When I started to research the Scaysbrook name, Michael Scaysbrook came to bear, but I wanted to know a little of the background to his transportation, and I was lucky enough to find a book that described life as a transported fellow from the UK. The new books I have added to the Biblio help understand the top and life on board.
On average the trip to Sydney lasted from about 141days through to about 170 days, ships often sailed via the coast of Africa, round the Horn and sail the Southern ocean, taking roughly 160 days on average, by comparison the clippers could do it in 74 days.
Life on board would be tough, bad food, and any misdemeanour or wrong doing however trivial would result in many lashes from the Captain. Death was common and not all the convicts were expected to survive the trip.
women were transported separately from men, the subject of Sian Rees's excellent book the Floating Brothel
Most if not all the voyages are well recorded, the excellent book "The Convict Ship" by Charles Bateson gives a graphic encounter of many of the passages and how captains and ships surgeons often flouted the law. Batesons book not only tells the story but also loses the boats and crew for each voyage.
No comments:
Post a Comment