Passengers & Crew
Like most
other clipper ships of the period, the Flying Cloud carried paying
passengers on her voyages. Early
in her career the passengers were housed in cabins under the poop deck. Later, after the ship had been
converted to carry emigrants between England and Australia, passengers were
also housed in the upper hold under the main deck.
Lyon and
Reynolds say twice in their book on the Flying CloudÕs first passengers that
there were 12 passengers[1] on the first
voyage, then they provide a list of 19 people as passengers in an appendix.[2]
I have not found any other sources to resolve the discrepancy.
Sara
Bowman, one of these first passengers, reported in a letter that the total
number of people on the Flying Cloud on the initial voyage was 78.[3] Subtracting the 12 passengers, gives 66
for the number of crew (which is the same number as reported on page 70). This is a bit out of sync with the crew
list in the same book that includes 63[4]
names, but it gives the basic idea of the number of people on that voyage.
The Flying Cloud had cabins for the officers
and passengers under the poop deck.
These were described by Duncan McLean as follows:
"In the front of
the poop is a small portico, which protects the entrance to the cabins, of
which she has three. The first contains the pantry and state-rooms for the
officers, and the second, or great cabin, is beautifully wainscotted with satin
wood, mahogany and rose wood, set off with enameled pilasters, cornices, gilt
work, etc. The panels are of satin wood, gothic in their form, and are set in
mahogany frames edged with rose wood. The after cabin is small, and is fitted
in the same beautiful style. It contains two useful apartments, and is
otherwise neatly arranged."[5]
Fitting the
passengers, even if there were only 12, as well as the shipÕs officers, in these
cabins must have made for a cozy environment. Bruce M. Lane, an engineer who
studied the Flying Cloud for many years and wrote an unpublished manuscript about the
ship, provided Lyons and Reynolds with a diagram showing a possible arrangement
of the cabins to support 12 passengers.[6] The plan is not consistent with the
McLean description nor is it compatible with the Boucher deck arrangement, but the
diagram provides an interesting hypothesis and shows that 12 passengers
could fit, if some of them liked each other.
Between
1862 and 1870 the Flying Cloud made a number of voyages between England
and Australia to transport immigrants, there were a lot
more passengers on these voyages than on the early voyages between New York,
San Francisco and Hong Kong. For
example, on the first Australian voyage the Flying Cloud carried 519
passengers consisting of 367 adults and 130 children under 12 and 22
infants. This was the largest
number of passengers carried by any of the Flying CloudÕs Australian
voyages, the other voyages having carried between 126 and 482 passengers each. These voyages are documented in Tall
Ships on the River: Flying Cloud: Queensland Voyages 1862-1870 by Kay F.
Gassan.
[1] Margaret Lyon & Flora Elizabeth Reynolds, The Flying Cloud and her first Passengers, 1992, pages 6 & 32
[2] The Flying Cloud and her first Passengers, Appendix I (page 120)
[3] The Flying Cloud and her first Passengers, page 39
[4] The Flying Cloud and her first Passengers, Appendix IV, page 125, this number is the same as crew description of the crew on page 22
[5] Duncan McLean, The New Clipper Ship Flying Cloud, Boston Daily Atlas, 1851