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Beginning in the late 1840's American shipbuilders started to build a new kind of merchant vessel - the Clipper ship. Several qualities set the clipper ship apart from others sailing ships. A clipper was technically a sailing ship with three masts on which sat a large expanse of square sails. It was designed to carry a small, highly profitable cargo over long distances at high speeds.
The clipper's masts, which could reach as high as a twenty story building, carried more sails and more kinds of sails than any other ship that had been built by that time. This cloud of sails controlled by a complicated web of rigging rose above a sharp bow and a sleek narrow hull. The long lines of the ship combined with the enormous driving power of the sails allowed the ships to "clip" along at speeds that earlier generations of sailors never dreamed of, and later generations never matched.
The clipper's masts, which could reach as high as a twenty story building, carried more sails and more kinds of sails than any other ship that had been built by that time. This cloud of sails controlled by a complicated web of rigging rose above a sharp bow and a sleek narrow hull. The long lines of the ship combined with the enormous driving power of the sails allowed the ships to "clip" along at speeds that earlier generations of sailors never dreamed of, and later generations never matched.
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The first ships to which the term "clipper" seems to have been applied were the Baltimore clippers. Baltimore clippers were topsail schooners developed in Chesapeake Bay before the American Revolution, and which reached their zenith between 1795 and 1815. They were small, rarely exceeding 200 tons OM. Some were lightly armed in the War of 1812, sailing under Letters of Marque and Reprisal, when the type—exemplified by Chasseur, launched at Fells Point, Baltimore in 1814 became known for her incredible speed; the deep draft enabled the Baltimore clipper to sail close to the wind. Clippers, running the British blockade of Baltimore, came to be recognized for speed rather than cargo space.
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Pride of Baltimore II
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Sailing 150 miles a day was considered a good day's run only a few years earlier, clippers traveled approximately 250 miles a day. The best of the clippers could cover more than 400 miles a day. Speed was important to clipper captains because speed meant a big profits for the owners and captains.
Thousands of people were eager to get to the California gold fields and would pay premium prices to get there by the fastest clipper ship. Once there, the miners would pay top dollar for the goods and supplies they needed from back east. The ships that brought the goods to California first could earn a fortune for the owners. Tea from China brought a good price in New York and London, but it had to be delivered before it lost its taste. Some enterprising merchants made their fortunes by shipping ice from the ponds and rivers of New England to the tropics where it was a rare and valuable luxury, but they had to get it there before it melted.
Thousands of people were eager to get to the California gold fields and would pay premium prices to get there by the fastest clipper ship. Once there, the miners would pay top dollar for the goods and supplies they needed from back east. The ships that brought the goods to California first could earn a fortune for the owners. Tea from China brought a good price in New York and London, but it had to be delivered before it lost its taste. Some enterprising merchants made their fortunes by shipping ice from the ponds and rivers of New England to the tropics where it was a rare and valuable luxury, but they had to get it there before it melted.
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Before the early 18th century, the East India Company paid for its tea mainly in silver. However, when the price of silver rose, the East India Company began to manufacture a product that was desired by the Chinese as much as tea was by the British: opium. This had a significant influence on both India and China. Opium was also imported into Britain and was not prohibited because it was thought to be medically beneficial. Laudanum, which was made from opium was also used as a pain killer, to induce sleep and to suppress anxiety. The famous literary opium addicts Thomas De Quincey, Samuel Taylor Coleridge and Wilkie Collins also took it for its pleasurable effects. The Limehouse area in London was notorious for its opium dens, many of which catered for Chinese sailors as well as English addicts.
Fast speed was required for the Chinese opium trade between England, India and China. Small, sharp-bowed British vessels were the result. An early example, which is today known as an opium clipper, was the Transit of 1819. She was followed by many more.
Typical Opium Clippers
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The Sea Witch an Opium Clipper
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The first attempt at building a larger swift vessel was in America with the Ann McKim, 494 tons OM, built on the enlarged lines of a Baltimore clipper, with sharply raked stem, counter stern and square rig. She was built in Baltimore in 1833 by Kennard & Williamson.
Although the Ann McKim was the first large clipper ship ever constructed, it cannot be said that she founded the clipper ship era, or even that she directly influenced shipbuilders, since no other ship was built like her; but she may have suggested the clipper design in vessels of ship rig. She did, however, influence the building of the Rainbow in 1845, the first extreme clipper ship.
Although the Ann McKim was the first large clipper ship ever constructed, it cannot be said that she founded the clipper ship era, or even that she directly influenced shipbuilders, since no other ship was built like her; but she may have suggested the clipper design in vessels of ship rig. She did, however, influence the building of the Rainbow in 1845, the first extreme clipper ship.
Rainbow
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Ann McKim
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In Aberdeen, Scotland, the shipbuilders Alexander Hall and Sons developed the "Aberdeen" clipper bow in the late 1830s: the first was the Scottish Maid launched in 1839. The Scottish Maid, 150 tons OM, was the first British clipper ship. "Scottish Maid was intended for the Aberdeen-London trade, where speed was crucial to compete with steamships. The Hall brothers tested various hulls in a water tank and found the clipper design most effective. The design was influenced by tonnage regulations. Tonnage measured a ship's cargo capacity and was used to calculate tax and harbor dues.
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The new 1836 regulations measured depth and breadth with length measured at half midship depth. Extra length above this level was tax-free and became a feature of clippers. Scottish Maid proved swift and reliable and the design was widely copied. The earliest British clipper ships were built for trade among the British Isles. Then followed the vast clipper trade of tea, opium, spices and other goods from the Far East to Europe, and the ships became known as "tea clippers". |
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Clipper Ships Racing
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The Great Tea Race of 1866 was an unofficial competition between the fastest clipper ships of the China tea trade to bring the season's first crop of tea to London in 1866. The ships could not leave port in China until the ship was fully loaded. The tea chests arrived by sampans and other small water craft up the Min River from Fuzhou. The tea clippers were loaded around the clock by Chinese workers, while the crew checked the cargo and readied the ship. |
The ships could not leave port in China until the ship was fully loaded. The tea chests arrived by sampans and other small water craft up the Min River from Fuzhou. The tea clippers were loaded around the clock by Chinese workers, while the crew checked the cargo and readied the ship.
In London's Daily Telegraph of 12 September 1866, an article headed "The Great Tea Race of 1866" reported that the main competitors were the Fiery Cross, the Ariel, the Taeping, and the Serica.
“ ... leaving China at the same time, sailed almost neck-and-neck the whole way, and finally arrived in the London docks within two minutes of each other. A struggle more closely contested or more marvellous in some of its aspects has probably never before been witnessed. The Taeping, which won, arrived on the Lizard at literally the same hour as the Ariel, her nearest rival, and then dashed up the Channel, the two ships abreast of each other. During the entire day they gallantly ran side by side, carried on by a strong westerly wind, every stitch of canvas set, and the sea sweeping their decks as they careered before the gale.
The race took over 3 months, crossing the South China Sea, through the Sunda Strait of Indonesia, across the Indian Ocean, around the Cape of Good Hope of Africa, and up the Atlantic Ocean to the English Channel. This was the fastest route for one ship to take, as the Suez Canal was still under construction. The three leaders in the race docked in London within a short time of each other.
Near Dungeness, harbour pilots boarded the Taeping and the Ariel at the same moment, and at the Downs steam tugs were waiting to tow them to the River Thames. It was at this point that the fight was really decided.
Both vessels were taken in tow at the same time and they were neck-and-neck going up the Thames. The Taeping, however, reached Gravesend first, with the Ariel at close by and the Serica was still a close third. Taeping entered the dock at a quarter before 10:00 on Thursday. The Taeping won with a mere 20 minutes lead over Ariel, with Serica third, just one and a half hours behind the leader who won the prize.
In London's Daily Telegraph of 12 September 1866, an article headed "The Great Tea Race of 1866" reported that the main competitors were the Fiery Cross, the Ariel, the Taeping, and the Serica.
“ ... leaving China at the same time, sailed almost neck-and-neck the whole way, and finally arrived in the London docks within two minutes of each other. A struggle more closely contested or more marvellous in some of its aspects has probably never before been witnessed. The Taeping, which won, arrived on the Lizard at literally the same hour as the Ariel, her nearest rival, and then dashed up the Channel, the two ships abreast of each other. During the entire day they gallantly ran side by side, carried on by a strong westerly wind, every stitch of canvas set, and the sea sweeping their decks as they careered before the gale.
The race took over 3 months, crossing the South China Sea, through the Sunda Strait of Indonesia, across the Indian Ocean, around the Cape of Good Hope of Africa, and up the Atlantic Ocean to the English Channel. This was the fastest route for one ship to take, as the Suez Canal was still under construction. The three leaders in the race docked in London within a short time of each other.
Near Dungeness, harbour pilots boarded the Taeping and the Ariel at the same moment, and at the Downs steam tugs were waiting to tow them to the River Thames. It was at this point that the fight was really decided.
Both vessels were taken in tow at the same time and they were neck-and-neck going up the Thames. The Taeping, however, reached Gravesend first, with the Ariel at close by and the Serica was still a close third. Taeping entered the dock at a quarter before 10:00 on Thursday. The Taeping won with a mere 20 minutes lead over Ariel, with Serica third, just one and a half hours behind the leader who won the prize.
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After 1869 with the opening of the Suez Canal that allowed competition with steam vessels, the tea trade then collapsed for clippers. From 1870 the clipper trade increasingly focused on trade and the carrying of immigrants between England and Australia and New Zealand, a trade that had begun earlier with the Australian Gold Rush in the 1850s. British-built clipper ships were used for this trade, as were many American-built ships which were sold to British owners. Even in the 1880s, sailing ships were still the main carriers of cargoes to and from Australia and New Zealand. Eventually, however, even this trade became unprofitable, and the aging clipper fleet became unseaworthy.
Southern Cross leaving Boston Harbor
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