| Average | ||||||
| Ariel | June | 25 | 317 | miles | 13.2 | knots. |
| Taeping | “ | 25 | 319 | “ | 13.3 | “ |
| Serica | “ | 29 | 291 | “ | 12.1 | “ |
| Fiery Cross | “ | 24 | 328 | “ | 13.7 | “ |
| Taitsing | July | 2 | 318 | “ | 13.25 | “ |
This contest of 1866 was one of the grandest ocean races ever sailed, partly on account of the number of evenly matched vessels engaged in it, but chiefly by reason of the splendid manner in which it was contested and the close, exciting finish. The tea cargoes of the five ships were: Taeping, 1,108,709 lbs.; Ariel, 1,230,900 lbs.; Serica, 954,236 lbs.; Fiery Cross, 854,236 lbs.; Taitsing, 1,093,130 lbs.
The usual altercation arose over the award of premium, which this year was 10 shillings per ton; Shaw, Maxton & Co., owners of the Ariel, protested that their ship had arrived first at Deal and was therefore entitled to the prize money, but the contention of Rodger & Co., owners of the Taeping, that their ship had made the fastest passage and had also reached her dock first, prevailed, and the matter was finally adjusted by dividing the premium. The captains all dined together at the Ship and Turtle Tavern in Leadenhall Street, and harmony was restored, but there were no premiums after this race. The system of awards had always led to controversy, and such an effort to combine sport and business could not be made to flourish. There had also been heavy betting on these races, large sums of money changing hands, and this continued; but it was better understood whether wagers were being laid on the clippers or tugboats, for under the old system, there had been nothing except expense to prevent a ship towing from the Azores.
In the next two years the fleet was increased by a number of fine vessels, built to meet the competition of steam, which was now beginning to be felt in the China trade. We have seen how fierce and prolonged a contest there had been between sail and steam on the Atlantic, where the brave old packet ships had finally been driven into other trades, and how the California and Australian clippers had gradually been superseded by other means of transportation. The difficulty and peculiar conditions of the China voyage made this a harder field to conquer.
Since 1845 the P. & O. steamers had carried passengers between England and China via the Red Sea, but they were expensive vessels to operate, and there were difficulty and delay in transportation across the Isthmus of Suez; consequently, their rates of freight were high and they were unable to compete with the tea clippers. On the other hand, auxiliary vessels did not have sufficient power to drive them against the southwest monsoon when new teas were shipped from China, as their heavy masts, yards, and rigging held them back in head winds. A number of auxiliaries were tried in the China trade, among them the Scotland, Erl King, Robert Lowe, and Far East, but they were not successful. As late as 1866 there were no steamers that could make the voyage between England and China with sufficient cargo to meet expenses, and very few persons at that time believed that the direct trade between Europe and China could ever be carried on by steamers, or that the Suez Canal, even if completed, would prove of any commercial value.
In this year, however, Alfred Holt, of Liverpool, brought out three iron screw steamships with compound engines—the Ajax, Achilles, and Agamemnon,—2270 tons gross and 1550 tons net register—and put them in the China trade. These vessels could steam from London to Mauritius, a distance of 8500 miles, without coaling, a remarkable performance in those days, and they made the passage from Foo-chow to London in 58 days, at an average speed of 235 miles per day. These were the first steamships to perform long ocean voyages successfully, and they marked a new era in steam navigation, although they were expensive vessels to operate compared with steamers of the present day, and it was at first doubted whether they could be made to pay.
The owners, builders, and captains of the tea clippers were not men to yield without a contest; they met this new and aggressive invasion of steam by building in rapid succession such noted fliers as the Titania, Spindrift, Forward Ho, Lahloo, Leander, Thermopylæ, Windhover, Cutty Sark, Caliph, Wylo, Kaisow, and Lothair. These, with the older tea clippers, held their own against the steamers until the opening of the Suez Canal in November, 1869, greatly lessened the length of the voyage and the difficulty and expense of obtaining coal.
In 1868 the Ariel, Taeping, and Sir Launcelot sailed from Foo-chow on May 28th, the Spindrift on the 29th, the Lahloo on the 30th, the Serica on June 1st, and the Leander on June 3d. The Ariel and Spindrift made the passage to Deal in 97 days, the Sir Launcelot in 98 days, the Lahloo in 100 days; Taeping, 102 days; Leander, 109 days, and Serica, 113 days.
The famous tea clipper Thermopylæ was launched in this year. She was of composite construction, built by Walter Hood, of Aberdeen, for George Thompson & Co., who also owned the Star of Peace, Ethiopian, Aristides, Patriarch, Salamis, and other fine ships well known in the Australian trade. The Thermopylæ was 947 tons register; length 210 feet, breadth 36 feet, depth 21 feet; she carried double topsails, but no skysail, and like all the Thompson ships, her hull was painted sea green from the copper up with white yards and lower masts. She carried a handsome figurehead of the brave Leonidas, and was a very beautiful ship. She was designed by Bernard Weymouth, an accomplished naval architect who was for many years the secretary to Lloyd’s Register of Shipping. He had before this designed the tea clipper Leander, and later designed the Melbourne, a fast ship in the Australian trade, built and owned by Richard Green, of London, of which further mention will be made later.
On her first voyage the Thermopylæ sailed from London to Melbourne under command of Captain Kemball, who had formerly commanded the Fairlight and the Yang-tze. She left Gravesend, November 7, 1868, and arrived at Melbourne, January 9, 1869, thus making the passage in the remarkable record time of 63 days, the same time as the record passage of the James Baines, from Liverpool to Melbourne fourteen years before. She had a fast run of 21 days to the equator; on the three days before and after crossing the line she made 202, 140, 228, 271, 288, and 293 miles—an unusual rate of speed for that part of the ocean. Her best days’ runs were made on January 3d and 4th—330 and 326 miles; her log records on both days “northerly, strong,â€� so that it may be assumed that she had as much fair wind as she needed. Her log records nine days during the passage when her runs were over 300 miles, and five days of less than 100 miles. The entries on December 9th and 10th are: “Northwesterly, fresh gale, 240 miles,â€� and “southwesterly, blowing a gale, 224 miles.â€� These were fair winds. An analysis of this log leads to the conclusion that the Thermopylæ was a very fast ship in average weather at sea, but in heavy weather could not be driven at a high rate of speed for a vessel of her length, probably on account of her small breadth and low foreboard.[18]