The ''Rob Roy'' was the first steamship to successfully sail the open sea. The ship was named after the Scottish folk hero

Rob Roy MacGregor Robert Roy MacGregor ( gd, Raibeart Ruadh MacGriogair; 7 March 1671 – 28 December 1734) was a Scottish outlaw, who later became a folk hero. Early life Rob Roy was born in the Kingdom of Scotland at Glengyle, at the head of Loch Katrine, a ...

History

The paddle steamer was built by William Denny from Dumbarton and equipped with a 30 HP side-balancing steam engine by David Napier. On the morning of 13 June 1818 the ''Rob Roy'' left the port of

Greenock Greenock (; sco, Greenock; gd, Grianaig, ) is a town and administrative centre in the Inverclyde council area in Scotland, United Kingdom and a former burgh within the historic county of Renfrewshire, located in the west central Lowlands of ...

, sailed via

Campbeltown Campbeltown (; gd, Ceann Loch Chille Chiarain or ) is a town and former royal burgh in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It lies by Campbeltown Loch on the Kintyre peninsula. Campbeltown became an important centre for Scotch whisky, and a busy fishi ...

and reached

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingd ...

on the evening of 14 June 1818. She then plied this route twice a week in all weathers, including those in which sailing ships stayed in port. The ship later operated on the route between Greenock and

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...

. In the winter of 1818/9 the steamship was overhauled and equipped with separate rooms for women and men with beds. From 1818 to 1821

David Tod David Tod (February 21, 1805 – November 13, 1868) was an American politician and industrialist from the U.S. state of Ohio. As the 25th governor of Ohio, Tod gained recognition for his forceful and energetic leadership during the American Civil ...

was ''Rob Roy''s chief engineer. In May 1821 the ship was transferred to

Dover Dover () is a town and major ferry port in Kent, South East England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies south-east of Canterbury and east of Maidstone ...

and reached its new homeport on Sunday 10 June 1821. On 15 June 1821 the Rob Roy crossed the

English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" ( Cotentinais) or (Jèrriais), ( Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kan ...

for the first time and reached

Calais Calais ( , , traditionally , ) is a port city in the Pas-de-Calais department, of which it is a subprefecture. Although Calais is by far the largest city in Pas-de-Calais, the department's prefecture is its third-largest city of Arras. The p ...

. In the beginning, there were only a few passengers and the post office favoured conventional sailing ships. But soon the advantages of the steamship were recognized, as it travelled regardless of the weather and only needed 2 hours and 45 minutes for the crossing, which began to be reflected in a growing number of passengers and volume of freight. In August 1821, the ''Roy Rob'' met the oncoming sailing ships ''Lord Duncan'' and ''Prince Leopold'' on the way to Calais. She cleared her goods in Calais, took on new passengers and overtook the two ships on the way back. The successful use of the ''Roy Rob'' led to traditional parcel ships being replaced by steamers on many routes in a very short time. For the connection between Dover and Calais, the steamship ''Dasher'' was introduced in October 1821 and the ''Arrow'' in January 1822. The French government was interested in acquiring the ''Rob Roy'', but a British export ban on machinery prevented the ship's owners from selling. However, French customs officers found

contraband Contraband (from Medieval French ''contrebande'' "smuggling") refers to any item that, relating to its nature, is illegal to be possessed or sold. It is used for goods that by their nature are considered too dangerous or offensive in the eyes o ...

on board the ship and confiscated it. It was suspected that this was just a trick agreed with the shipowners to circumvent the export ban. The ship was renamed to ''Henri Quatre'' or ''Henry IV'' in 1823 and continued sailing between Calais and Dover. It was France's first seaworthy steamship.

References

External links

* * * * * http://www.clydeships.co.uk/view.php?ref=5313 * https://www.gracesguide.co.uk/David_Napier_by_David_Napier_and_David_Bell:_Chapter_VI * https://doverhistorian.com/2015/03/21/packet-service-to-1854/ * https://medium.com/@DariaSWhites/dover-to-calais-ferry-history-24cdf085f56 {{DEFAULTSORT:Rob Roy Steamships of the United Kingdom 1818 ships