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Clipper ships were designed to be fast. Built primarily by the United States and the United Kingdom between the 1830s and the 1850s, they were the fastest ships afloat. These incredibly narrow-beamed, incredibly tall, and incredibly sail-heavy vessels were used mostly for the China tea trade, and became known as Tea Clippers or China Clippers. They were undeniably romantic ships. The Flying Cloud still holds the operational record for the fastest passage under sail from New York to San Francisco, making it in 89 days, 8 hours, achieved in 1851.