sail-frigates

Updated: May 14, 2025

It was believed by many officers, that a fast-sailing frigate, in a reefed-topsail breeze, would be able to get away from any screw-ship; but in a trial that took place between the Arethusa and the Encounter, and the Phaeton and Arrogant, under circumstances the most favorable to the sail-ships, it was found that the screw-ships, using both steam and sail, had decidedly the superiority, and that in fresh gales, with one, two, or three reefs in the topsails, either "by the wind," or "going free," the Phaeton and the Arethusa, the fastest sail-frigates in the navy, were always beaten by the Arrogant.

Various - The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 05, No. 29, March, 1860