London to Baltic sailing times

[Syd R]

Is there anyone out there who can give the average sailing time from say London to Baltic say  Denmark in 1830's ?

Or suggest a research area?

Thanks

Syd
Down Under

[mckha489]

Using newspapers “Lloyd’s list”. Find a ship going to or coming from Eg Copenhagen and count the days.
Lloyds list is in the newspapers on FindMyPast and so must also be in the British Newspaper Archive


Eg May 16 1835 the Edmund, captain Morck arrived in Copenhagen from Liverpool.  One ought to be able to find it departing Liverpool but I am failing so far. However I can see that ship sails back and forth so as do many others so a bit of perseverance ought to find them.

[Syd R]

Good suggestion thanks

This is roughly some times arrived Liverpool 19/9 on 26/9was loading (7days) 8/10 sailed 11 days arrived back 11/12 in total 64 days does this look about correct?

Syd

[Andy J2022]

If you want the typical London to Copenhagen sailing time, I suggest that looking at sailings from/to Liverpool is unhelpful. The distance Liverpool to Copenhagen is nearly twice the distance between London and Copenhagen and involves different navigational details. For example the prevailing winds in the Channel and across the North Sea are Westerlies which means that for much of the London to Copenhagen journey the wind is on the starboard quarter making for a fast crossing. Only the passage south through the Kattegat might require a ship to have to tack.
For a passage from Liverpool to Copenhagen, a ship has first to travel south into the wind through the Irish Sea to the Lizard and traverse the length of the English Channel (with its enormous tidal currents compared to the North and Baltic Seas) before being on a similar route to the London to Copenhagen passage.
I would guess that travelling at an average speed of 4-5 knots in good conditions, the journey from London to Copehagen might take about 5-6 days. For adverse weather conditions the time might be double that.

[Andy J2022]

The reply above is based on sailing ships. The first steamships capable of going beyond coastal waters were introduced in the 1820s* and so by the 1830s which the OP asked about, I imagine that there may have been a few steamships carrying passengers across the North Sea to the Baltic ports. While the general weather conditions would also have affected the crossing times for steamships, they would have been less affected by the wind. Since the early propulsion methods (paddle wheels and primitive screw propellers) were not that efficient, I suspect that a steamship in the 1830s is unlikely to have exceeded 6-8 knots. Many of the early ships with steam boilers were hybrids that also carried sails.

*The SS Savannah travelled between Savannah Georgia in the USA and Liverpool in May and June 1819 taking 29 days. Part of the journey was under sail.

[ShaunJ]

Is there anyone out there who can give the average sailing time from say London to Baltic say  Denmark in 1830's ?

Most of Denmark is in the North Sea. Are you interested in Denmark or the Baltic?

[Syd R]

The area mostly sailed by the master in question states Baltic so may not be Denmark.

Was a sailing ship I believe a trader perhaps carrying timber.

London was port of register of the ship "Friendship" master Brown and I suspect he sailed out of there and take the point on Liverpool.

Thanks

[bbart]

The only entry in the newspapers I can find for the ship Friendship with Brown is in the Morning Herald (London) 31 Oct 1827:

The Friendship, Brown, from St. Petersburgh to Hull, was on shore on the Lapsand, near Elsinore, on the 23rd instant, but would be set off.

[Syd R]

No to early for him he was 1835/36/37

Main interest is tying down average sailing times as opposed to voyages

Thanks