 The Cromdale | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Name: | Cromdale |
| Builder: | Barclay Curle, Glasgow |
| Launched: | June, 1891 |
| Fate: | Wrecked in 1913 |
Cromdale was the last clipper ship built for the Australian wool trade.
| The Cromdale | |
| History | |
|---|---|
| United Kingdom | |
| Name: | Cromdale |
| Builder: | Barclay Curle, Glasgow |
| Launched: | June, 1891 |
| Fate: | Wrecked in 1913 |
Cromdale was the last clipper ship built for the Australian wool trade.
The American clipper ship era lasted from 1845 until 1860, shortly before the American Civil War broke out. Meanwhile, British clippers continued to be built into the 1870s before they were shifted into the wool trade. The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 was the eventual demise of the tea clipper as the shorter route allowed larger cargo ships passage to China. [1] The remaining clippers profited by serving the wool trade as the need for coal hindered steamships from reaching Australian ports. The shift eventually came when steamships became so large that they could hold an ample amount of coal without constantly refueling. [1] By the time of Cromdale's launch in 1891, ocean liners that could carry large amounts of passengers and cargo had entered the scene.
Cromdale was built at Barclay Curle in Glasgow, and launched in June, 1891. She had an identical sister ship named Mount Stewart that was launched a month earlier from the shipyard. [2] These ships had the most modern features of their time in terms of structure and design. The first master of Cromdale was a captain named E.H. Andrew, who was very experienced and up to date on the newest technological features. [3]
She was ultimately lost in 1913 under the command of Captain Arthur while she was homeward bound from Taltal with a cargo of nitrate. Cromdale was 126 days out heading for Falmouth (UK) and had been in dense fog for a few days. While a steamer passed and advised Arthur to alter his course, a light was suddenly seen ahead through the fog shortly afterwards. Arthur tried to turn the ship about but it was too late, and she struck rocks at the foot of a cliff. This cliff was discovered later to be part of Bass Point which is close to Lizard Lighthouse. [4] The lifeboats were ordered lowered immediately due to the damage the ship had endured, but luck was on the side of the crew. The weather was calm, distress rockets were at hand, and rescuers from land arrived shortly to assist. Cromdale was declared a total loss after she settled quickly, and was found to be laying in a position that was exposed to the elements. [3]
Media related to Cromdale (ship, 1891) at Wikimedia Commons
A clipper was a type of mid-19th-century merchant sailing vessel, designed for speed. Clippers were generally narrow for their length, small by later 19th century standards, could carry limited bulk freight, and had a large total sail area. "Clipper" does not refer to a specific sailplan; clippers may be schooners, brigs, brigantines, etc., as well as full-rigged ships. Clippers were mostly constructed in British and American shipyards, though France, Brazil, the Netherlands and other nations also produced some. Clippers sailed all over the world, primarily on the trade routes between the United Kingdom and China, in transatlantic trade, and on the New York-to-San Francisco route around Cape Horn during the California Gold Rush. Dutch clippers were built beginning in the 1850s for the tea trade and passenger service to Java.
A steamship, often referred to as a steamer, is a type of steam-powered vessel, typically ocean-faring and seaworthy, that is propelled by one or more steam engines that typically move (turn) propellers or paddlewheels. The first steamships came into practical usage during the early 1800s; however, there were exceptions that came before. Steamships usually use the prefix designations of "PS" for paddle steamer or "SS" for screw steamer. As paddle steamers became less common, "SS" is assumed by many to stand for "steamship". Ships powered by internal combustion engines use a prefix such as "MV" for motor vessel, so it is not correct to use "SS" for most modern vessels.
Cutty Sark is a British clipper ship. Built on the River Leven, Dumbarton, Scotland in 1869 for the Jock Willis Shipping Line, she was one of the last tea clippers to be built and one of the fastest, coming at the end of a long period of design development, which halted as sailing ships gave way to steam propulsion.
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Marco Polo was a three-masted wooden clipper ship, launched in 1851 at Saint John, New Brunswick. She was named after Venetian traveler Marco Polo. The ship carried emigrants and passengers to Australia and was the first vessel to make the round trip from Liverpool in under six months. Later in her career, the ship was used as a cargo ship before running aground off Cavendish, Prince Edward Island, in 1883.
Ariel was a clipper ship famous for making fast voyages between China and England in the late 1860s. She is most famous for almost winning The Great Tea Race of 1866, an unofficial race between Foochow, China and London with the first tea crop of the 1866 season.
Blackadder was a clipper ship, a sister ship to Hallowe'en, built in 1870 by Maudslay, Sons & Field at Greenwich for Jock Willis & Sons.
Blackwall frigate was the colloquial name for a type of three-masted full-rigged ship built between the late 1830s and the mid-1870s.
When launched in 1853, Great Republic was the largest wooden ship in the world. She shared this title with another American-built ship, the steamship Adriatic. She was also the largest full-rigged ship ever built in the United States.
The maritime history of the United States (1800–1899) saw an expansion of naval activity.
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Stag Hound was launched on December 7, 1850 in East Boston, Massachusetts. Designed by shipbuilder Donald McKay for the California trade, she was briefly the largest merchant ship in the world. She was in active service from 1851 until her total loss in 1861.
Red Jacket was a clipper ship, one of the largest and fastest ever built; she is often called an extreme clipper, although some do not consider her to qualify under the strictest definition. She was also the first ship of the White Star Line company. She was named after Sagoyewatha, a famous Seneca Indian chief, called "Red Jacket" by settlers. She was designed by Samuel Hartt Pook, built by George Thomas in Rockland, Maine, and launched in 1853, the last ship to be launched from this yard.
Surprise was a California clipper built in East Boston in 1850. It initially rounded Cape Horn to California, but the vessel's owners, A. A. Low & Brother, soon found that the vessel performed well in Far Eastern waters. From that point onward the vessel spent much of her working life in the China trade, although the vessel also made three trips from the East Coast of the United States to California.
Cimba was a British-built clipper in the Australian wool trade. She sailed between London and Sydney for 20 years, from 1878 to 1898. In 1905, Cimba set the sailing ship record for a passage from Callao to Iquique, of 14 days.
Windhover was a British tea clipper built in the closing years of construction of this sort of ship. She measured 847 tons NRT. Like the majority of the tea clippers built in the second half of the 1860s, she was of composite construction. She was built by Connell and Co, Glasgow, Scotland in 1868.
SS Agamemnon was one of the first successful long-distance merchant steamships. She was built in 1865 to trade between Britain and China, and competed with tea clippers before and after the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869. She brought together three improvements in steamship design: higher boiler pressure, an efficient and compact compound steam engine, and a hull form with modest power requirements.
Kaisow, a composite clipper, was built by Robert Steele & Company at Greenock and launched on 19 November 1868.
Osaka, A composite barque, built by William Pile, Sunderland, at Yard No. 179 for Killick Martin & Company, the company founded by Captain James Killick and launched on 12 July 1869. William Pile also built Osaka's sister ship Miako, for Killick Martin & Company launched on 15 April 1869.
Clipper cromdale.