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Lot Essay
Quite apart from her undoubtedly successful career, the Kate Carnie enjoys the additional distinction of being the very first in the long line of magnificent clipper ships built by Robert Steele & Co. in their Clydeside yards at Greenock. Jointly owned by Alexander Rodger and Mr. C. Carnie of Glasgow, the Kate Carnie - presumably named for her part-owner's wife or daughter - was registered at 576 tons and measured 148= feet in length with a 26 foot beam. Launched and completed in 1855, her maiden voyage home from Shanghai to London in 1856 under Captain Rodger, her other co-owner, took only 92 days and was by far the fastest run of the year, beating her nearest rival by a full week. This was a remarkable time in its day, the more so because, up until that date, American ships had invariably beaten British vessels coming home from China during the favourable monsoon.
Constructed of wood throughout and able to carry 704,000 pounds of tea in her holds when packed carefully, Kate Carnie's entry into service in the China Tea trade heralded a new era for British-built clippers. Although her subsequent tea voyages produced consistently good passage times and she rapidly acquired a reputation for solid dependability, she was no record-breaker and, in fact, never equalled or bettered that 92-day dash home in her maiden season. Sold to J.B. Foley of London in 1873, he had her cut down to a barque to save on crewing costs and she made her last voyage carrying tea when she ran from Whampoa to New York in 1874, arriving at South Street on 28th November. Thereafter trading mostly to Singapore, she was sold into Norwegian registry in 1882, changing owners twice more within five years. Finally bought by A.L. Loversen of Arendal (Norway) in 1887, she sprang a leak the following year whilst on passage to Montevideo and, in January 1889, was abandoned at sea where she foundered.
Constructed of wood throughout and able to carry 704,000 pounds of tea in her holds when packed carefully, Kate Carnie's entry into service in the China Tea trade heralded a new era for British-built clippers. Although her subsequent tea voyages produced consistently good passage times and she rapidly acquired a reputation for solid dependability, she was no record-breaker and, in fact, never equalled or bettered that 92-day dash home in her maiden season. Sold to J.B. Foley of London in 1873, he had her cut down to a barque to save on crewing costs and she made her last voyage carrying tea when she ran from Whampoa to New York in 1874, arriving at South Street on 28th November. Thereafter trading mostly to Singapore, she was sold into Norwegian registry in 1882, changing owners twice more within five years. Finally bought by A.L. Loversen of Arendal (Norway) in 1887, she sprang a leak the following year whilst on passage to Montevideo and, in January 1889, was abandoned at sea where she foundered.