The clipper ship (often shortened to clipper) was a fast sailing ship that dominated the seas during the middle of the nineteenth century.
It romanticized the seas and made pop stars of ship masters.
Newspapers followed the voyages of the fastest of this fleet and bets were wagered on transit times.
A true clipper had three or more masts and was square rigged.
It had a sharp bow and fine lines, built for speed, not so much for cargo capacity.
The design was partly influenced by the prevailing tonnage regulations.
Measurement for tonnage (on which taxes and harbor dues were based) was calculated based on length at midship depth.
Clipper ships were designed with additional length above this level, making that portion of the ship essentially tax-free.
These ships came into vogue in about 1840, when fast voyages carrying tea from the Orient to Europe proved very profitable for their owners.
Clipper ships hit their stride with the discovery of gold in California (1848) and in Australia (1851).
Most clipper ships were built in the United States and the United Kingdom, but some were constructed in France, the Netherlands, and elsewhere.
The most famous of the clipper ship builders was Donald McKay of Boston.
Few American clipper ships were built after commencement of the Civil War in 1861.
The clipper ship era largely ended with the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869.
It was difficult for sailing vessels to transit the lengthy canal, dependent as they were largely on the vagaries of the wind.
Steam ships had become almost as fast as clipper ships and were controlled less by the weather.
Clipper ships ended their days carrying wool from Australia and New Zealand to Britain.
The
Cutty Sark in Greenwich and the
Falls of Clyde in Honolulu are two of the few clipper ships that remain from that golden age, but the former suffered a major fire in 2007 and the latter is in such poor condition that it is no longer open to the public.