The fastest tea clipper

In the nineteenth century, the delivery of valuable goods to England was carried out with the help of huge sailboats. Transporting seasonal goods home, ship crews competed with each other in speed. In history, such competitions entered as tea races on clippers. Crews of ships tried to arrive first to their destination. In many, the phrase "tea clipper" is associated with a fast ship.

Why are sailing ships so named?

In the nineteenth century, merchants received a considerable profit from the tea trade, which was transported from China to England. The property of this product to dampen and absorb all the smells of the hold forced traders to abandon the use of old ships, the transportation of which could last almost a year. Prolonged transportation negatively affected the quality of the product. Since it was tea that was the most common commodity that the crew of the sailboats tried to deliver as soon as possible, the carrier ships were called tea clippers. The fastest vessels were originally equipped with sails. In translation from English, clipper is a ship with developed sailing arms. Over time, the data of the ship began to be equipped with steam engines, but behind them the name "tea clipper" was fixed.

History

Initially, tea clippers (the fastest sailing ships) were built in Baltimore. Their destination was the transportation of slaves and smuggling. Unlike its predecessors, the ship was equipped with sails, which, in comparison with conventional sailing ships, are considerably larger. In addition, the hull of the new sailboat was characterized by sharp contours and increased stability. The reduced volume of holds and the increased speed are the distinctive features that the tea clippers possessed.

The fastest ships were very expensive. To build one such sailboat or to charter, many financial investments were required. But due to the high speed that each tea clipper possessed (photos of the ships are presented in the article), all the invested money was fully paid off for one flight.

This was possible due to very popular at that time races. Ship owners often wagered very large sums. The crew of the boat that arrived first received several times more money than the crews that arrived second or third. Thus, material compensation was a good incentive for each team. Merchants received the goods with its original fragrance.

Sailing of the Baltimore ships

Baltimore ships called the very first schooners and brigantines, on the basis of which tea clippers were created. The fastest sailing ships began to be built in America. Developers equipped the vessel with very large sails, inclined to the stern masts. The sailing armament consisted of split marsels and waterseils, which made it easier to control the ship, as well as the liselles, which significantly increased their sail.

The golden age of tea clippers

Fleet sailing ships began to be built in 1820. For several decades they intensively evolved. The golden time for tea clippers fell on the period 1850-1860. During this time, many high-speed sailboats were created. By the end of the nineteenth century, the famous era was over. They were replaced by ships equipped with steam engines.

Speed

Tea clippers (the fastest ships) were created using the ratio of length to width: 6 to 1, while for ordinary sailboats it was considered to be 3 (4) to 1. Due to these design innovations, hulls of ships were given high streamlining, allowing them to easily dissect Wave. As a result, fifteen sea knots is the optimal speed that the tea clippers possessed - the fastest sailing ships. Some of them had speeds of almost seventeen knots (one knot constitutes one nautical mile per hour, ie 1852 meters).

Who used the sailboats?

Having high speed, the tea clipper was used by seamen-privatiry, filibusters, smugglers, merchants, slave carriers and coastguards. Some used high-speed vessels in order to escape from the chase, others for the purpose of pursuit. Over time, his tea clipper was in every maritime state.

Ship Thermopylae

Many researchers believe that during the whole sailing period this was the best and fastest ship. A tea clipper was made to order by White Star Line. The project was developed by the London engineer Bernard Weymouth.

This company specialized in cruise itineraries. The company's employees once created the legendary "Titanic". The symbol of the company was a white star on a red background. This symbol was located on the pennant Thermopylae, which was launched in 1868 near the city of Aberdeen (Scotland). His name was given to the clipper in honor of the gorge of Thermopylae, in which in 480 BC a bloody battle of the Greeks with the Persians took place.

All those present at the descent of the tea clipper to the water were very impressed by the new sailboat: its body had ideal proportions, boards of dark green color and beautiful white masts.

Thanks to his excellent seaworthiness, this clipper for two years managed to break the record, previously established by the American ship "James Baines": within 63 days he crossed the distance from London to Melbourne. For sailboats this result remains to this day the best.

Characteristics of a sailboat

According to the memoirs of the English historian Basil Labocq, "Thermopylam" had an amazing ability to catch even the smallest winds. As a result, you could walk calmly along the deck with a lighted candle, and the ship continued its movement at a speed of seven knots.

• The tea clipper had a length of almost 65 meters.
• Its width was 11 meters.
• The sailboat had a draft of six and a half meters.
• Capacity: 948 reg.t.
• Deck coefficient: 0.58.
• The capacity of the holds was 11 tons.

In which races did the ship participate?

In 1872 the tea clipper "Cutty Sark" became the rival for Thermopylae. The route of the competition: Shanghai - London. The victory in these races was won by Thermopylae. The breakage of the steering wheel at Cutty Sark delayed this clipper for one week. Ten years later, the two ships met again while traveling to Australia. In these races, "Cutty Sark" managed to take revenge.

Thermopylae set two records that could not be beaten by any tea clipper: the ship from Melbourne to Shanghai overcame almost one month, and the distance between Shanghai and London the clipper passed in three months.

In 1887 Thermopylae was purchased by the British. Last ten years it was used as a training ship. By 1907, his body was so worn out that it was decided to write off and sink the ship. Soon Thermopylae was torpedoed. In 2003, the remains of the vessel were found in the waters near Lisbon.

The last tea clipper

"Cutty Sark" is the latest high-speed sailboat, which is known all over the world for its high seaworthiness. Created in 1869, this ship survived until today. This tea clipper, like any vessel, has its own history. It was built by order of the British ship owner John Willis. Despite the fact that the sailing ships were gradually being replaced by steamships, John Willis wanted to be the owner of the fastest sailboat. The main task of the ship was to quickly transport tea from China to England. Above the order worked employees of the company "Scott and Linton" under the guidance of the ship's master Hercules Linton. The new ship, unlike the other high-speed sailboats, was equipped with a high powerful stern. This constructive solution during the storm was successfully appreciated by the crew of the ship. Not finishing the assembly of the body of the future tea clipper, in 1869 the company "Scott and Linton" went bankrupt. The construction of the sailboat was taken up by another company, using the drawings of Hercules Linton.

By its design, this clipper belongs to the type of composite ships: it consists of an iron set covered with wooden skin. In this case, for the skin of the part of the clipper, which is located above the waterline, the workers used a tick. Part of the ship under the waterline is made of Thomas's ilm (a breed of elm). For the arrangement of the bottom, brass plates were used.

The vessel had the following technical characteristics:

• "Cutty Sark" was 85.4 m long.
• The width is 11.2 m.
• The mainmast was more than 46 m long.
• The total area of the vessel was 2,985 square meters.
• Displacement is 2130 tons.
• The sailing vessel is equipped with three masts.

The hull of the ship was painted black, on which two gold lines looked particularly beautiful. Golden laurel leaves were used as ornaments.

On the body was depicted "The Star of India." Next in the form of a circle there was an inscription that read: "The heavenly light will show us the way." Also, the body was decorated with the letter "W", from which the sun rays came - a kind of sign of the shipowner.

By the autumn of 1869 the ship was ready for sailing. In November, it was launched on the Clyde River.

Origin of the name of the sailboat

The tea clipper received the name, which at that time was considered very strange. Initially, John Willis wanted to call his ship "Sea Witch". But since such a name was already used by another ship, the ship owner decided to name his sailing ship as the heroine of Robert Burns's poem "Tam O'Shenter." From Scottish Cutty Sark translates as "short shirt". It was "Nan-short-shirt" called the witch, who in Scotland often scared young children. Unlike the shipowner, the sailors, hearing the future name of the clipper, were not enthusiastic. This is explained by the superstitions inherent in their environment. Sailors often did not go on a sail on Friday, were afraid of a black cat and the number "13". They also believed that such a name would result in the death of the ship and its crew. Many sailors asked the shipowner to change the name of the tea clipper, but John Willis was confident that his ship was waiting for a long and happy fate.

The figure of this witch became an ornament of the bow of the tea clipper. In the poem, the shipowner particularly liked the moment when the young witch in pursuit of Tom grabbed the horse by the tail. This episode John Willis decided to portray as a figure for the bow of his sailboat. The ordered figure is a witch who clamps a bundle of horse tail in an outstretched hand.

In its entire history, a sailboat often fell into a storm, as a result of which the witch repeatedly lost her head and stretched out her arm. The elements of the figure lost in the sea had to be rebuilt each time. The new heads and hands of Nan-short-shirt looked no less spectacular.

What brought the sailboat fame?

In 1872, during a match with the legendary sailboat "Thermopylae" in "Cutty Sark" there was a breakdown. As a result of the storm ship, the steering wheel was lost. The captain had to keep the ship in the wind, using a floating anchor. At the same time, workers directly on the deck were engaged in making a spare steering wheel. A small forge in an improvised smithy on the deck by a rush of strong wind was overturned. The son of the captain, who was blowing up bellows at that time, almost got burns from the burning coals. The storm did not stop for eight days, which significantly hampered the process of manufacturing the helm. Managed the work of blacksmith Henry Henderson. Later his name will go down in the history of British navigation.

Damage to the steering wheel was the cause of the loss of "Cutty Sark". Despite the fact that this tea clipper arrived on the site a week after the "Thermopyl", he was remembered due to the firmness of the captain, who decided not to leave the race, and to be repaired directly on the open sea. With the help of an improvised steering wheel, the crew managed to continue the race and enter the history of English navigation.

The further fate of a fast ship

Over time, swimming in China for tea has become unprofitable. Due to the lack of textile production in England, the ship was used to transport wool from Australia. Clipper constantly fell into a storm. Despite the fact that in one of these voyages on the "Cutty Sark" all the masts were damaged, the history of the clipper did not end there.

In 1895, "Cutty Sark" bought the Portuguese company "Ferreira". Then the sailboat was repeatedly resold and re-equipped, as a result of which its ship sailing armament was replaced by easier-to-use sailing (barkentines). In 1922, "Cutty Sark" was acquired by Captain Wilfred Doumen. The clipper was returned to its original rig, and he himself was used as a stationary training ship. Today the ship is a ship museum, and its dock was a dry dock in Greenwich (England).

Conclusion

Tea clipper "Cutty Sark", despite all the fears of superstitious sailors, was the happiest and most successful vessel. It does not rest anywhere on the ocean floor, but is an ornament of the London embankment. Anyone can appreciate the splendor of the last tea clipper.