Sailing time from London to Jamaica 1826?

[greenpaula]

Hi
I have the baptism of a son in London on May 11th 1826 then the father is in Jamaica to fill in and sign a slave return on June 20th the same year.
I've googled but can't find an answer. Does anyone know how long it took in those days to sail from England to Jamaica?

[Valda]

Hi

A baptism record is a record of the ceremony. You can be sure the person being baptised was by necessity present. What the record doesn't state is whether the parents were both present at the baptism, just that they are the named parents of the person being baptised. Adult baptisms (the oldest I have is a man in his 60s) are worded in the same way, but obviously in those cases parents are far less likely to be present, yet their names appear in the register just the same.


Regards

Valda

[Koromo]

Well, London is 4,075 nautical miles from Jamaica.  A ship would need an average speed of approx 5˝ knots to complete the voyage in 30 days, which would have been feasible depending on the weather, currents, condition of the ship, sails, etc. — a good northerly-ish wind all the way might get it there in half the time.

K.

[coombs]

I know some rellies who sailed to America in 1849 and were on a ship for 5 weeks. Although there may have been a few ships that went faster. In 1858 I did read of a new steamship that sailed from Ireland to Newfoundland in 6 days.

[greenpaula]

Hi,
I did wonder Valda if the father sent mum or a proxy off to London with the baby to have him baptised. He was their first son so it may have been important to them. The rest of their children were baptised in Jamaica.
Wow Koromo - I'm going to keep your calculation for future reference.
And Coombs, that too is useful info as I have quite a few rellies myself going to America but never seem to be able to find the date they left our shores - only the date they arrived there.
Thanks again everyone - all very helpful as always 

[jmsstks]

Hi all. I'm currently trying to find more information about an ancestor who I believe travelled from Jamaica (St James Parish) to England circa 1837, possibly arriving in Dover. These bits of information we have loosely from grandparents who are no longer around, so may not be 100% accurate.

However, I'm struggling to find out much/any information about these journeys from West Indies to England, of which there must have been many for the transport of both good and people. Part of this investigation brought me here, as I'm trying to establish what would be the possible routes back to the UK (and how long would it take)? For example, would it be typical to sail direct from Jamaica, or would it be common to sail first somewhere like New York, then sail onwards from there?

Sorry if my question slightly deviates from the initial thread question, but hopefully relates, as presumably the start/end ports and chosen route would also impact on the journey time.

Thanks in advance.