1 The first of the two ships to reach Java after the race had begun was the Thermopylae, but on the Indian Ocean, the Cutty Sark took the lead.
2 In August, she was struck by a very heavy storm during which her rudder was torn away.
3 After crossing the equator , the captain called in at a port to have a new rudder fitted, but by now the Thermopylae was over 500 miles ahead.