Volume One - Into the Victorian Age - Some notable sailings from the docks . . .

	s.s. "Great Britain" - Isambard Kingdom Brunel’s ship was originally intended as a transatlantic passenger vessel but later was converted for the conveyance of freight. She departed Penarth Dock on her final voyage (voyage number 47) on the 6th February 1886 with a cargo of 3,350 tons of coal loaded at tip number 9.

Her master, Captain Henry Stap battled the winds of the Horn for a month before running for shelter off Port Stanley in the Falkland Islands. Her cargo of coal had moved and the ship was probably unstable. Another complication was that the foremast and main topsail mast were lost. The cost of repair was prohibitive and she was declared a total maritime loss. In 1970 the ship was put aboard a large barge and arrived back in Penarth Roads on the 21st June 1970. She returned to Bristol where she lies today under restoration in the dock where she was built. Brunel's masterpiece of engineering design set the standard by which ships were constructed for the next hundred years or more; steam powered, a novel new propeller, an iron plate on frame, riveted hull construction and she could use alternative energy, wind power, as required. Image below [054]