'Cimba' Outward Bound

Built in Aberdeen and launched in April 1878, Cimba was a beautiful yet heavily-rigged wool clipper. Built for the London to Sydney run, she made some very fast passages under the command of Captain J. Fimister. Her fastest voyage from Sydney to London took 75 days in 1889. She only had two Masters while she sailed under a British flag, Captain Fimister (1878-1895) and Captain Holmes (1895-1906). Holmes was quoted in the ‘Evening Express’ as saying: “Cimba was heavy aloft and narrow, but she was beloved by both her Masters and certainly by most of the men who sailed her”.

During one voyage to Sydney, the vessel was involved in a queue-jumping dispute at Circular Quay in Sydney. The argument ended in the courts and her Captain was fined and ordered to pay the costs of removal of his ship. To avoid any subsequent misunderstandings the rules for berthing at Circular Quay were also changed. When Captain Holmes relinquished command in 1906, Cimba was sold to the Norwegian timber trade. She was then mostly used for transporting lumber, though she still managed some remarkably fast passages right up until the end of her career. In 1915 she was wrecked off Point des Mouts in Quebec. Parts of her shell were salvaged in the 1950s and are now housed in the Aberdeen Maritime Museum.

Each print is hand numbered and accompanied by a certificate signed by the artist. The certificate is numbered to match the print.