passages to Asov in 1863 and now to Galatz William Strike was adding
important areas around the Black Sea to his trading itinerary. In between the January
voyage to Galatz, and December and the (second) voyage down to Buenos Aires
‘Ready Rhino’ was to be found in port at Gibraltar, Constantinople and Texel while at
home the schooner was in port in Poole, Liverpool and Falmouth.

Liverpool was the port of departure in December for the passage down to Buenos Aires
where ‘Ready Rhino’ arrived on December 9 amidst considerable fanfare. The reception
is recorded in detail by the Buenos Aires Standard which reported as follows:

The descendants of the Pilgrim Fathers cherish with peculiar affection the name
of the Mayflower, the first English vessel that arrived on the shores of New England. In
the same manner the inhabitants of Boca ought to preserve the tradition in future years
of the Ready Rhino, of Porthleven, which entered the Riachuelo on Thursday, being the

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