Lot Essay
Red Jacket and Lightning were both amongst that select group of American clippers which, like their British counterparts, achieved almost legendary status in their own lifetimes.
Designed by Samuel Pook, Red Jacket was built in 1853 for the Boston firm of Seacomb & Taylor in George Thomas's yard at Rockland, Maine. Registered at 2460 tons and 260 feet long, she carried the figurehead of an Indian warrior having been named after a noted Seneca chief famed for the red jacket which he always wore.
Leaving New York on her maiden voyage on 11 January 1854, she reached Liverpool after an astonishing run of only 13 days, 1 hour and 25 minutes dock to dock. This set a record whichs still stands for the fastest Atlantic eastbound crossing by a fully-rigged sailing ship, an achievement made all the more remarkable given the severe winter weather she encountered. Her reputation made, she was immediately chartered by the White Star Line for a round trip to Australia. The first half of the voyage was slow thanks to light winds and poor trades but her time of 19 days from the Cape of Good Hope to Melbourne has never been bettered or even equalled. Saling from Melbourne on 3 August 1854, she returned home - via Cape Horn - in an exceptional 73 days and only narrowly missed another record run for her passengers. On arrival at Liverpool, she was bought by Pilkington & Wilson, the owners of the Whtie Star fleet, and thereafter continued voyaging to Australia until the mid-1860s. From 1868 until about 1882 she worked the timber trade between Quebec and London, and eventually ended her days as a coal hulk in the Cape Verde Islands.
Lightning was the first of a famous quartet of large extreme clippers to come out of Donald McKay's yard at East Boston, Massachusetts. Built to the order of James Baines & Co. of Liverpool for their Black Ball Line of Australian packets, she was launched on 3 January 1854, just one week before Red Jacket sailed on her maiden voyage. Registered at 2083 tons, Lightning's design was unlike any previous large clipper and she measured 243 feet long overall, with a 44 foot beam. Primarily a passenger ship she had capacity for about 370 persons in remarkably comfortable accommodation and carried a crew of 87.
Clearing Boston of 18 February 1854, she made a fast run to Liverpool under Captain Forbes who then took her to Melbourne in 77 days. She returned in an even more impressive 64 days (Port Philip to Liverpool) loaded with #1 million in gold bullion in addition to a full complement of passengers, just beating Red Jacket's time for the round trip by two days. She soon became renowned for these fast passages, so much so that in 1857 she was one of the clippers chartered by the British government to ferry troops to India following the outbreak of the Mutiny. Returning from Calcutta, she resumed her Australian sailings and remained an extremely popular ship all through the 1860s despite the growing reliability of steam. In the early morning of 31 October 1869, having finished loading cargo at Geelong the previous day, she was found to be ablaze and the fire out of control. In an attempt to save her cargo, she was towed out into Melbourne Harbour and scuttled well clear of the dockside. Much of her cargo was ultimately recovered but Lightning herself was beyond saving and she was destroyed shortly afterwards as being a threat to navigation.
Designed by Samuel Pook, Red Jacket was built in 1853 for the Boston firm of Seacomb & Taylor in George Thomas's yard at Rockland, Maine. Registered at 2460 tons and 260 feet long, she carried the figurehead of an Indian warrior having been named after a noted Seneca chief famed for the red jacket which he always wore.
Leaving New York on her maiden voyage on 11 January 1854, she reached Liverpool after an astonishing run of only 13 days, 1 hour and 25 minutes dock to dock. This set a record whichs still stands for the fastest Atlantic eastbound crossing by a fully-rigged sailing ship, an achievement made all the more remarkable given the severe winter weather she encountered. Her reputation made, she was immediately chartered by the White Star Line for a round trip to Australia. The first half of the voyage was slow thanks to light winds and poor trades but her time of 19 days from the Cape of Good Hope to Melbourne has never been bettered or even equalled. Saling from Melbourne on 3 August 1854, she returned home - via Cape Horn - in an exceptional 73 days and only narrowly missed another record run for her passengers. On arrival at Liverpool, she was bought by Pilkington & Wilson, the owners of the Whtie Star fleet, and thereafter continued voyaging to Australia until the mid-1860s. From 1868 until about 1882 she worked the timber trade between Quebec and London, and eventually ended her days as a coal hulk in the Cape Verde Islands.
Lightning was the first of a famous quartet of large extreme clippers to come out of Donald McKay's yard at East Boston, Massachusetts. Built to the order of James Baines & Co. of Liverpool for their Black Ball Line of Australian packets, she was launched on 3 January 1854, just one week before Red Jacket sailed on her maiden voyage. Registered at 2083 tons, Lightning's design was unlike any previous large clipper and she measured 243 feet long overall, with a 44 foot beam. Primarily a passenger ship she had capacity for about 370 persons in remarkably comfortable accommodation and carried a crew of 87.
Clearing Boston of 18 February 1854, she made a fast run to Liverpool under Captain Forbes who then took her to Melbourne in 77 days. She returned in an even more impressive 64 days (Port Philip to Liverpool) loaded with #1 million in gold bullion in addition to a full complement of passengers, just beating Red Jacket's time for the round trip by two days. She soon became renowned for these fast passages, so much so that in 1857 she was one of the clippers chartered by the British government to ferry troops to India following the outbreak of the Mutiny. Returning from Calcutta, she resumed her Australian sailings and remained an extremely popular ship all through the 1860s despite the growing reliability of steam. In the early morning of 31 October 1869, having finished loading cargo at Geelong the previous day, she was found to be ablaze and the fire out of control. In an attempt to save her cargo, she was towed out into Melbourne Harbour and scuttled well clear of the dockside. Much of her cargo was ultimately recovered but Lightning herself was beyond saving and she was destroyed shortly afterwards as being a threat to navigation.