Fiery Cross (clipper)

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Career Great Britain
Owner: John Campbell, Glasgow
Builder: Shipyard at Chaloner, Liverpool
Launched: 1860
Career Norway
Name: Ellen Lines
Acquired: 1887
Out of service: 1889 or 1893
Notes: Arrived fourth in The Great Tea Race of 1866
General characteristics
Class and type: Extreme clipper ship
Tons burthen: 695 NRT
Length: 185 ft.
Beam: 31 ft. 7 in.
Draught: 19 ft. 2 in.
Notes: Designed by William Rennie. Equipped with Cunningham's roller-reefing top-sails and steel masts.[1]

Fiery Cross was a famous British Tea Clipper[1].

From 1860-1875, the ship sailed in the tea trade between London and Chinese ports like Hong Kong, Foochow, Canton, and Shanghai.

Laden with close to a million pounds of tea, Fiery Cross raced nine other ships from China to England in The Great Tea Race of 1866. The first five ships, the Taiping, Ariel, Serica, Fiery Cross, and Taitsing, finished a 14,000 mile race within three days of each other. Fiery Cross arrived fourth, in "the closest run ever recorded." [2]

Fiery Cross had the best overall 24 hour run of all the competitors in this race on June 24, when she traveled 318 miles, averaging 13.7 knots.[3]

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 Lars Bruzelius (1996, 1847). "Cunningham's Patent Self-Reefing Topsails". http://www.bruzelius.info/Nautica/Ships/Clippers/Teaclippers.html. Retrieved 2010-02-19. 
  2. Lars Bruzelius (Wednesday, September 12, 1866). "The Great Tea Race, 1866". The Shipping and Mercantile Gazette. pp. 5. http://www.bruzelius.info/Nautica/News/SMG/SMG%281866-09-12%29_p5ab.html. Retrieved 2010-02-18. ""The Taeping took in 1,108,700 lbs. of tea, the Ariel 1,230,900 lbs., the Serica 954,236 lbs., the Fiery Cross 854,236 lbs., and the Taitsing 1,093,130 lbs."" 
  3. Arthur H. Clark (1911). "The clipper ship era; an epitome of famous American and British clipper ships, their owners, builders, commanders, and crews, 1843-1869". G. P. Putnam's Sons. pp. 330. http://www.archive.org/stream/cu31924020891416/cu31924020891416_djvu.txt. Retrieved 2010-02-18. ""The best twenty -four hours' runs were as follows : Average, Ariel June 25 317 miles 13.2 knots ... Fiery Cross June 24 328 miles 13.7 knots""