-vC %g Lifeon Board A.merican Clipper Ships byCharles R. Schultz PublishedbyTexas AbM UniversitySea Grant College Program Co~ght@ 1983 by TexasA&M UnioersitySea Grant CollegeProgram TAMU-SG-83-40? 3M January1983 NA81AA-D00092 ET/C-31 Additionalcopies available from: Marine InformationService SeaGrant CollegeProgram TexasA&M University CollegeStation, Texas 77843-4115 $1.00 Dr. CharlesR, Schuitz,whose interest in maritime history has been the impetusfor consider- able researchin thisfi eld, urn Keeperof kfanuscripts and Librarian at hfysticSeaport in Con- necticut for eightyears before he was appointed UniversityArchivist at TexasASM Universityin 1971. Virtually Irom the beginning of shipbuilding in Ameri- to be referredto as"Baltimore clippers," ca,American ship builders have been able to construct Bythe mid 19thCentury a numberof thingshad hap- fastsailing vessels, American craftsmen have consistently penedthat made the famous American clipper ships pos- demonstratedthe abilityto learnfrom eachother, as well sible. When the Black Ball Line wis established in 1818 astheir foreigncounterparts. They have done remarkably and set a regularschedule for packet ships sailing be- well in choosingonly the bestdesign attributes of those tween New York and Europe, it quickly took over the from whom theyhave copied. The developmentof the profitable passengertrafFic and much of the most lucra- famousclipper ships during the 1850's exemplifies the tive lreightbusiness on the NorthAtlantic, It quicklybe- apexof suchdevelopments. cameclear that the fastestships would attractthe most Duringthe colonialperiod of U.S.history, American passengersas weil asthe freightwhich paidthe highest merchantsand their shipswere legallybarred Irom most rates.This created a demandfor shipswhich could sail of thelucrative trades. The only way they could operate fasterthan those which had been built in previous in somegeographical areas or tradein sometypes of decades. commoditieswas to engagein illegalsmuggling. To be a In 1848the Britishgovernment abrogated the remain- successfulsmuggler, one had to haveships that could ing provisionsof the NavigationActs, which hadoriginal- outsailthose of anyother nation. No one knows exactly ly beenpassed during the colonialperiod of American howmuch smuggling was done by colonialAmericans, history.This action by GreatBritain opened the way for but it is certainlysafe to saythat they did a lotof it. Bal- Americanships to carrycommodities, especially tea, from timore,Maryland, was one of theleading smuggling Chinadirectly to Englandin competitionwith British ports in America. It was also in Baltimore that some of ships.The earliest tea brought to Englandeach year theearliest fast sailing vessels were built. Early in the commandedhigher prices than that delivered later. 19thCentury fast sailing vessels built in Baltimorebegan Hence,fast ships were very important in this tradeand Americanbuilders were able to supply them to American vention, discovery or development.Examples are the shipowners. Wright Brothers and airplanes,louis Pasteurand the ster- The discoveryof gold in California in 1849and some- ilization or pasteurizationof milk, and Dr. Michael De- what later in Australia created additional demands for fast Bakeywith human organ transplants.This is not true sailingships to carrysupplies from the EastCoast to the with clipper ships. No one person has ever been given gold fields. Shipsthat proved to sail very fast could, and credit for inventing or developing them, Rather, did, command higher freight ratesthan their slower sis- hundreds of shipbuilders up and down the New England ters. Higher freight rates usually meant greaterprofits to coast learned from each other. These builders seem to the owners. have been able to look at a seriesof models or complete ships and selectthe best featuresof eachone to incorpo- A ship's speedwas determined by three factors:hull rate into the newest ship they were building for a New design, squarefootage of sail, and the captain and crew, York or Boston merchantwho wanted a ship which The shapeof the hull, particularlythe shapeof the bow, would out sail any other ships in the oceans. and the ratio of length to breadth of the hull had a defi- 2 nite bearing on sailing speed.It also had some bearing While no single person can be identified as the inven- on carrying capacity.A ship with taller mastsand longer tor or developer of clipper ships, some individual yardarmscould carry more squarefeet of sail than could builders did achieve considerable fame because of the another one of equal size and hull shape.The more sail, number of fast ships they built, Donald McKayof Boston the morearea there was to catch~nd anddrive the ship, was among the best known builders. He built inany fast The captainand crew also played an importantrole in sailing clippers, including the Flying Cloud,which re- ship speed.Some captains were known as "drivers," that corded two of the three fastestvoyages between New is theyused more sail in heavyweather than did some York and SanFrancisco, and the GreatRepublic, whose lessadventurous ship masters.Such driving captains 4,555tons made her the largestclipper ever built. tended to select junior ofhcers and crew memberswith William H. Webbalso built a numberof clipperships at similar tracesof daring. his shipyard in New York Otherswere built in small cit- In many instancesa single individual can be identified iesand towns all overthe NewEngland coast. The asthe principalperson responsible for an importantin- Andrew Jackson, which recorded one of the three fastest voyagesbetween New York and SanFrancisco, was built in Mystic, Connecticut, by Irons and Grinnell. Charles Malloryand George Greenman and Company both built clippersin Mystic,at or nearwhat is now MysticSeaport, the maritime museum known around the world. The eraof the clipperships was one of veryshort du- ration. Economic conditions played a major role in end- ing the erajust as they did in startingit. The tremendous ship building activitiesin the early1850's created an overabundanceof ships.This caused freight rates to de- clinedrastically. In 1850the charge was $60 a tonto ship materialsto California,By 1857tQe rate had fallen to only $10per ton. A majoreconomic slump in 1857depressed businessthroughout the world and hit Americanship- buildingespecially hard. Not only were the freight rates pushedeven lower, but also there was less freight to be carriedby theoverabundant number of ships. TheCivil War, 1861 to 1865,interrupted commercial shipbuildingdue to theheavy demand for militaryves- sels.At thissame time, there were rapid shifts from sail to steamas a methodof propulsionand from woodto iron for constructionmaterial. All of thesefactors caused theclipper ship era to endabout 1860 as quicldy as it hadbegun only a decadeearlier. 11 ~A'~ tf ie '' @~A3~ A3A~.3 + 17A",A @ 1 sAfifrfà gfPA74dt, +@ 4~~4 2e 1'A~ 17>, '@+ngg'i+.rs +tf'~- 17 " Af13 4 173 7 4 fit@177 aPAf At A 4igfttrfag~ g st'y, 173:e A7 E *~~A*~ @4* %At'A' 3 tf At As @3 '@A"@ > Asfn>@ Ate@ at +faiAs 18 z @War +g~~~ 33+flY' r' eArfrt Ara7%AI 7 e SA %1A A:~pire '. 1 fili till ll-nl' R@.+ 17ts 26 7 32 Y g A y% ' ~A.re' 3' Aftft A Sr+'e7+ 7 A7A7+e@ L %7 3 A,. 2 'll ff 7... g33arW+Af Al@@@ 3 f7 Q + A .t@ O'A 3 A a'e. 13 e Af+ Af 71Af37 S3@a+A,~Ae le+ '3 a,A~ @17AA@, fA3'Aft a ~'~+A A' f 3 + A'17t@. A ted Sails carried 5. Fore-topmaststaysail 12. Fore-royal 19. Main topsail 26. Port fore-royal studding sail by clipper ship 6. Main-royal staysail 13. Fore-topgallantsail 20. Mainsail,or main course 27. Port fore-topgallantstudding sail Sea Serpent 7. Main-topgallantstaysail 14. Fore.topsail 21. Mizzenskysail 28. Port I'ore-topmaststudding sail 1. Flying jib 8. Main-topmaststaysail 15. Foresail,or forecourse 22. Mizzen royal 29. Port fore-lowerstudding sail 2, Jib topsail 9. Spencer brailed! 16. Main skysail 23. Mizzen-topgaHantsail 30. Port main-royal studding sail 3. Outer jib 10. Spanker 17. Main royal 24. Mizzen topsail 31. Port main-topgallantstudding sail 4. Inner jib 11. Fore.skysail 18. Main.topgallant sail 25. Crossjack furled!, or mizzencourse 32. Port main-topmaststudding sail Without doubt, the most romanticized aspectof Amer- ble hardshipswhich somehowwere more icanmaritime history has been that brief periodof the pleasantthan otherwise.We dreamedof sail- mid-19th Century known as the clipper ship era.Writers ing triumphantly through terrific gales,in of the past havedevoted numerous books and articles to which we were alwayswarm and comfort- the beautyof the shipsthemselves as they glided swiftly able, or performed, in fancy,remarkable feats overthe oceansat incrediblespeed, to building the ships of strengthand courage in ship wrecks,with and to biographiesof the shipsas welil as their builders none of the inconveniencesof reality. andcaptains.' Generally, the activitiesand living condi- All ships attracted,and every comer of the tionsof the menwho sailedthe shipshave been ignored world ineditedus, but no shipshad quite the exceptfor an occasionalarticle dealing with the unsavory appealof the clippersand no landsquite the crimpswho preyedupon sailorsin port andsome of the lure of the east.' harshestcaptains who drove their men and their ships mercilesslyin al'lkinds of weather.Consequently infor- Others becameromantic over the beautiesof nature they mation on routine daily tasks,frustrations of loneliness, saw,especially sunrises. One sailor describeda sunrise tediumof endlessoceans, monotony of the lousyfood thusly: andthe vexingprobletns