THE LATER BRITISH TEA CLIPPERS
In what may be called the ante-Suez Canal days, China was a pretty
comfortable place to be in. The East India Company, with its pomp and
grandeur, had passed away, but the older residents treasured the
picturesque traditions of former times, and the comfort and luxury of
the old days still survived.
All white foreigners in China were known as Europeans, and at the little
treaty ports along the coast their communities were closely united by
ties of social necessity, the barriers of national prejudice, if they
existed, being soon obliterated in the effort of each member to
contribute to the well-being of all. Hong-kong was the European capital.
With its cathedral, Government House, regiment of soldiers, court of
justice, race-course, social clubs, and annual Derby and Regatta week,
it was a most entertaining pocket edition of England, set down at the
base of a lofty island mountain-peak, between the bluest of seas and the
brightest of skies. Almost the only things that reminded one of the
Orient were the tiers of junks that lay moored at the western end of the
town, and the industrious well-mannered Chinese who mingled so
unobtrusively with their visitors from the west.
All of these things worked together for good. There were no cables or
telegraphs to vex the souls of the righteous. The P. & O. steamer, via
the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean, usually arrived every month, though
frequently four or five days overdue, and once in a while she would not
appear at all, having fetched up on one of the numerous uncharted reefs
or shoals that then infested these seas. When she did arrive, there was
a ripple of excitement over receiving letters and newspapers from home,
and when she had departed, the little colony settled once more into
agreeable repose. The towns and cities of America and Europe seemed far
away--bright, shadowy visions that dwelt in our hearts as “home.”
In 1862 the Messageries Imperiales of France extended their steamship
line to China, and in 1867 the first steamship of the Pacific Mail
Company from San Francisco arrived at Hong-kong. Vast numbers of
globe-trotters then began to appear, most of them far too energetic;
they insisted, among other things, on tying their own shoestrings, and
in general proved very inferior lotus-eaters. When the Suez Canal was
opened and telegraph cables began to be laid, then the remnant of charm
that had made the old life in China so pleasant vanished forever.
In 1859 quite a new type of China tea clipper appeared in Great Britain.
The first of these beautiful vessels was the _Falcon_, built by Robert
Steele & Son, at Greenock, and owned by Shaw, Maxton & Co. She was a
wooden vessel of 937 tons register; length 191 feet 4 inches, breadth 32
feet 2 inches, depth 20 feet 2 inches, and was commanded by Captain
Maxton, who had been in command of the _Lord of the Isles_. The _Falcon_
was the first of the really handsome tea clippers sailing out of London.
Like her, the _Fiery Cross_, built by Chalour & Co., of Liverpool, in
1860; the _Min_, by Robert Steele & Son, of Greenock, and the _Kelso_,
by William Pile, of Sunderland, in 1861; the _Belted Will_, by Feel &
Co., of Workington, and the _Serica_, by Robert Steele & Son, in 1863
were all wooden ships sheathed with red copper. The _Fiery Cross_, the
largest of these, was only 888 tons. They were all beautiful vessels of
an entirely original type and with nothing about them to remind one of
the American clippers; for they had considerably less sheer, much less
freeboard, and lower bulwarks, and their comparatively small breadth
gave them a slim, graceful appearance.
These ships and the tea clippers which followed them had very clear
decks for working ship. The deck-houses were small, and with the rails,
bulwarks, waterways, bitts, hatch-coamings, companions, and skylights
were of India teak varnished; the decks, also of India teak, were
holystoned; and this, with the polished brasswork and the spare spars
lashed amidships, made them very smart and shipshape.
The tea-trade in the early sixties was comparatively small, and did not
require many vessels, but speed in the delivery of new teas was of the
utmost importance, and it was this demand that brought these clippers
into existence. They were designed with great skill for this special
purpose, and as they invariably sailed from China with new teas during
the southwest monsoon, it was necessary that they should be smart in
moderate weather going to windward, as well as in getting through the
northeast trades in the Atlantic. It was under these conditions that
they did their best work. They did not carry as heavy spars nor as much
canvas as the American clippers of the same length, and probably could
not have done so to advantage, as their breadth was considerably less,
and with their easy lines they did not require much canvas to drive
them. They were remarkably fast in light and moderate winds, and made
fine averages rather than exceptional daily records of speed, none of
them reaching the extreme speed of many of the sharper and more powerful
American clipper ships. Only twenty-five or thirty of these vessels were
built from first to last, and not more than four or five in any one
year. A list of the most celebrated of them will be found in Appendix
III.
The captains were men of great ability, who handled their ships with
skill and judgment; some of them accumulated considerable fortunes,
being part owners of the vessels which they commanded. These ships were
manned by fine British seamen, many of whom had served in the Royal
Navy. When these fellows got safely to sea and properly sobered up,
there were no smarter sailors afloat, whether aloft or with marlinspike,
palm and needle, or watch tackle.
In 1863 the first tea clippers of composite construction were brought
out--the _Taeping_, built by Robert Steele & Son; the _Eliza Shaw_, by
Alexander Stephen, and the _Yang-tze_ and _Black Prince_, by Alexander
Hall. This system of ship-building--iron frames and wood planking--was
invented by John Jordan, son of a member of the firm of L. H. Macintyre
& Co., ship-builders of Liverpool, who built the schooner _Excelsior_
upon this principle in 1850, and the barque _Marion Macintyre_, in 1851,
these being the first composite vessels constructed.
This system combined the strength of iron frames with the advantage that
the wooden planking could be coppered to prevent fouling, which was a
serious matter in this trade. Great care had to be taken in building
these vessels to prevent galvanic action so far as possible.
Gutta-percha was placed between the frames and planking as a
non-conductor; the planking was then fastened with yellow-metal screw
bolts with counter-sunk heads, the holes being afterwards filled with a
composition prepared for the purpose. Mr. Jordan obtained a patent for
his invention, but it did not attract much attention until adopted in
the construction of the _Taeping_, _Eliza Shaw_, _Yang-tze_, and _Black
Prince_. From that time all the tea clippers were of composite build,
though it was not until 1867 that the Committee of Lloyd’s Register
issued rules for their construction.
It was in 1863 also that the _Seaforth_, an iron ship of 1200 tons,
built for the Calcutta trade by Jones, Quiggin & Co., of Liverpool, was
fitted with steel lower masts, topmasts, topsails yards, and bowsprit,
and with standing rigging of steel wire
[Illustration: The Composite Construction]
rope. It was estimated that by replacing wood and hemp with steel, she
saved 21 tons weight aloft, besides getting less wind resistance and a
very considerable increase in strength. The _Seaforth_ was the first
vessel to have steel spars and rigging, but they soon came into use on
board the tea clippers.
The wild, speculative years of ship-owning which followed the discovery
of gold in California and Australia, when a clipper ship was expected to
pay for herself every voyage or two, had now passed away. Ship-owners
retained a lively recollection of the crash in 1857 and the depression
which followed, so the tea clippers were built with an eye to economy as
well as speed. The rates of freight, which in the early fifties had been
£6 and even as high as £8 per ton, were in 1863 £4 10s. to £5 per
ton--still fine paying rates on the investment of capital, after
allowing for running expenses and depreciation. Ship-owning in Great
Britain had now become established upon a less profitable, though more
rational and substantial basis.
The tea clippers carried from 200 to 300 tons of clean shingle ballast,
laid beautifully smooth and even, upon which the chests of tea were
stowed, and a considerable quantity of dunnage wood, for which
allowances were made in reckoning the actual cargo capacity. The
_Taeping_, which under the new rules based on the cubic capacity of the
hull registered 767 tons, carried 1234 tons of tea at 50 cubit feet per
ton, with a crew of 30 men all told. Vessels were now designed on
scientific principles, and it may be doubted whether the qualities then
desirable in a merchant sailing ship--speed, strength, carrying
capacity, and economy--have ever been so successfully united as in these
famous China tea clippers.
Some exciting contests took place between the various clippers of the
new type, the _Falcon_, _Fiery Cross_, _Serica_, and _Taeping_ proving
the most successful. In the year 1865 the _Fiery Cross_ and _Serica_
sailed from Foo-chow side by side, on May 28th, both bound for London.
After a close race during which they sighted each other several times,
both ships made their signals off St. Catharine’s, Isle of Wight, at
almost the same moment, 106 days from Foo-chow, and continued up Channel
before a light westerly breeze. Off Beechy Head they fell in with the
tugs sent out to meet them, the _Serica_ at that time having a lead of
about two miles. The _Fiery Cross_, however, secured the most powerful
tug and reached her dock one tide before the _Serica_, thus winning the
premium of 10 shillings per ton. The _Taeping_ sailed from Foo-chow some
days later and made the passage to the Downs in 101 days. As may be
supposed, this system of awarding premiums led to a good deal of
unpleasantness.
In 1865, Robert Steele & Son brought out the sister ships _Ariel_ and
_Sir Launcelot_; Alexander Hall, the _Ada_, and Connell & Co., of
Glasgow, the _Taitsing_, all of composite construction; and in the
following year the most famous race between these vessels--the one which
the tea brokers of Mincing Lane still discuss with enthusiasm--was
sailed. It was arranged that nine clippers should sail from Foo-chow as
nearly the same date as possible, and during the last week in May the
picturesque Pagoda Anchorage presented a scene of unusual activity. The
_Ada_, _Black Prince_, _Chinaman_, _Fiery Cross_, _Flying Spur_,
_Serica_, _Ariel_, _Taeping_, and _Taitsing_ were all hurrying to finish
loading and get to sea. Cargo junks and lorchers[17] were being warped
alongside at all hours of the day and night; double gangs of
good-natured, chattering coolies were on board each ship ready to handle
and stow the matted chests of tea as they came alongside; comfortable
sampans worked by merry barefooted Chinese women sailed or rowed in
haste between the ships and the shore; slender six-oared gigs with crews
of stalwart Chinamen in white duck uniforms darted about the harbor;
while dignified master mariners, dressed in white linen or straw-colored
pongee silk, with pipe-clayed shoes and broad pith hats, impatiently
handled the yoke lines.
On shore the tyepans and their clerks hurried about in sedan chairs
carried on the shoulders of perspiring coolies, with quick, firm step to
the rhythm of their mild but energetic “woo ho--woo-ho--woo ho.” The
broad, cool veranda of the clubhouse was almost deserted; in the great
hongs of Adamson, Bell; Gilman & Co.; Jardine, Matheson; Gibb,
Livingston; and Sassoon, the gentry of Foo-chow toiled by candle-light
over manifests and bills of lading and exchange, sustained far into the
night by slowly swinging punkahs, iced tea, and the fragrant Manila
cheroot.
The _Fiery Cross_ was the first ship to get her final chest of tea on
board, at midnight, and she towed to sea early on the morning of May
29th; the _Ariel_ left the Pagoda Anchorage at 10:30 and the _Serica_
and _Taeping_ at 10:50 A.M. on the 30th; the _Taitsing_ followed at
midnight on the 31st. Here we must bid good-bye to the _Ada_, _Black
Prince_, _Chinaman_, and _Flying Spur_, for these vessels,
unfortunately, did not finish loading in time to take part in the race.
The five competing ships, however, represented the flower of the fleet,
and for this reason had been the favorites with shippers. The _Fiery
Cross_, _Taeping_, and _Serica_ were fast and well-tried vessels, while
the _Ariel_ and _Taitsing_ were just beginning their successful career.
The captains, Keay, of the _Ariel_; Robinson, of the _Fiery Cross_;
Innes, of the _Serica_; McKinnon, of the _Taeping_, and Nutsfield, of
the _Taitsing_, were all seamen of skill and experience, well known in
the China trade.
The _Fiery Cross_ found a light northeast breeze outside, and passed
through the Formosa Channel with royal studdingsails set, followed by
the other four ships. They all carried this breeze for four hundred
miles, when the _Fiery Cross_ drifted into a calm which let the other
ships run up, but she was the first to get the southwest monsoon, and
soon drew away again. On June 8th the _Fiery Cross_ and _Ariel_ met on
opposite tacks, both ships having a strong southwest breeze, and the
_Fiery Cross_ passed three miles to windward. She kept her lead through
the Straits of Sunda, passing Anjer Point at noon on June 19th, and was
followed by the _Ariel_ on the morning of June 20th and the _Taeping_
during that afternoon; the _Serica_ passed Anjer Point on the 22d and
the _Taitsing_ on the 25th. From Anjer Point to the meridian of
Mauritius they all carried fresh trade winds, and it was on this stretch
across the Indian Ocean that each ship made her best twenty-four hours’
run--the _Ariel_, 317; _Taeping_, 319; _Serica_, 291; _Fiery Cross_,
328; and _Taitsing_, 318 miles.
The _Fiery Cross_ rounded the Cape of Good Hope on July 14th, 46 days
from Foo-chow, followed by the _Ariel_ also 46 days; _Taeping_, 47 days;
_Serica_, 50 days, and _Taitsing_, 54 days. The _Fiery Cross_ was on the
equator, August 3d, 20 days from the Cape of Good Hope, with the _Ariel_
still only one day astern, while the _Taeping_ and _Taitsing_ had each
gained 1 and the _Serica_ 2 days on this stretch. On August 9th, in
latitude 12° 29′ N., the _Fiery Cross_ and _Taeping_ exchanged signals,
and they continued in company, with calms and variable winds until the
17th, when the _Taeping_ picked up a breeze which carried her out of
sight while the _Fiery Cross_ lay becalmed for another twenty-four
hours. Meanwhile, the _Ariel_, which was about thirty miles further to
the westward, found better winds and now led the fleet, while the
_Taitsing_ brought up a good breeze and passed the _Taeping_, _Serica_,
and _Fiery Cross_ and was closing on the _Ariel_. At the Azores the
_Ariel_ still held the lead, though closely followed by the _Taitsing_,
_Fiery Cross_, _Serica_, and _Taeping_ in the order named. From the
Azores to the entrance of the English Channel, the _Taeping_ and
_Serica_ passed the _Taitsing_ and _Fiery Cross_ and closed on the
_Ariel_, the _Taeping_ leading the _Serica_ by about six hours.
At daybreak on the morning of September 5th, two of the clippers sighted
each other running in for the Lizard; they were about five miles apart,
beam and beam, steering on slightly converging courses. There was a
strong southerly wind with smooth sea, and both ships were being driven
at their utmost speed--a good fifteen knots--their lee scuppers
smothered in foam, with the wind well abaft the starboard beam; both
were under the same canvas, main skysail, topmast, topgallant, royal,
and square lower studdingsails. Neither captain required the example of
the other to send his ship along at her best speed--they had been doing
that for ninety-eight days and nights. When their signals could be made
out these ships proved to be the _Ariel_ and the _Taeping_. After
passing the Lizard the wind moderated, and they raced up channel almost
side by side, now one and then the other gaining a slight advantage, but
never far apart, and as they passed the various headlands along the
coast they presented a spirited marine picture. They were off the pilot
station at Dungeness at three o’clock the next morning and burned their
blue lights for pilots, who boarded both ships at the same time. With a
moderate wind they were now making not more than five or six knots
through the water, but the tide was sweeping them along fast. Off the
South Foreland the wind slackened again with the rising sun. Here the
_Ariel_ held a slight lead and she passed Deal at 8 o’clock, followed by
the _Taeping_ eight minutes later, but as the latter vessel had sailed
from the Pagoda
[Illustration: The “Ariel” and “Taeping” Running up Channel, September
5, 1866]
Anchorage twenty minutes after the _Ariel_, ninety-nine days before, she
had won the race by twelve minutes. Both ships had sailed 16,000 miles.
The _Serica_ passed Deal four hours later; all three ships went up the
Thames on the same tide, and after the usual tugboat race, the _Taeping_
arrived in the London Docks at 9:45, the _Ariel_ in the East India Docks
at 10:15, and the _Serica_ in the West India Docks at 11:30 P.M. on
September 6th. The _Fiery Cross_ passed Deal on the 7th and the
_Taitsing_ on the 9th, each 101 days from the Pagoda Anchorage.
The following is an abstract of their logs:
_Ariel_ _Taeping_ _Serica_ _Fiery Cross_ _Taitsing_
From the Pagoda
Anchorage to
Anjer 21 days 21 days 23 days 21 days 26 days.
From Anjer to
the Cape of
Good Hope 25 “ 26 “ 27 “ 25 “ 28 “
From the Cape
of Good Hope
to the equator 20 “ 19 “ 18 “ 20 “ 19 “
From the equator
to Deal 33 “ 33 “ 31 “ 35 “ 28 “
-- -- -- --- ---
Total 99 “ 99 “ 99 “ 101 “ 101 “
The best twenty-four hours’ runs were as follows:
_Average_
_Ariel_ June 25 317 miles 13.2 knots.
_Taeping_ “ 25 319 “ 13.3 “
_Serica_ “ 29 291 “ 12.1 “
_Fiery Cross_ “ 24 328 “ 13.7 “
_Taitsing_ July 2 318 “ 13.25 “
This contest of 1866 was one of the grandest ocean races ever sailed,
partly on account of the number of evenly matched vessels engaged in it,
but chiefly by reason of the splendid manner in which it was contested
and the close, exciting finish. The tea cargoes of the five ships were:
_Taeping_, 1,108,709 lbs.; _Ariel_, 1,230,900 lbs.; _Serica_, 954,236
lbs.; _Fiery Cross_, 854,236 lbs.; _Taitsing_, 1,093,130 lbs.
The usual altercation arose over the award of premium, which this year
was 10 shillings per ton; Shaw, Maxton & Co., owners of the _Ariel_,
protested that their ship had arrived first at Deal and was therefore
entitled to the prize money, but the contention of Rodger & Co., owners
of the _Taeping_, that their ship had made the fastest passage and had
also reached her dock first, prevailed, and the matter was finally
adjusted by dividing the premium. The captains all dined together at the
Ship and Turtle Tavern in Leadenhall Street, and harmony was restored,
but there were no premiums after this race. The system of awards had
always led to controversy, and such an effort to combine sport and
business could not be made to flourish. There had also been heavy
betting on these races, large sums of money changing hands, and this
continued; but it was better understood whether wagers were being laid
on the clippers or tugboats, for under the old system, there had been
nothing except expense to prevent a ship towing from the Azores.
In the next two years the fleet was increased by a number of fine
vessels, built to meet the competition of steam, which was now beginning
to be felt in the China trade. We have seen how fierce and prolonged a
contest there had been between sail and steam on the Atlantic, where the
brave old packet ships had finally been driven into other trades, and
how the California and Australian clippers had gradually been superseded
by other means of transportation. The difficulty and peculiar conditions
of the China voyage made this a harder field to conquer.
Since 1845 the P. & O. steamers had carried passengers between England
and China via the Red Sea, but they were expensive vessels to operate,
and there were difficulty and delay in transportation across the Isthmus
of Suez; consequently, their rates of freight were high and they were
unable to compete with the tea clippers. On the other hand, auxiliary
vessels did not have sufficient power to drive them against the
southwest monsoon when new teas were shipped from China, as their heavy
masts, yards, and rigging held them back in head winds. A number of
auxiliaries were tried in the China trade, among them the _Scotland_,
_Erl King_, _Robert Lowe_, and _Far East_, but they were not successful.
As late as 1866 there were no steamers that could make the voyage
between England and China with sufficient cargo to meet expenses, and
very few persons at that time believed that the direct trade between
Europe and China could ever be carried on by steamers, or that the Suez
Canal, even if completed, would prove of any commercial value.
In this year, however, Alfred Holt, of Liverpool, brought out three iron
screw steamships with compound engines--the _Ajax_, _Achilles_, and
_Agamemnon_,--2270 tons gross and 1550 tons net register--and put them
in the China trade. These vessels could steam from London to Mauritius,
a distance of 8500 miles, without coaling, a remarkable performance in
those days, and they made the passage from Foo-chow to London in 58
days, at an average speed of 235 miles per day. These were the first
steamships to perform long ocean voyages successfully, and they marked a
new era in steam navigation, although they were expensive vessels to
operate compared with steamers of the present day, and it was at first
doubted whether they could be made to pay.
The owners, builders, and captains of the tea clippers were not men to
yield without a contest; they met this new and aggressive invasion of
steam by building in rapid succession such noted fliers as the
_Titania_, _Spindrift_, _Forward Ho_, _Lahloo_, _Leander_, _Thermopylæ_,
_Windhover_, _Cutty Sark_, _Caliph_, _Wylo_, _Kaisow_, and _Lothair_.
These, with the older tea clippers, held their own against the steamers
until the opening of the Suez Canal in November, 1869, greatly lessened
the length of the voyage and the difficulty and expense of obtaining
coal.
In 1868 the _Ariel_, _Taeping_, and _Sir Launcelot_ sailed from
Foo-chow on May 28th, the _Spindrift_ on the 29th, the _Lahloo_ on the
30th, the _Serica_ on June 1st, and the _Leander_ on June 3d. The
_Ariel_ and _Spindrift_ made the passage to Deal in 97 days, the _Sir
Launcelot_ in 98 days, the _Lahloo_ in 100 days; _Taeping_, 102 days;
_Leander_, 109 days, and _Serica_, 113 days.
The famous tea clipper _Thermopylæ_ was launched in this year. She was
of composite construction, built by Walter Hood, of Aberdeen, for George
Thompson & Co., who also owned the _Star of Peace_, _Ethiopian_,
_Aristides_, _Patriarch_, _Salamis_, and other fine ships well known in
the Australian trade. The _Thermopylæ_ was 947 tons register; length 210
feet, breadth 36 feet, depth 21 feet; she carried double topsails, but
no skysail, and like all the Thompson ships, her hull was painted sea
green from the copper up with white yards and lower masts. She carried a
handsome figurehead of the brave Leonidas, and was a very beautiful
ship. She was designed by Bernard Weymouth, an accomplished naval
architect who was for many years the secretary to Lloyd’s Register of
Shipping. He had before this designed the tea clipper _Leander_, and
later designed the _Melbourne_, a fast ship in the Australian trade,
built and owned by Richard Green, of London, of which further mention
will be made later.
On her first voyage the _Thermopylæ_ sailed from London to Melbourne
under command of Captain Kemball, who had formerly commanded the
_Fairlight_ and the _Yang-tze_. She left Gravesend, November 7, 1868,
and arrived at Melbourne, January 9, 1869, thus making the passage in
the remarkable record time of 63 days, the same time as the record
passage of the _James Baines_, from Liverpool to Melbourne fourteen
years before. She had a fast run of 21 days to the equator; on the three
days before and after crossing the line she made 202, 140, 228, 271,
288, and 293 miles--an unusual rate of speed for that part of the ocean.
Her best days’ runs were made on January 3d and 4th--330 and 326 miles;
her log records on both days “northerly, strong,” so that it may be
assumed that she had as much fair wind as she needed. Her log records
nine days during the passage when her runs were over 300 miles, and five
days of less than 100 miles. The entries on December 9th and 10th are:
“Northwesterly, fresh gale, 240 miles,” and “southwesterly, blowing a
gale, 224 miles.” These were fair winds. An analysis of this log leads
to the conclusion that the _Thermopylæ_ was a very fast ship in average
weather at sea, but in heavy weather could not be driven at a high rate
of speed for a vessel of her length, probably on account of her small
breadth and low foreboard.[18]
She next made the run from Newcastle, New South Wales, to Shanghai in 28
days, which is the record between those ports. On this passage large
days’ runs are not to be expected, but on one day she made 300 miles,
and she showed the same fast averages in moderate weather as before.
There was great excitement in the hongs at the coast ports of China in
this year (1869) when it became known that the _Thermopylæ_ was
chartered to load new teas at Foo-chow for London; for no racing yachts
ever had firmer friends and backers than the tea clippers; moreover, the
rivalry between Aberdeen and the Clyde was acute. Of late years the
Clyde clippers had carried all before them, and it was now felt that
Aberdeen was about to regain her former glory; but this did not prove to
be the case. The _Ariel_ sailed from the Pagoda Anchorage on June 30th;
the _Leander_, July 1st; _Thermopylæ_, July 3d; _Spindrift_, July 4th;
_Taeping_, July 9th, and the _Sir Launcelot_, July 17th. They arrived
off Deal as follows: _Sir Launcelot_, 89 days; _Thermopylæ_, 91 days;
_Taeping_, 102 days; _Leander_, 103 days; _Ariel_, 104 days, and
_Spindrift_, 106 days.
The winner, the _Sir Launcelot_, was commanded by Captain Robinson,
formerly of the _Fiery Cross_, a seaman of great energy and experience.
On this passage she sailed 354 miles in twenty-four hours while running
through the trades in the Indian Ocean, which is believed to be the
greatest speed ever made by any of the tea clippers of that period. This
vessel was 886 tons register; length 197 feet 6 inches, breadth 33 feet
7 inches, depth 21 feet, drawing 18 feet 9 inches aft and 18 feet 7
inches forward, and carried 45,500 square feet of canvas, with a crew of
30 hands all told. She delivered 1430 tons of tea at fifty cubic feet
per ton, and in addition to 200 tons of shingle ballast, she carried 100
tons of kentledge, cast to fit the floors along the keelson between the
fore and mizzen masts. Her owner, James MacCumm, of Greenock, claimed
that she was the fastest of the tea clippers, which her record passage
of 89 days from Foo-chow to London and her twenty-four hours’ run of 354
miles would seem to justify, though there were probably very slight
differences in speed between any of these vessels under similar
conditions of wind and weather.
The race of 1870 from Foo-chow to London was won by the _Lahloo_ in 97
days, the other vessels being: the _Windhover_, 100 days; _Sir
Launcelot_, 102 days; _Leander_, 103 days; _Thermopylæ_, 106 days. In
1871 the _Titania_ won in 93 days; the _Lahloo_, 111 days, from Foo-chow
to London; and from Shanghai to London the _Thermopylæ_ was 106 days;
_Cutty Sark_, 110 days, and _Forward Ho_, 118 days. This was about the
last of the tea clipper racing, for the combined competition of steam
and the Suez Canal proved too powerful for sail. No more tea clippers
were built after 1869; by degrees these beautiful vessels were driven
into other trades; and so the Clipper Ship Era drifted into history.
Great Britain had regained her empire upon the sea, and few British
ship-owners could be found who any longer doubted the wisdom of Free
Trade. Through the irony of fate, Duncan Dunbar, who had been one of the
most vehement opponents of the repeal of the Navigation Laws, became
under the new conditions, the largest ship-owner and one of the
wealthiest in the United Kingdom, leaving at his death an estate of
£1,500,000.
In comparing the speed of the British tea clippers with that of American
clipper ships, a good deal depends on what is meant by speed. In
ordinary weather at sea, when great power to carry sail is
[Illustration: The “Lahloo”]
not required, the British tea clippers were extremely fast vessels,
chiefly on account of their narrow beam, which gave their hulls a
comparatively small wetted surface, and their smooth copper bottoms
which reduced skin resistance. Under these conditions they were,
perhaps, as fast as the American clippers of the same class, though from
very different causes;--such ships, for instance, as the _Sea Witch_,
_Samuel Russell_, _Game Cock_, _Phantom_, _White Squall_, _Nightingale_,
_Shooting Star_, _Northern Light_, _Surprise_, _Witch of the Wave_,
_Sword-Fish_, and others. But if speed is to be considered as the
maximum performance of a ship under the most favorable conditions,
though these conditions may not often occur, then the British tea
clippers were certainly no match for the larger American ships such as
the _Flying Cloud_, _Typhoon_, _Neptune’s Car_, _Challenge_, _Comet_,
_Hurricane_, _Flying Fish_, _Stag-Hound_, _Young America_, _Trade-Wind_,
and others of this class, to say nothing of the _James Baines_, _Red
Jacket_, _Champion of the Seas_, _Lightning_, _Sovereign of the Seas_,
and _Great Republic_. The greater breadth of the American ships in
proportion to their length, meant, in sailing vessels of this type, not
only power to carry canvas, but also power in the form of buoyancy; and
this, with their longer and sharper ends, enabled the American clippers
to be driven at much greater speed than the British clippers in strong
gales and before heavy seas. It should, however, be remembered that none
of the British tea clippers exceeded 1000 tons register, and it may
again be said that they probably combined the good qualities of a
merchant ship in a higher degree than any other vessels that have ever
been built.
The _Melbourne_, already mentioned, was perhaps the fastest ship ever
built in Great Britain. In 1875, commanded by Captain Marsden, she made
the passage from London to Melbourne in the not very remarkable time of
74 days, but when running her easting down in strong westerly gales she
sailed 5100 miles in 17 days, an average of 300 miles a day, and her
best twenty-four hours’ run was 374 miles, an average of over 15½ knots.
She was an iron vessel of 1865 tons register; length 269 feet, breadth
40 feet, depth 23 feet 7 inches, and while not an extreme clipper, was a
finely designed ship.
It should be remembered that both the American and the British clippers
were dependent upon the form of their lines for stability; this problem
in their design was therefore a far more intricate and difficult one to
deal with than that of producing stability by hanging a huge mass of
lead below the body of a hull, as is the custom with our modern racing
yachts.
Yachting is the grandest of sports when yachtsmen handle their yachts
themselves, and there are a good number of yachtsman who are excellent
seamen and navigators. It is pleasant to recall that in the race for the
Emperor’s Cup in 1905, four of the competing yachts were sailed and
navigated by their owners; and although there is far too much wasteful
extravagance and enervating luxury in yachting, still, the increasing
number of yachtsmen who show a keen interest and are amateur experts in
the design, construction, rigging, and sailing of their yachts, is an
encouraging sign for the future of the sport.
Nevertheless, it must be frankly admitted that yacht racing, even across
the Atlantic, in comparison with the old clipper ship racing, resembles
snipe shooting as compared with hunting big game in the wilds of Africa,
while the gold and silver yacht racing cups appear as mere baubles
beside the momentous stake of commercial supremacy for which the
clippers stretched their wings.