Explore "Too Far South" by John Arthur Barry on Textopian. Read with annotations and highlights.
The captain of the _Boadicea_-regular London and Australian trader-had long been the owner of a crotchet, or perhaps it would be nearer the mark to call it a theory. He was a comparatively young man, and after a few trips of eighty-nine, ninety, and ninety-six days respectively, he grew impatient; and at last, seeing an opportunity of putting his idea to the test, he determined to make the attempt.
It was by no means a new theory; simply an expansion of an old one. Years ago the masters of the _Lightning_, _Red Jacket_, and other clipper ships of renown, had successfully demonstrated that, instead of turning round the Cape of Good Hope as if it were a corner, in the old style, vessels bound to the Australian colonies would, if they kept on southward, be very likely to pick up a current of strong westerly winds which, although twice the distance might have to be sailed over, yet would take them to their destination far more quickly than by the usual route.