New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1912-09-08

anchorage in the roadscad and been made fast to her
berth
THE China trade was probably the first to manifest
direct influence on the sailcr When 1t learned
that tea lost much Of its delicate flavor and quality IN
the hold Of a ship, great encouragement was offered TO
means for quicker passage ms TACT ana the dc'lie OF
the London tea merchants 10 get INTO the market with
the first consignment Of the tea crop, lei them 10
post enormous prizes an induccment to speed And
the sIppcrs of those days out 10 WIN the money
Some Of the most desperate sea racing battles OF al
time were stubbony fought out in the long reaches OF
uncertain water down 10 and up from Good Hope
Working men the point of exhaustion and under b-
crl allowance Of grog night and day, trimming sails
10 carry the last stitch she could bear IN every sort Of
gale was the order Of the time. And 1t was worth
sailors life 10 rcncgc.
The Solcnt rcpattas the international race from Dover
10 Hcigoand and the notable recent race across me
North Atlantic are such ridiculous little ilutters that
thev aren't worth mentioning when compared 10 the
mental and physical strain the excitement and hard
ships endured aboard those famous clipper ships during
their stirring races all the way from the China coast to
If was the clipper built Sea Witch, Of 907 tons regis
ter carving 100 OF China tea that III lSl2 came
in with record for time OF pas age that caused ire.
mcndous jealousy among British Shippers she marked
the beginning Of the fight for speed
In 1873 the Challenge sailed from Canton 10 Deal III
1O5 davs fiat Later in the year the English clipper
Chrvsoitc made the passage from canton 10 Liverpool
in lO6 DAYS On May 30 1866, the ARIEL ana the aep.
mo weighed anchor together in Chinese waters bound
fnr home September Il the Tapping reached London
at 9:45. and the Ariel at lOA5 PM difference OF
only sixty minutes after race OF three months during
which thew never sighted each other until they headed
into the English Channel.
The two fastest clippers IN 1870 were the or LaIceot
and the Thermopye. The latter IN twenty-four hours
sailed $50 knots $50 statute mes) an average OF SIX
trcn miles an hour The former for seven days mann
tanned an average Of 300 miles day The Ihermopyle
was the first tea ship home in 1869 making the run III
,;nct,,onc davs and the next year the Sir Lancclot
made the passage in eghty,nine days Later sailor
made the claim that his ship sailed 36S knots l2i
nils IN twenty four hours Tor eighteen miles an hour,
and that She covered l,ljl miles in three days. And
that was some sailing record! oo
In contrast however the Lusitana makes the 5000
miles between Liverpool and New York in something
over four days. 900 m.
The Suez Canal was opened in 1870. This was prob
ably the first decisivey fatal blow to the SAIL for me-
datev the bulk of the Eastern trade was placed with
steamship lines Later the frozen food trade opened
with Australia and that also was given to steamers;
since the time sailing vessels was entirely too slow
10 handle this traffic satisfactorily.
The beginning OF the end of the deep-water saer.
initiated with the opening Of the Suez Canal, will be
practically completed when the Panama Canal is thrown