and patrolled the seas from Patagonia to British Columbia for the next five years. She was relieved by in 1877; in coming home her Captain decided not to pass through the Straits of Magellan under steam - which was the accepted route - but to round Cape Horn under sail. The trip from the Pacific to Rio de Janeiro took her seven weeks; she was the only British armoured ship ever to round the Horn under canvas. She was under refit from 1877 to 1880, and was then guardship at Hull until 1885, in the days when a warship was stationed at every major British port. She was mobilized as part of the Royal Navy Evolutionary Squadron 1885 commanded by of Admiral Sir Geoffrey Phipps Hornby. The Repulse was then held in reserve until sold. References Oscar Parkes British Battleships Conway All the World's Fighting Ships Footnotes Bulwark-class battleships (1859) Ships built on the River Thames 1868 ships Victorian-era battleships of the United Kingdom Maritime incidents in August 1871