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At anchor in Whampoa
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1869 - Present
Designer: Hercules Linton
Builder: Scott & Linton - Dumbarton, Scotland
Owner: "Old White Hat" Jock Willis - London
Notable Events: Sailed on the China Tea Trade for a couple of
seasons without distinguishing herself. Was moved over to the Australian
wool trade when the tea trade was taken over by the steam ships. Here she
proved to be a regularly fast sailer.
- Purchased by Capt. Wilfred Dowman 1922 for £ 3750 and restored
for use as a stationary training ship.
Final Disposition: Permanently drydocked as a museum ship since
1949.
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Thermopylae vs Cutty Sark
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In 1872, Thermopylae left Shanghai with a cargo of tea for London in company
with the London clipper Cutty Sark. After racing each other for two weeks
Cutty Sark lost her rudder after having passed the Sunda Straits. Thermopylae
finally arrived in London only seven days ahead of her rival.
| On display in permanent drydock at Greenwich, England |
Cutty Sark's namesake, "Nannie"
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Cutty Sark is a Scottish word and literally means ‘short shirt’. According
to legend, the name comes from the Robert Burns poem ‘Tam O’Shanter’. In
the poem, a farmer (Tam O’Shanter) was coming home late one night when
he came upon a gathering of witches engaged in some black magic. One of
the witches, Nannie, was dressed in a rather skimpy outfit (i.e. ‘short
shirt’) and took offense upon discovering the presence of Tam. As the witches
chased after Tam, Nannie managed to grab hold of his horse’s tail. The
Cutty Sark’s figurehead bears a likeness of Nannie, arm outstretched with
the horses tail in her grasp. Presumably, the analogy here is the Cutty
Sark would be too fast for any other ship of her time to catch.
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A very detailed model of the Cutty Sark
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Glory of the Seas
NEXT
1869 - 1923
Designer: Donald McKay - East Boston.
Builder: Donald McKay - East Boston.
Owner: Built on speculation.
Notable Events: Sailed from New York to San Francisco in 120
days, beating the extreme clipper Sea Serpent (1850) which sailed three
days earlier by 15 days.
- October 13 - January 16, 1873. Sailed from New York to San Francisco
in 96 days. Although not a record for the passage, no ship would sail it
faster after this date.
- Sold to John Barneson of San Francisco, for $8550. He intended to
use the ship as a barge.
- Repaired and put under sail again after the San Francisco earthquake
(1906).
- This was the last clipper ship built by Donald McKay. The builder's
halfmodel is preserved at The Mariners' Museum, Newport News, VA.
Final Disposition: Burned for her metal at Brace Point, West
Seattle.
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Challenge NEXT
1851 - 1877
Designer: William H. Webb - New York
Builder: William H. Webb - New York
Owner: N.L. & G. Griswold - New York
Notable Events: Sailed from New York to San Francisco in 108
days, where Captain Waterman had to relinquish his command due to problems
with the crew.
- Put into Fayal very leaky.
- Sailed from San Francisco to China in 49 days. Lost all three top-masts.
- Was completely dis-masted in a typhoon, but managed to get into Hong
Kong where she was laid up.
- Arrived at Bombay from Calle leaking badly.
- Had the decks swept clean and lost seven men, including all officers
except third mate, in the Indian Ocean on voyage from
South Shields to Anjer with a cargo of coal.
Final Disposition: Lost at Abervache off the French Coast on
a voyage from South Shields to Genoa with 1590 tons of coal and a crew
of 26 men.
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Dreadnought NEXT
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Dreadnought Approaching New York
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1853 -1869
Designer: Unknown
Builder: Currier & Townsend - Newburyport, MA.
Owner: E.D. Morgan & F.B. Cutting - New York.
Notable Events: Collided with and sank the ship John Evans two
days out from New York on voyage for Liverpool.
- Sailed from Liverpool for New York. Five days out she encountered
a severe gale and lost her rudder. Captain Samuels broke a leg and was
almost washed overboard. Having failed to rig a jury-rudder, the ship was
sailed backwards under Captain Samuels' directions towards Fayal. Continued
to New York after 52 days of repairs.
- Put into Fayal on voyage from Liverpool to New York after having
been partly dismasted and the rudder torn away.
Captain Lytle received injuries from which he subsequently died.
Final Disposition: Drifted ashore and was wrecked on Cape Penas,
off Tierra del Fuego. The crew reached Cape San Diego at the Straits of
Le Marie after a 17 days long journey in two of the ship's boats.
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Sea Witch NEXT
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Sea Witch coming to anchor at Whampoa
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1846 -1856
Designer: John W. Griffiths - New York
Builder: Smith & Dimon - New York
Owner: Howland & Aspinwall - New York.
Notable Events: Left Whampoa for New York where she arrived
after 77 days, which was the fastest passage on record.
- Left New York for Hong Kong, but put into Rio de Janeiro with the
dead body of Captain Fraser who had been murdered by the first mate. Captain
Lang was put in command.
Final Disposition: Wrecked on a reef 12 miles off Havana.
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Great Republic NEXT
1853 -1872
Designer: Donald McKay - East Boston.
Builder: Donald McKay - East Boston.
Owner: Built on speculation.
Notable Events: Caught fire while at New York loading for Liverpool.
The remains of the ship was surrendered to the underwriters for $235,000
from which she was sold to Captain N.B. Palmer for Messrs. A.A. Low and
Brothers. She was subsequently rebuilt by Sneeden & Whitlock - Long
Island, NY.
- Sailed from New York to London in 17 days.
Final Disposition: Sprang a leak in a hurricane off Bermuda
en route from Rio de Janeiro to St. John, NB, and was abandoned with 15
feet of water in the hold.
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Flying Cloud NEXT
1851 -1875
Designer: Donald McKay - East Boston.
Builder: Donald McKay - East Boston.
Owner: Enoch Train - Boston.
Notable Events:
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Sailed from New York to San Francisco in 89 days 21 hours under command
of Captain Josiah Perkins Cressey. On July 31 she made 374 miles in 24
hours.
- Sailed from New York to San Francisco in 105 days. Passed the Equator
on May 15 in the record time of 17 days from Sandy Hook.
- Sailed from New York to San Francisco in 89 days 8 hours. This is
the record for the passage.
- Sailed from New York to San Francisco in 185 days under command of
Captain Reynard. She is reputed to have sailed 402 miles in 24 hours during
that trip.
- Partially dismasted en route San Francisco and put into Rio de Janeiro
for repairs where her spars were cut down before she proceeded.
Final Disposition: Went ashore on the Beacon Island bar, St
Johns and was condemned and sold. She was subsequently burned for her copper
and metal fastenings.
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All sails set ... and then some !!
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Stag Hound NEXT
1850 -1861
Designer: Donald McKay - East Boston
Builder: Donald McKay - East Boston
Owner: George B. Upton and Sampson & Tappan - Boston
Notable Events: Sailed with a cargo of tea from Whampoa to New
York in 94 days. The total profit for the round-trip exceeded $80.000.
- Put into Valparaiso 66 days out of New York. This was the second
fastest passage on record.
Final Disposition: A cargo of coal caught fire when approx.
45 miles south of Pernambuco and the ship had to be abandoned.
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Red Jacket NEXT
| Red Jacket |
Red Jacket in icefield off Cape Horn
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1853 - ?
Designer: Samuel H. Pook.
Builder: George Thomas - Rockland, ME.
Owner: Seacomb & Taylor - Boston.
Notable Events: Sailed from New York to Liverpool in 13 days,
1 hour and 25 minutes, a record which stands to this day. The best day's
distance was 413 miles and the poorest 106 miles.
Final Disposition: In the 1880's, she was reduced to a coalbarge
at the Cape Verde Islands.
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Lightning NEXT
1854 -1869
Designer: Donald McKay - East Boston.
Builder: Donald McKay - East Boston.
Owner: Black Ball Line (James Baines & Co.) - Liverpool.
Notable Events: Sailed Boston - Liverpool in 13 days, 20 hours
under command of Captain James Nicol Forbes who had left the Marco Polo
to take command of Donald McKay's new clipper.
- On March 1, 1854, the Lightning sailed 436 miles, which is the longest
day's run recorded by a sailing ship.
- Sailed 430 miles in 24 hours while bound for Australia. This is the
second longest day's run recorded by a sailing ship.
Final Disposition: Burned while loading wool at Geelong.
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Lightning, James Baines and Red Jacket in Hobson's Bay
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Ariel & Taeping
NEXT
Ariel: 1865 - 1872
Designer: Unknown
Builder: Robert Steele & Co. - Greenock, Scotland
Owner: Shaw, Lowther, Maxton & Co.
Notable Events: Left Foochow with a cargo of 1.230.900 pounds
of tea for London. In the Great Tea Race of 1866, the Ariel docked at East
India Docks 20 minutes before the Taeping docked at the London Docks.
- Came second after Sir Lancelot beaten by ? hours after 99 days from
Foochow in the Tea Race of 1867.
- Arrived as the first ship to London in the Tea Race of 1868, one
hour ahead of Taeping.
Final Disposition: Posted missing outward bound for China.
Taeping: 1863 - 1871
Designer: Unknown
Builder: Robert Steele & Co. - Greenock, Scotland
Owner: Alexander Rodger - Glasgow, Scotland
Notable Events: Sailed from Foochow to London in 99 days with
a cargo of 1.108.700 lbs of tea. Finished second in the Great Tea Race
of 1866 and docket at the London Docks 20 minutes after the Ariel docked
at the East India Docks.
- Sailed from Foochow to London in 102 days arriving as the first ship
with 1.099.900 pounds of tea.
Final Disposition: Wrecked on Ladd's Reef in the China Sea under
command of Captain Gissing on voyage from Amoy to New York.
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Shining Sea NEXT
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Shining Sea - Artist's rendition
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The Shining Sea is a concept clipper. A group of enterprising individuals
have come together in Boston to raise money to build a sailing ship modeled
on the design of the original clippers.
From their web page:
"To complete the hull design of Shining Sea , Foundation Trustee and
America's Cup consultant, Dr. John Letcher, Jr. developed a computer program
which blends the designs of four famous clippers, Sea Witch by John Griffiths,
Sovereign of the Seas by Donald McKay, Red Jacket by Samuel Pook and Young
America by William Webb".
"Shining Sea's figurehead will portray Mary Ann Patten of East Boston,
heroine captain of the clipper Neptune's Car. At 19, she became the first
woman to take full command a merchant sailing ship. Her husband Joshua
Patten, the ship's captain, standing his own and a villainous mate's watch,
collapsed in a coma as the Neptune's Car neared Cape Horn. Mary Ann, six
months pregnant, fought battering winter gales for 50 days to round the
Horn and complete the passage to San Francisco. Her story of indomitable
courage was soon known in every seaport of the world."
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Heavy Weather NEXT
| Seas aboard! |
'Greybeards' in the Roarin' 40's
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Handbill NEXT
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Sailing Card NEXT
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End of an Era
