The Great Tea Race of 1866

IV

Sea Witch

The Sea Witch of 1846 is considered the original 'true' clipper ship (as opposed to the smaller Baltimore Clippers of the first half of the 19th Century). Built in New York City she was the inspiration for every clipper that came after her, and is considered to be the most 'influential' vessel ever in terms of hull design. Her captain "Bully Bob" Waterman (yes, his name was Waterman) sailed her from New York to Hong Kong in 74 days, a record which was never broken. She was a premiere vessel of the California Gold Rush. She ended her days in 1856 by running aground off Havana.

 

Ariel and Taeping are popular subjects for maritime artists. They have been painted numerous times in numerous styles

There was no Blue Riband in the days of the great clipper ships, but they were raced nevertheless for lucre. The Great Tea Race of 1866 was keenly followed in the press, with an extremely close finish. Taeping docked 28 minutes before Ariel (seen as the near ship in the painting with a loose-footed fore skys'l).

After a passage of more than 14,000 miles, Ariel had been ahead when the ships were taken in tow by steam tugs off the harbor, but after waiting for the tide at Gravesend, the deciding factor was the height of tide at which each ship could enter their different docks. Ariel had a deeper draft.

  

The third finisher, Serica, docked an hour and 15 minutes after Ariel. The three ships had left China on the same tide and arrived at London 99 days later to dock on the same tide.

The fourth finisher, Fiery Cross arrived 28 hours after Serica, and the fifth, Taitsing, made port 24 hours after Fiery Cross.

Given the "technicality" of the finish, the shippers immediately began to squawk about awarding the prize premium. The captains of Taeping and Ariel retaliated by publicly announcing that their ships had indeed finished the race together. The prize was shared between them.

 

The Great Tea Race of 1866 was the last time that a prize premium was offered for the fastest passage of a tea clipper. The days of the tea clippers were numbered. The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 allowed for the quick passage of steamers, not sailers.

Even when the Canal was not transited, auxiliary steam engines on slower, beamier ships able to carry more cargo generally allowed for quicker passages. The "composite" ship Erl King had sailed from Foochow 8 days after Ariel, carrying both passengers and a full cargo of tea. Using both sails and steam, she arrived in London 15 days before the sailing ships, after a passage of 84 days. This beat even the fastest clippers.