The Maiden Voyage

Image: The Great Eastern on her maiden voyage as she left the Thames.

Her maiden voyage in 1859, to New York, was beset from the start with problems. By the time she finally left her mooring at the Isle of Dogs riveters still riveted, chandelier hangers were still hanging chandeliers and rug layers were still laying rugs. Shortly after the Great Eastern entered the English Channel as she passed Hastings, a huge explosion ripped through the ship. No. 1 funnel was completely blown away in the explosion and lay across the deck like a felled tree. The explosion had left a huge hole billowing smoke and steam where the funnel had been only seconds earlier. It had ripped through the Grand Saloon shattering its cut glass mirrors and teak panelling which were hurled through the air by the force of the blast and rained down upon the passengers, who were on deck at the time, like some terrible hailstorm. 5 boiler men died in the explosion. They are buried at Weymouth where the Great Eastern anchored to carry out repairs to replace its funnel. Acquired by the Weymouth Waterworks Company, the damaged funnel served the rest of its days as part of a reservoir. Some historians believe that the news of the explosion and the humiliation it brought to the Great Eastern was the cause of death for the already ill Brunel who passed away shortly after the explosion on the 15th September 1859. If the historians are right, then along with the boiler men the sub total for deaths associated with the Great Eastern rises to 13 and it had yet to make a complete voyage! Stuck at Weymouth, the sailing date from Holyhead passed and passengers began to claim their money back. When the ship finally made it to Holyhead, in preparation for its departure to New York, a fierce storm blew up which smashed through Brunel’s skylights leaving the Grand Saloon ruined and once more in tatters and splinters. In a freak accident during the storm, Captain Harrison (the ships first Captain), the Coxswain and the young son of the ships purser drowned. Having yet to make its first voyage, the Great Eastern’s had cost £1 million and the lives of 16 people! When she did finally sail, in 1860, she had 35 paying passenger onboard with 418 crewmembers at their service! The ship was still unfinished, a ‘speaking tube’ communication system had yet to be installed which meant that commands had to be shouted down a chain of crewmembers. As is the case with the parlour game Chinese Whispers, the commands seldom arrived complete and on more than one occasion caused the wrong direction or action to be made with near calamitous results! It took 12 days to reach New York and it seemed as though the whole city had come out to greet her. After the deaths of a further 4 men, a detail of New York Police were placed onboard. By all accounts the rush to get the ship complete meant that cleanliness and hygiene were over looked and when she finally arrived at New York visitors were appalled by the conditions onboard, describing her toilets as unfit even for prisons! Despite the lack of cleanliness, 143,764 tickets were sold to sightseers during the 4 weeks the Great Eastern was in New York. Of all the sightseers who crowded the quayside to look at the Great Eastern, Pirate Hicks was probably the most notorious. Albert W. Hicks who had confessed to the murder of 100 people was to be hanged for his crimes at Bedloe Island whilst the Great Eastern was in New York. It was not until Hicks was seated in the boat that would take him to Bedloe that he intimated his last wish. The boat swung round and headed for the Great Eastern so that Hicks could at least get to see the famous ship before he became the last pirate to be hanged in America. When the Great Eastern finally returned to Milford Haven there were new concerns. As there were no dry docks large enough to take the Great Eastern it would not be possible to maintain the ship in the same way as other vessels. Having no sister ship the Great Eastern also had no way of maintaining regular routes to New York whilst she was out of service for necessary maintenance. This also meant that a loyal crew could not be kept, as they would have to lay off the crew every time she was out of service. What crew they could get were described at the time as little more than kidnapped farmers and unconscious seamen! That winter, as the great Eastern lay on the gridiron at Milford Haven, a sightseers boat became entangled in the propeller. Jumping for their lives two sightseers drowned bringing the total deaths to 23.