whose trades we re largely shel tered by the o utmoded Navigation her day, slipping ho me fro m C hi na in 77 days, under Captain Laws of the 16 00s, America ns bega n to realize the value of fas t Wa rerman. Waterman rh us bear his own stunn ing 78-day passage passages, which shortened th e ti me ca rgoes we re tied up in rransir, made in th e fas t cotto n carrier Natchez. Then, in th e sp rin g of and rhus freed up cash fo r furth er in vestm ent. This idea, so 1849, Sea Witch cam e hom e fro m H ong Kong in just 74 days, 14 comm o n pl ace in today's eco no mi cs, evolved slowly. Bur as Ameri- ho urs, a reco rd which no o ther sailing ship would eve r touch in cans, led by New Yo rke rs, bega n to Feel th e benefits of rapid rhis mosr ho tly contested run of the clipper era. turn aro und, they appl ied this thinking elsewhere-particularly in T he impo rtance of speed in rhe C hina run is dram aticall y cl ea r the co tto n trade fro m Southern ports, and then in the growing fro m th e fact rhar American clippers, commanding twice th e trade in tea fro m C hina. I n rhar lo ng- haul trade, speed of passage freig ht rare rhar E nglish ships as ked, loaded rap idly whil e rh e made a di ffe rence of weeks, and th e first reas of rhis seasonal cro p E nglish ships sat idle despite their much lowe r fre igh t ra res. o n the New York marker always co mm anded premium pri ces. Bu r now an o ther lo ng-distance run began ro supersede rhe Ano th er ve ry impo rtant rrend fed in to this thinking and helped C hina run in rhe dem and fo r high-speed shippi ng. T hi s was th e acco unt fo r th e growth in trade with C hina. Where C hinese Califo rnia Gold Rush , which , starrin g in 1849 , bro ught an po rcelains, silks, and even sturdy nankeen cloths had been prized unparalleled shipp ing boom to Eas t Coast ya rds, including a new impo rts, rh e p ro duct of Ameri ca n co tton in cloth from rh e ge neration of clippers. T hese were big, sharp-e nded fl at-fl oo red industri alized mi lls of the E nglish Midlands rapidly became an ships of up to twice the size of Sea Witch, bui lt specifi ca ll y ro important ex po rt to C hin a-a lo ng with a host of other manufacmas ter th e screaming gales and mountain ous seas of the Ca pe tured ite ms, nota bly iro nm o ngery H orn run . ra ngin g fro m roo ls to steam engines. In rhespringo fl 85 0 rh eSea Witch T his was in ma rked co ntrast ro the joined the race ro th e Califo rn ia go ld Sea Witch had that often o ri ginal rradewirh C hina, where Wes tfi elds. After Wa term an bro ught her erners had been so sho rt of goods rhe ho me rhar Apri l in a fas t 85-day run noted but seldom achieved C hinese wa nted, rhar much of th e fro m Canto n, he turned over the elquality of being a happily ex po rt trade was in rhe fo rm of whar egant clipper to hi s m are Geo rge was called "specie," o r silve r co in age. F rase r. Fraser proceeded to rake her balanced design, in which the T har remarkabl e d iarist, rhe auco ur to Sa n F rancisco in 97 days . T his whole does more than the sum ti o neer and o ne-rime mayo r of New earl y clipper was o ne of just 25 ships Yo rk, Philip H o ne, nored the new balro make 'F risco in under 100 days, of the parts can explain. ance of trade in his journal , o n the amo ng th e tho usa nds of vessels which occas io n of rhe brand-new clipper Rainmade this ro ugh passage . bow setting sa il o n her first voyage to The California Clippers C hin a in 1845. H e had this to say about this "strange revo luti o n Ships from rhe East Boston ya rd of rhe Nova Scotian emi gra nt in trade": D o nald M cKay soon roo k the lead amo ng the new Cali fo rni a The same articles which we formerly imported from China, and for clippers. An extraordinary perso n, who was to build the fas test which nothing but dollars would pay, are now manufactured here at saili ng ships ever sent to sea, M cKay ar ri ved in New Yo rk as a 16one third the cost, and sent out to pay for teas. The difficulty now is yea r-o ld lad in 1826, stepping as ho re fro m a coasting schoo ner in to find sufficient returns for the American cargoes. We do not send New Yo rk's So uth Street, to go to wo rk as an apprentice in Isaac them specie-not a dollar. We bb's Eas t Ri ve r yard. H e was just in rim e to capture the new Mo re and mo re fas rsailin gships we re built in New Yorkforrhe oceani c trades. H owland & Aspinwall did nor give co mmand of The steam schooner M idas, built in 1841 for R. B. Forbes for local rhe Rainbow to rheir favo red Captain Wate rman beca use th ey had trade on the China coast, is a remarkable example of Western in mind a bigge r ship fo r him . T his was rh e fa mo us Sea Witch , technology exported to China. H ere is Forbess own model ofthe vessel, launched at rhe end of the year 1846. She was some 900 ro ns ro courtesy ofthe Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, Massachusetts. Rainbow's 700, and even fin er lined, wirh a Aarrish bo ttom amelio rated by rounded bilges, which reduced we tted surface, an impo rra nt co nsideration sailing in ligh t and moderate airs, whi le rh e fl at fl oo rs give resistance to heeling so that the sh ip can stand up to a press of canvas to power thro ugh stro ng w inds. And as no ted, G ri ffith s, designer of this vessel as he had bee n of Rainbow, moved his fore mas t m arkedly furth er afr than in hi s ea rlier ship, perhaps advised by Captain Land's ex peri ence in Rainbow. Sea Witch had that often no ted bu r seldo m achi eved quali ty of bei ng a happily balanced des ign, in which the who le does more than the sum of the parts can explain . Sea Witch sim ply sailed fas ter over long courses than any shi p ever built, establishing reco rds that stand to th is day. She established her credentials early as rhe fas resr saifing ship of
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