Lady Denman Museum: Luxury Yacht Sunbeam

22 March 2017

Luxury Yacht Sunbeam - 1898

Sydney Harbour.

January 1898 the luxury British yacht Sunbeam sailed into Jervis Bay with his Excellency and Lady Brassey and Colonel and Mrs. Bingham on board.
The Sunbeam was on a trip between Sydney and Melbourne when she was forced to seek shelter in Jervis Bay because an accident disabled her machinery.

Saturday 15th Jan - Lord and Lady Brassey and Colonel and Mrs. Bingham continued their journey by coach to Nowra, where they boarded a train to Sydney. The Sunbeam remained in the Bay until repairs could be made and a coasting pilot arrived from Sydney to take her to Melbourne.

Lord and Lady Brassey.

Monday 17th Jan - The pilot Hayman arrived at Jervis Bay from Sydney at 6.30 p.m and boarded the Sunbeam which was now ready to sail for Melbourne as soon as the winds were favourable.

Tuesday 18th Jan - Early in the morning the Sunbeam was made ready to sail, at 8.40 a.m the Sunbeam with her sails spread cleared Jervis Bay Heads, the morning was dull and foggy as she steamed slowly into a fresh S.W wind.

The Sunbeam was a three-masted topsail-yard schooner, iron framed and with a teak skin. Lenght 159ft, beam 27.5 ft, weight 532 tons.
Her sail area was 9,000 square yards, The yacht had an auxiliary compound steam engine of 70 hp that developed a top speed of just over 10 knots. The bunkers could hold eighty tons of coal and although primarily a sailing vessel, she could steam for approximately 20 days without refuelling.
When not in steam, the funnel would be lowered and the propeller feathered to reduce drag. Unlike many of the luxury yachts of the time, Sunbeam had been designed for long distance and deep sea journeys. The accommodation for the owners and their guests, however, was far from Spartan, with rooms fashioned in a typical Victorian drawing-room style.

The name Sunbeam came from the nickname they had given to their daughter - Constantine Alberta Brassey - who had died in 1873 from scarlet fever