In the nineteenth century, the delivery of valuable goods to England was carried out with the help of huge sailboats. When transporting seasonal goods home, ship teams competed with each other in speed. In the history of such competitions went down as tea races on clippers. The crews tried to be the first to arrive at their destination. For many, the phrase “tea clipper” is associated with a high-speed vessel.
Why are sailboats so named?
In the nineteenth century, merchants made considerable profits from the trade in tea, which was transported from China to England. The property of this product to dampen and absorb all the smells of the hold forced the merchants to abandon the use of old ships, the transportation of which could last almost a year. Long-running transportation adversely affected product quality. Since tea was the most common product that sailing teams tried to deliver to the place as soon as possible, carrier ships were called tea clippers. The fastest ships were initially equipped with sails. Translated from English, clipper is a ship that has developed sailing weapons. Over time, the ship’s data began to be equipped with steam engines, but the name “tea clipper” was fixed to them.
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 are significantly larger in comparison with conventional sailing ships. In addition, the hull of the new sailing ship was characterized by sharp contours and increased stability. Reduced volume of holds and increased speed are the distinguishing features that tea clippers possessed.
The fastest ships turned out to be very expensive. To build one such sailboat or charter, it took a lot of financial investment. But due to the high speed that each tea clipper possessed (the photo of the ships is presented in the article), all invested funds paid off completely in one trip.
This was possible due to the very popular at that time races. Shipowners often bet on very large amounts. The crew of the boat that arrived first received several times more money than the crews that sailed second or third. Thus, material reward was a good incentive for each team. Merchants received the goods with its pristine aroma.
Sailing Baltimore ships
The very first schooners and brigantines were called Baltimore ships, on the basis of which tea clippers were created. The fastest sailing ships began to be built in America. The developers equipped the ship with very large sails, masts tilted to the stern. Sailing weapons consisted of split marseille and waterseyles, making it easier to control the ship, as well as foxes, due to which their windage increased significantly.
The Golden Age of Tea Clippers
Fleet sailing ships began to be built in 1820. Over several decades, they have intensively evolved. The golden season for tea clippers came in 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 and width: 6 to 1, while for ordinary sailboats 3 (4) to 1 were considered acceptable. Due to these design innovations, the hulls of the ships were given a high streamlining, allowing them to easily dissect the waves. As a result, fifteen nautical knots - this is the optimal speed possessed by tea clippers - the fastest sailing ships. Some of them had a speed of almost seventeen knots (one knot is one nautical mile per hour, i.e. 1852 meters).
Who used sailboats?
With a high speed, the tea clipper was used by privately-owned sailors, filibusters, smugglers, merchants, slave carriers, and the coast guard. Some used high-speed vessels in order to escape from the chase, others with the aim of pursuit. Over time, there was a tea clipper in every maritime state.
Ship Thermopylae
Many researchers believe that for the entire sailing era it was the best and fastest ship. The tea clipper was custom made by White Star Line. The project was developed by a London engineer Bernard Weymouth.
This company specialized in cruise routes. The company's employees at one time created the legendary "Titanic". The symbol of the company was a white star on a red background. This symbol was located on the Thermopylae pennant, which was launched in 1868 near the city of Aberdeen (Scotland). The clipper received its name in honor of the Thermopylae Gorge, in which in 480 BC a bloody battle of the Greeks with Persians took place.
All those present when launching the tea clipper into the water were very struck by the new sailing ship: its hull had perfect proportions, the sides were dark green and beautiful white masts.
Thanks to its excellent seaworthiness, this clipper managed to break the record previously set by the American ship "James Baines" in two years: within 63 days he covered the distance from London to Melbourne. For sailing ships, this result remains to date the best.
Sailboat Characteristics
According to the memoirs of the English historian Basil Labock, “Thermopylae” was inherent in its amazing ability to catch even the smallest wind flows. As a result, it was possible to walk calmly on the deck with a lit candle, and the ship continued its movement at a speed of seven knots.
- The tea clipper was almost 65 meters long.
- Its width was 11 meters.
- The sailboat had a draft of six and a half meters.
- Capacity: 948 reg.t.
- Underdeck coefficient: 0.58.
- The capacity of the holds was 11 tons.
What races did the ship take part in?
In 1872, the Tea Clipper Cutty Sark became a rival to Thermopylae. Competition route: Shanghai - London. The victory in these races was won by Thermopylae. A steering failure at the Catti Sark delayed this clipper for one week. Ten years later, the two ships met again while moving to Australia. In these races, “Catty Sark” managed to take revenge.
Thermopylae set two records that could not be broken by any tea clipper: the ship covered the distance from Melbourne to Shanghai in almost one month, and the clipper passed the distance between Shanghai and London in three months.
In 1887, the British purchased Thermopylae. For the past ten years, it has been used as a training ship. By 1907, its hull was so worn out that it was decided to decommission and sink the ship. Thermopylae was soon torpedoed. In 2003, the remains of the ship were found in the waters near Lisbon.
The last tea clipper
“Catti Sark” is the latest high-speed sailing ship, which is known worldwide for its high seaworthiness. Created in 1869, this ship has survived to this day. This tea clipper, like any ship, has its own story. It was built by order of the British shipowner John Willis. Despite the fact that sailing ships gradually began to be replaced by steamships, John Willis wanted to be the owner of the fastest sailing ship. The main task of the ship was to quickly transport tea from China to England. Scott and Linton employees worked on the order under the guidance of the ship's master Hercules Linton. The new ship, unlike the rest of the high-speed sailing ships, was equipped with high powerful stern. This constructive solution during the storm was able to appreciate the crew of the ship. Without completing the assembly of the case of the future tea clipper, in 1869 the company "Scot and Linton" went bankrupt. Another company was already engaged in the construction of the sailboat, using the drawings of Hercules Linton.
In its design, this clipper belongs to the type of composite ships: it consists of an iron set covered with wood paneling. At the same time, for the plating of the part of the clipper that is located above the waterline, the employees used a teak. Part of the ship under the waterline is made from Elm Thomas (elm breed). To equip the bottom, brass plates were used.
The vessel possessed the following technical characteristics:
- "Catti Sark" had a length of 85.4 m.
- Width - 11.2 m.
- The length of the main mast was over 46 m.
- The total area of the vessel was 2985 sq.m.
- Displacement of 2130 tons.
- The sailing ship is equipped with three masts.
The hull of the ship was painted black, on which two golden lines looked especially beautiful. Golden laurel leaves were used as decorations.
The “Star of India” was depicted on the case. Nearby in the form of a circle there was an inscription that read: "Heavenly light will show us the way." Also, the hull was decorated with the letter “W”, from which the sun's rays emanated - a peculiar sign of the shipowner.
By the fall of 1869, the ship was ready to sail. In November, he was launched on the Clyde River.
The origin of the name of the sailboat
The tea clipper got its 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 shipowner decided to name his sailboat as the heroine of Robert Burns' poem “Tam O'Shenter”. From Scottish, Cutty Sark translates as “short shirt.” It was “Nan-short-shirt” who called the witch, who in Scotland was often scared of 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 sailing on Friday, they were afraid of a black cat and the number "13". They also believed that this name of the ship would entail 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 sure that his ship was waiting for a long and happy fate.
The figure of this witch became an adornment of the bow of the tea clipper. In the poem, the shipowner especially liked the moment when the young witch in pursuit of Tom grabbed his horse by the tail. John Willis decided to portray this episode as a figure for the bow of his sailboat. The ordered figure is a witch, who in an outstretched hand clamps a ponytail bundle.
Throughout its history, the sailboat often fell into a storm, as a result of which the witch repeatedly lost her head and arm extended forward. The elements of the figure lost in the sea had to be restored anew each time. The new heads and arms of the Nan-Short-Shirt looked no less spectacular.
What brought fame to the sailboat?
In 1872, during a contest with the legendary Sailboat "Thermopylae" in the "Catti Sark" breakdown occurred. As a result of the storm overtaking the ship, the steering wheel was lost. The captain had to hold the ship downwind using a floating anchor. At the same time, workers directly on the deck were engaged in the manufacture of a spare rudder. A small forge in an improvised forge on the deck was overturned by a gust of strong wind. The captain's son, who was blowing bellows at that time, almost got burns from hot coals. The storm did not stop for eight days, which significantly slowed down the steering wheel manufacturing process. The blacksmith Henry Henderson supervised over work. Later, his name will go down in the history of British navigation.
Damage to the steering wheel was the reason for the loss of “Cutty Sark”. Despite the fact that this tea clipper arrived at the site a week after Thermopyl, it was remembered due to the captain’s stamina, who decided not to leave the race, but to be repaired right on the high seas. With the help of an impromptu helm, the crew managed to continue the race and enter the history of English navigation.
The fate of the fast ship
Over time, sailing to China for tea became unprofitable. Due to the lack of textile production in England, ships began to be used to transport wool from Australia. Clippers constantly fell into the storm. Despite the fact that all the masts were damaged in one of such voyages on the Katti Sark, the history of the clipper did not end there.
In 1895, Catti Sark was bought by the Portuguese company Ferreira. Then the sailboat was repeatedly resold and refitted, as a result of which its ship sailing armament was replaced by a simpler to use sailing (barquentines). In 1922, “Cutty Sark” was acquired by captain Wilfred Dowman. The clipper was returned to its original equipment, and he himself was used as a stationary training vessel. Today, the ship is a naval museum, and its haven was the dry dock in Greenwich (England).
