A portrait of Flying Cloud under full sail

The American extreme clipper Flying Cloud was built by Donald McKay at East Boston in 1851 and purchased by Grinnell, Mintern of New York. She spent her early years on the New York to San Francisco trade via Cape Horn, her maiden voyage setting a record for the run which her fourth voyage improved to 89 days and 8 hours, anchor to anchor, a time never bettered for that route. She was sold to new owners in the autumn of 1859, thereafter trading out of London. She was then sold to British owners and employed on a variety of routes in the 1860s, until being wrecked outside St. John's, Newfoundland, in 1874.