Page 31 - Captain William Strike of Porthleven

Simon de Visser was a well known New York merchant: his 1875 obituary in the New
York Times indicates that De Visser had been engaged in the sugar and ‘Havana trade’
for many years.

It was seen earlier that William’s son John was also trading to New York nearly fifteen
years later in his brigantine ‘Elizabeth Stevens’ when the ship arrived from Pernambuco
with a cargo of sugar. No doubt this was not the only occasion that John Strike was to be
seen in New York, such were the lucrative trades available in this period of the 19 th
century.

After such a long time away the remaining few months of 1872 were perhaps something
of an anti-climax, with passages coastwise between Exeter, Falmouth and Penzance.
However, in the following year William Strike was away again for at least two months,
trading through the Rio Grande. Ultimately ‘Ready Rhino’ made passage for home with a
cargo – possibly of hides – for Cuxhaven and Hamburg, but calling at Falmouth en route.
As the new year of 1874 arrived so ‘Ready Rhino’ was engaged primarily on coastwise
passages with freights taking in ports as diverse as Lowestoft, Hayle, St Nazaire and
Falmouth. Interspersed was a passage down to the Rio Grande and back. Records
show that trade down to the Rio Grande and other far flung exotic destinations was
dormant from 1875 through to 1879. In 1875 there is evidence of freights down to the
Mediterranean, in addition to the usual coastwise trades. The same is true of 1876,
including a passage down to Marseilles and back.

Command shared

The year 1877 – by which time William Strike was 63 years of age - although of no
particular note in the continuation of coastwise trade, is of interest in so far as William
Strike shares command of the ‘Ready Rhino’ with a Norwegian, Johan Rasmussen.
Rasmussen first appears in crew lists for ‘Ready Rhino’ in 1871, as an able seaman.
Rasmussen appears to have taken over command in November and December and in
January of the following year. In that year – 1878 – ‘Ready Rhino’ appears well
employed with coastwise freights as well as with one passage to Tarragona and Valletta.
Ownership changes
In 1877 it appears that William Strike was not only thinking of retiring from full time
command but also the matter of ownership of ‘Ready Rhino’. William’s son John
acquired shares from at least one of the original partners in April 1877 when, with 32
shares he was appointed managing owner. Another 24 shares were purchased from a
Jane Trewella and a Joseph Andrews – possibly successors of two of the original
partners – making a total of 56/64ths by the end of 1880. In December of that year John
became master of the ‘Ready Rhino’. Between that date and January 1883 John Strike
had total ownership of the vessel as a result of his father’s decision to transfer his
interest, amounting to 8 shares.

More Rio Grande trades

Passages down to the Rio Grande resumed in 1879 with ‘Ready Rhino’ under William
Strike’s command, even though Rasmusson was in command for a limited number of
coastwise passages in January. Voyaging south to South America and the Rio Grande
‘Ready Rhino’ was away from the end of March through to the beginning of October. On

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