The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1896-05-12
SPEEDY YANKEE CLIPPERS
Fast Sailing by American ships Re-
called by the Shenandoah's
Performance.

The recent swift voyage of the four
masted clipper Shenandoah from Sar
: Francisco TO this port has inspired
several readers of the Sun 10 ask ques-
; tions about the crack performances OF
other clippers of the days when steel
and steam were not the chief factors
in shipbuilding. James S. Dodson OF
Bethlehem. Pa, writes that the clipper
Northern Light, in 1852, made the
passage from San Francisco to Boston
in seventy-fve days, that the Comet
covered the distance between the Gold
en- Gate and Sandy Hook in seventy
six days, and that the Flying Dutch
man made the round trip between San
Francisco and New York in 207 days,
! including the time she spent discharg-
! ing and taking on cargo at San Fran
| cisco.
| There may be added to Mr.. Dodson's
statistics the following: The Northern
( Lights best trip was seventy-two days
| from San Francisco to New York. The
FLYING Dutchman covered 1920 nauti-
cal miles in sixteen consecutive days,
or at the rate of somewhat more than
28S knots a day. The Mary White
ridge, fine Baltimore clipper, ran from
Baltimore to Liverpool in thirteen days
and seven hours.
The Flying Cloud, one of Donald Nc
Kay's splendid ships, on a run of
eighty-nine days and eighteen hours
from San Francisco, made in twenty
four hours 42712 miles, The Comet,
which was a New York boat built by
William H. Webb, on a return voyage
from Hongkong to San Francisco, COW
cred 1872 knots in 80 consecutive
hours, which is more than 1912 knots
an hour, or about the speed of the ordi
nary coasting steamship. The Comet
ran from Liverpool to HongkOng in S4
days. The Nightingale of Portsmouth,
n. H. in 1854 made Melbourne from
New York in 76 days. The Trade
Wind ran from Sandy Hook to San
Francisco in IS days and came back in
"a days. The Sovereign of the Seas,
one of Donald McKay's flyers, on a
trip from Honolulu to New York, COW
cred 6,245 miles in % days; one day
she ran 436 miles, and for four days
her average was 398 miles. The An
drew Jackson of Boston made San |
FRANCISCO New OTh Ill on udyS. |
The skipper of the Flying Scud of |
Damariscotta, Me, declared that on |
an SO-day voyage from Sandy Hook to |
Melbourne he covered $50 miles in |
twenty-four hours, but his friends said |
he was merely spinning yarn for
landsmen.
The Young America, one of William
H. Webb's creations, made five trips |
from San Francisco to New York in [
from eighty-three to ninety-two days.
She covered the course between Liver
pool and New York in eighteen days.
The Lightning, a Mckay packet of
2OS4 tons and 22S feet long, ran from
to Calcutta, carrying British
troops, in eighty-seven days, beating
other vessels from six to forty days.
She sailed from Melbourne to Liver
pool in sixty-three days. The James
Baines made Melbourne from Liverpool
in sixty days. The Red Jacket ran
from New York to Liverpool in thirteen
days and eleven hours, and from New
York to Fastnet in ten days. The
sailed from Sandy Hook
to Queensland in nine days and sew
eral hours; she reached Liverpool in
thirteen days and eight hours. The
Glory of the Seas with 5000 tons of
freight, made San Francisco from New
York in ninety-four days, averaging
l61 miles day for three weeks.-New
York Sun