A clipper was a type of mid-19th-century merchant sailing vessel, designed for speed. Clippers were generally narrow for their length, small by later 19th-century standards, could carry limited bulk freight, and had a large total sail area. "Clipper" does not refer to a specific sailplan; clippers may be schooners, brigs, brigantines, etc., as well as full-rigged ships. Clippers were mostly constructed in British and American shipyards, although France, Brazil, the Netherlands, and other nations also produced some. Clippers sailed all over the world, primarily on the trade routes between the United Kingdom and China, in transatlantic trade, and on the New York-to-San Francisco route around Cape Horn during the California Gold Rush. Dutch clippers were built beginning in the 1850s for the tea trade and passenger service to Java.
Champion of the Seas was the second largest clipper ship destined for the Liverpool, England - Melbourne, Australia passenger service. Champion was ordered by James Baines of the Black Ball Line from Donald McKay. She was launched 19 April 1854 and was abandoned 3 January 1877, off Cape Horn.
Sovereign of the Seas, a clipper ship built in 1852, was a sailing vessel notable for setting the world record for the fastest sailing ship, with a speed of 22 knots (41 km/h).
Stag Hound was launched on December 7, 1850 in East Boston, Massachusetts. Designed by shipbuilder Donald McKay for the California trade, she was briefly the largest merchant ship in the world. She was in active service from 1851 until her total loss in 1861.
Kingfisher was an extreme clipper built in 1853 that sailed on the San Francisco route as well as to Hawaii on its way to China. It eventually sailed out of Uruguay. She was one of the longest lived clipper ships, with a sailing life of 36 years and 5 months. A sailing card advertised her.
Carrier Dove was an 1855 medium clipper. She was one of two well-known clippers launched in Baltimore that year, the other being Mary Whitridge.
Harriet Hoxie was an 1851 clipper in the California trade. She was known for carrying cargoes of whale oil from Honolulu, and for importing the first Brown Leghorn chickens to the United States.
Mary Robinson was an 1854 medium clipper in the San Francisco, India, and the guano trades. She was known for having spent an entire month attempting to round Cape Horn in bad weather.
Lookout was an 1853 clipper known for her passages from New York to San Francisco, and as an offshore and coastal trader in the lumber and coal trades.
Antelope was a medium clipper built in 1851 in Medford, near Boston, Massachusetts. She sailed in the San Francisco, China, and Far East trades, and was known for her fine finish work and for her crew's escape from pirates. She is often called Antelope of Boston to distinguish her from the extreme clipper Antelope of New York launched in 1852.
John Gilpin was an 1852 clipper in the California trade, named after the literary character John Gilpin. The ship was known for its 1852 race against the clipper Flying Fish, and for its collision with an iceberg.
The Blue Jacket was an 1854 medium clipper well known for the lavish decoration of the staterooms and saloon. She served in the Liverpool and Australia trades. The ship was named after the blue jackets, a traditional name for sailors in the US and British navies.
Golden West was an 1852 extreme clipper built by Paul Curtis. The ship had a very active career in the California trade, the guano trade, the coolie trade, the Far East, and Australia. She made a record passage between Japan and San Francisco in 1856.
Golden Fleece was an 1855 medium clipper in the California trade, built by Paul Curtis. She was known for arriving with cargoes in good condition, for making passages in consistently good time, and for catching fire with a load of ice.
Witch of the Wave was a long-lived extreme clipper in the California trade, with a sailing life of over 34 years. In 1851, she sailed from Calcutta to Boston in 81 days, setting a record. It was renamed the Electra in 1871.
Shooting Star was an extreme clipper built in 1851 near Boston, in Medford, Massachusetts. She was the first "real clipper" to be built in Medford, and sailed in the San Francisco, China, and Far East trades. According to Howe and Matthews, she was known as "one of the fastest of the small clippers".
Starlight was a medium clipper built in 1854 in South Boston, Massachusetts that made nine passages from New York City or Boston to San Francisco. The ship was known in its day for "making passages faster than average". Starlight is better remembered today as the subject of two paintings by artist Fitz Hugh Lane. Starlight was described as having "spacious staterooms" and a figurehead resembling "the representation of an antediluvian bird of Paradise spliced into a mermaid".
Bald Eagle was a clipper ship launched in 1852 which made four round-trip passages from eastern U.S. ports before being lost on her fifth voyage in the Pacific ocean in 1861. She set the record, 78 days 22 hours, for the fastest passage of a fully loaded ship between San Francisco and New York.
Hurricane was a large extreme clipper of 1608 tons burthen built in Hoboken, New Jersey, United States in 1851. Reputedly the most extreme clipper ever built, Hurricane proved a very fast vessel, reportedly capable of speeds of up to 18 knots (33 km/h) in ideal conditions, and establishing a number of record passages in the early years of her career.
Santa Claus was an American medium clipper ship built in Boston by Donald McKay in 1854. In the course of her career, she made three voyages from the East Coast of the United States to San Francisco, California, the fastest of which was a comparatively swift 128-day passage in the winter of 1857–1858. The ship was mainly engaged in the guano trade and in trade to the Far East. In 1858, she brought Chinese immigrants to California; according to one source, she was also at one time engaged in the coolie trade.
United States
Argentina
