Lot Essay
Ariel, 852 tons, was one of that small group of British clippers which assumed almost legendary status even in their own time. Built by Robert Steele of Greenock to the order of Shaw, Lowther & Maxton of London, she was launched on 29th June 1865. She and Taeping shared the honours of being first home in the astonishingly close Tea Race of 1866 whilst her next passage out - 79 days from Gravesend to Hong Kong (pilot to pilot) - was the fastest ever recorded. Other good passages followed and in the 1870-1871 season she carried tea from Yokohama to New York. Her brilliant career was to be short-lived however and after leaving London for Sydney on 31st January 1872, she was never heard of agan nor was any trace of her ever found.
The widely acclaimed Taeping was Robert Steele's first composite tea clipper and one of the most famous of her breed. Built to the order of Alexander Rodger of Glasgow in 1863, she was registered at 767 tons and measured 183½ feet in length, with a 31 foot beam. Excelling in light winds, she made a very good maiden trip home with her first tea in 1864 despite being disabled in a typhoon off Formosa and being forced into Amoy for emergency repairs. Her equally good run home in 104 days in 1865 was eclipsed the very next year by her legendary 99 day race against Ariel when, only 10 minutes behind her running mate off the Downs, Taeping managed to dock in London 30 minutes ahead of her rival. So close was the finish that the race was declared a dead heat and the two vessels shared both the glory as well as the premium on the first tea cargo of the year. First home again in 1867 as well as in 1870, and recording a particularly fast passage in 1868, she was wrecked on Ladd's Reef in the South China Sea on 22nd September 1871.
The widely acclaimed Taeping was Robert Steele's first composite tea clipper and one of the most famous of her breed. Built to the order of Alexander Rodger of Glasgow in 1863, she was registered at 767 tons and measured 183½ feet in length, with a 31 foot beam. Excelling in light winds, she made a very good maiden trip home with her first tea in 1864 despite being disabled in a typhoon off Formosa and being forced into Amoy for emergency repairs. Her equally good run home in 104 days in 1865 was eclipsed the very next year by her legendary 99 day race against Ariel when, only 10 minutes behind her running mate off the Downs, Taeping managed to dock in London 30 minutes ahead of her rival. So close was the finish that the race was declared a dead heat and the two vessels shared both the glory as well as the premium on the first tea cargo of the year. First home again in 1867 as well as in 1870, and recording a particularly fast passage in 1868, she was wrecked on Ladd's Reef in the South China Sea on 22nd September 1871.