Clipper ship
Clíper (velero de líneas finas)
- Date
- 1845 · confidence medium
- Place
- New York, United States
- Credited to
- Shipyards of New York and Baltimore (William H. Webb, Donald McKay)
- Field
- Movement
⚠️ Disputed: the sources disagree.
What it is
A sailing ship with a sharp bow, long narrow hull and heavy rigging, designed to save time on the tea, wool and emigrant routes. It was the peak of commercial sail, with days' runs of over 400 miles.
Precedents: the fast Baltimore schooners of the early 19th century and the Ann McKim (1832); Rainbow (1845) is often cited as the first 'extreme' clipper. The word names a performance type more than a single design.
What it led to
- the tea races between China and London
- the California-Boston Gold Rush route
- displacement by steam after the Suez Canal