Brownsville herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1910-current, 1929-08-18
Bremen Record Recalls Marks Set
By Clippers In Early Maritime Era

proved upon the past. and chal-
lenged the future. and the world
has become used to record-breaking
performances. but recently they
have been limited to the air.
The achievement Of the Bremen,
therefore. comes Unexpectedly. Since
the Mauritania established her rec
ord, there has been little or no CON-
petition for speed on the high seas.
For twenty years people have been
content to jog across the Atlantic at
the rate of no more than GIG naut-
1cal miles a day, consuming at least
live long days on the way. Mean
while, speed in overland travel has
been steadily increasing. until we
r nov able to cross North America
in two days. The airplane and rail-
road have made this possible; and
now the ship, not to be outdone, ac-
celebrates her pace. She, too, makes
up her mind to cooperate with the
plane, and reduce ocean crossing TO
a mere matter of-but who shall set
a limit? She supports her claim
with a signal achievement, and the
race for ocean supremacy is on.
A new era in transatlantic pasSen-
ger service" begins
Early Maritime Era
Those words have a familiar
sound to one acquainted with mari
time history. For hardly more than
seventy-five years ago, Just such an
era dawned, an era of hitherto I'M
paralleled achievement on the sea,
from which the feat of the Bremen,
and similar feats yet to be perform
ed, are a direct outgrowth.
Prior to 1845 nobody hurried, es-
pecially at sea. A fast" passage
from New York to Liverpool con-
sumed, at best, three or four weeks;
the return journey took longer. One
hundred and sixty days, or more
than five months, was considered a
good run from New York to Cali
fornia. Progress had been made
since the days of the Mayflower,
necessarily. but at no time was it
either swift or spectacular. Then
suddenly, from the awakening am
billions Of men, the cry for speed
arose.
When the cry for speed could nc
longer be ignored. a young New
Yorker named John Willis Griffiths
presented the model Of the first
clipper ship for consideration.
Some time previously, small two
masted vessels (brigs) had been
built on the same slender lines that
Griffiths incorporated into his mod
el. These brigs were found to be
very swift, and were used to elude
pursuit in various illegal activities.
But 1t was not thought possible TO
epply these theories to a full-rigged
ship until Griffiths came forward
with his daring suggestions. His
model reused a storm of opposition
III shipbuilding circles. She was toe
long, too narrow, and carried too
much canvass to be seaworthy. If
built, she would founder in mid
ocean. But. in spite of these ON
nous predictions. Smith and Di-
mons shipyard built and launched,
IN 1645, the first full-rigged clipper
ship Rainbow-and a new era In
ocean travel dawned indeed.
The Rainbow did not founder in
mid-ocean. She was safe and sea-
worthy. She set a record for speed,
and dazzled the world with the
prospect Of what sharp bows and
slender hulls beneath a wide spread
OF canvas might achieve.
Faster and faster clippers were
demanded, and built Records were
constantly made, an0 as constantly
broken, notSblr by Se ships Of that
master builder, Donald Mckay. The
Mckay fliers enjoyed an u~nrivaled
reputation, and spread their white
wings 10 the wind first in the
Californian and later in the Austria
liam gold rushes. Their very names
are a chronicle of achievement:
Flying Cloud, Sovereign Of the Seas,
Flying Fish, Great Republic, Light
ming, James Baines-each renown-
ed for some signal triumph, each a
record breaker in her own right.
Their stories read like sagas.
Flying Cloud Record
Many OF these record breakers os
the past hold laurels which M
ships of sail have succeeded in tax
Ing from them. In 1851, the Flying
Cloud astonished the world by run
ming from New York to San Fran
cisco IN eighty-nine days, TWENTY
one hours; three years later she
broke her Owl record by thirteen
hours, and this time has not been
equaled since. The Sovereign of the
Seas. another lightning flier, bet
tered all previous Atlantic crossings.
twice beating the Cunard line,s
prize steamer to port. The James
Baines and Lightning, OF the cele-
brated Clipper Quartette" built bv
Donald Mckay for James Baines's
Australian line, both hold unchaI-
lenged records. The Lightning
achieved the swiftest days sailing
ever logged-436 miles in "A hours
and the Baines the highest an
thenticated speed-going q knots
with main skysal set, as her log
tells us.
The Great Republic, registerinp
4555 tons, stands as the largest. and
finest sailing ship ever built. Her
equal In beauty, strength, and ton-
mage has never since been achieves
IN a sail-driven vessel. It was he-
builders purpose to determine
whether marked increase in TONNAGE
would be followed by p~roportionate
increase in speed. but this purnos4
was e realized. The wonder shir
burned TO the waters edge at he,
{ IN New York. immediate,y
prior 10 her first sailing. Rebuilt
rerleged, and reduced in size. size
was still a swift and majestic shin
put never the marvel she would
nave been had she gone to sea a
Donald Mckay built her.
Clippers End
One OF the most popular of al,
clippers was the Dreadnaught, COM