Clipper Ship in New York Harbour 1890 Tile

Ship in New York Harbour circa 1890 Clipper ships had narrow hulls and large sails, which travelled at speeds of up to 30 kilometres per hour. Clipper ships were a type of merchant ship from the 19th century that were faster than average merchant ships. A voyage from the East Coast to California around Cape Horn was 17,000 miles long and could easily take five months. Travel by sea in the late 18th and early 19th centuries was arduous, uncomfortable, and at times extremely dangerous. Men, women and children faced months of uncertainty and deprivation in cramped quarters, with the ever-present threat of shipwreck, disease and piracy. They were named after the word "clip" which means to get as much propulsion as possible from the wind. They were used for high value cargo such as silk, spices, and tea. Clippers sailed all over the world, including on the New York-to-San Francisco route around Cape Horn during the California Gold Rush. The period of clipper ships lasted from the early 1840s to the early 1890s over time features such as the hull evolved from wooden to composite. At the 'crest of the clipper wave' year of 1852, there were 200 clippers rounding Cape Horn. The Cutty Sark is one of only two clipper ships that survive today.