Starlight (clipper)

Last updated
Fitz Hugh Lane, Ship Starlight.jpg
Starlight, by Fitz Hugh Lane
History
US flag 31 stars.svgUnited States
Name:Starlight, changed to
Owner: Baker & Morrill, Boston
Builder: E.&H.O. Briggs, South Boston
Launched: Feb. 11, 1854
Renamed:R. Protolongo or Proto Longo
General characteristics
Class and type: Medium clipper
Tons burthen: 1153 tons
Length: 190 ft (58 m). LOA
Beam: 37 ft (11 m)
Draft: 23 ft (7.0 m)
Starlight in harbor, by Fitz Hugh Lane Fitz Henry Lane - Starlight in Harbor (ca.1855).jpg
Starlight in harbor, by Fitz Hugh Lane

Starlight was a medium clipper built in 1854 in South Boston, Massachusetts that made nine passages from New York City or Boston to San Francisco. The ship was known in its day for "making passages faster than average". [1] Starlight is better remembered today as the subject of two paintings by artist Fitz Hugh Lane. [1] Starlight was described as having "spacious staterooms" and a figurehead resembling "the representation of an antediluvian bird of Paradise spliced into a mermaid". [2]

A medium clipper is a type of clipper designed for both cargo carrying capacity and speed. An evolutionary adaptation of the extreme clipper, the medium clipper had been invented by 1851, when the hull type appeared in U.S. shipyards. Medium clippers continued to be built until 1873, when Pilgrim, one of the last known medium clipper ships to be built, was launched by Joshua T. Foster from the shipyards of Medford, Massachusetts.

Boston Capital city of Massachusetts, United States

Boston is the capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city proper covers 48 square miles (124 km2) with an estimated population of 694,583 in 2018, making it also the most populous city in New England. Boston is the seat of Suffolk County as well, although the county government was disbanded on July 1, 1999. The city is the economic and cultural anchor of a substantially larger metropolitan area known as Greater Boston, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) home to a census-estimated 4.8 million people in 2016 and ranking as the tenth-largest such area in the country. As a combined statistical area (CSA), this wider commuting region is home to some 8.2 million people, making it the sixth-largest in the United States.

Massachusetts State of the United States of America

Massachusetts, officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It borders on the Atlantic Ocean to the east, the states of Connecticut and Rhode Island to the south, New Hampshire and Vermont to the north, and New York to the west. The state is named after the Massachusett tribe, which once inhabited the east side of the area, and is one of the original thirteen states. The capital of Massachusetts is Boston, which is also the most populous city in New England. Over 80% of Massachusetts's population lives in the Greater Boston metropolitan area, a region influential upon American history, academia, and industry. Originally dependent on agriculture, fishing and trade, Massachusetts was transformed into a manufacturing center during the Industrial Revolution. During the 20th century, Massachusetts's economy shifted from manufacturing to services. Modern Massachusetts is a global leader in biotechnology, engineering, higher education, finance, and maritime trade.

Contents

Voyages

Starlight sailed for the Glidden and Williams line in the California trade. [2] Starlight's fastest voyages between New York and Boston to San Francisco were 117 and 118 days. The slowest voyage was 145 days.

Starlight also served in the Asia and British trade, and carried horses from Adelaide, Australia, to Calcutta, India in 1862. In May 1862, Starlight left Calcutta bound for Boston. Sailing twelve hours later from Calcutta was the ship Belle of the West, whose captain was a brother of Starlight's captain. Another member of Starlight's crew had a brother on Belle of the West who was serving as chief mate. The two ships arrived in Boston within twelve hours of each other, having sighted each other three times en route.

Starlight's name was changed to R. Protolongo or Proto Longo in 1864 after she entered the coolie trade, transporting Chinese workers to work in the guano fields of Peru. [1] [3]

Coolie labourers from Asia

The word coolie, meaning a labourer, has a variety of other implications and is sometimes regarded as offensive or a pejorative, depending upon the historical and geographical context. It is similar, in many respects, to the Spanish term peon, although both terms are used in some countries, with slightly differing implications.

Guano excrement of seabirds and bats

Guano is the accumulated excrement of seabirds and bats. As a manure, guano is a highly effective fertilizer due to its exceptionally high content of nitrogen, phosphate and potassium: nutrients essential for plant growth. Guano was also, to a lesser extent, sought for the production of gunpowder and other explosive materials. The 19th-century guano trade played a pivotal role in the development of modern input-intensive farming, but its demand began to decline after the discovery of the Haber-Bosch process of nitrogen fixing led to the production of synthetic fertilizers. The demand for guano spurred the human colonization of remote bird islands in many parts of the world. During the 20th century, guano-producing birds became an important target of conservation programs and influenced the development of environmental consciousness. Today, guano is increasingly sought after by organic farmers.

Peru republic in South America

Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the west by the Pacific Ocean. Peru is a megadiverse country with habitats ranging from the arid plains of the Pacific coastal region in the west to the peaks of the Andes mountains vertically extending from the north to the southeast of the country to the tropical Amazon Basin rainforest in the east with the Amazon river.

Clipper ship sailing card STARLIGHT Clipper ship sailing card.jpg
Clipper ship sailing card

Related Research Articles

<i>Flying Cloud</i> (clipper) clipper ship

Flying Cloud was a clipper ship that set the world's sailing record for the fastest passage between New York and San Francisco, 89 days 8 hours. The ship held this record for over 130 years, from 1854 to 1989.

<i>Sovereign of the Seas</i> (clipper) clipper ship built in 1852

Sovereign of the Seas, a clipper ship built in 1852, was a sailing vessel notable for setting the world record for fastest sailing ship—22 knots.

The first USS Onward was a clipper in the Union Navy.

<i>Northern Light</i> (clipper)

Northern Light was an American clipper ship. In 1853 she sailed from San Francisco, California to Boston, Massachusetts via Cape Horn with Captain Freeman Hatch at the helm in a record-setting 76 days, 6 hours. The record still stands for a single hull vessel. In 1993 the record was soundly broken by a multi-hull sailing vessel Great American II with no cargo. Sailing around Cape Horn is widely regarded as one of the most challenging routes in yachting, due to extreme weather, strong currents, and a historical reputation for mountainous seas and frequent severe storms.

<i>Sweepstakes</i> (clipper)

Sweepstakes was an 1853 clipper ship in the California trade. She was known for a record passage from New York to Bombay, and for a race around the Horn with three other clippers.

<i>Young America</i> (clipper) 1853 clipper ship built by William Henry Webb

The Young America was built by William H. Webb of New York. She was launched in 1853, at the height of the clipper construction boom. She sailed in the California trade, on transatlantic routes, and made voyages to Australia and the Far East.

<i>Witchcraft</i> (clipper)

Witchcraft was a clipper built in 1850 for the California and China trade. She made record passages from Rio de Janeiro to San Francisco, and from San Francisco to Callao, Peru.

<i>Herald of the Morning</i> (clipper)

Herald of the Morning was one of the few clipper ships with a passage to San Francisco in less than 100 days.

<i>Memnon</i> (clipper)

The Memnon was the first clipper ship to arrive in San Francisco after the Gold Rush, and the only clipper to arrive in San Francisco before 1850. Built in 1848, she made record passages to San Francisco and to China, and sailed in the first clipper race around Cape Horn.

Race Horse was an 1850 clipper barque. She set a record of 109 days from New York to San Francisco during the first Clipper Race around the Horn.

<i>Ocean Telegraph / Light Brigade</i> (clipper)

Ocean Telegraph was an American clipper ship. Built in 1854 for the run between New York and San Francisco, she was later sold and renamed Light Brigade in 1863. For the next 12 years she was used predominantly to transport cargo and immigrants between London and Australia and New Zealand.

<i>John Gilpin</i> (clipper) clipper

John Gilpin was an 1852 clipper in the California trade, named after the literary character John Gilpin. The ship was known for its 1852 race against the clipper Flying Fish, and for its collision with an iceberg.

<i>Westward Ho!</i> (clipper) 1852 California clipper

Westward Ho! was an 1852 clipper that made two very fast passages to San Francisco; 100 days from Boston and New York City. She had a very close race with Neptune's Car, and ended her days in the coolie trade.

Golden West was an 1852 extreme clipper built by Paul Curtis. The ship had a very active career in the California trade, the guano trade, the coolie trade, the Far East, and Australia. She made a record passage between Japan and San Francisco in 1856.

<i>Golden Fleece</i> (clipper)

Golden Fleece was an 1855 medium clipper in the California trade, built by Paul Curtis. She was known for arriving with cargoes in good condition, for making passages in consistently good time, and for catching fire with a load of ice.

<i>Witch of the Wave</i>

Witch of the Wave was a long-lived extreme clipper in the California trade, with a sailing life of over 34 years. She held the record passage from Calcutta to Boston.

<i>Comet</i> (clipper) 19th-century clipper

Comet was an 1851 California clipper built by William H. Webb which sailed in the Australia trade and the tea trade. This extreme clipper was very fast. She had record passages on two different routes: New York City to San Francisco, and Liverpool to Hong Kong, and beat the famous clipper Flying Dutchman in an 1853 race around the Horn to San Francisco.

<i>Syren</i> (clipper)

Syren was the longest lived of all the clipper ships, with a sailing life of 68 years 7 months. She sailed in the San Francisco trade, in the Far East, and transported whaling products from Hawaii and the Arctic to New Bedford.

<i>Shooting Star</i> (clipper)

Shooting Star was an extreme clipper built in 1851 near Boston, in Medford, Massachusetts. She was the first "real clipper" to be built in Medford, and sailed in the San Francisco, China, and Far East trades. According to Howe and Matthews, she was known as "one of the fastest of the small clippers".

References

  1. 1 2 3 Howe, Octavius T.; Matthews, Frederic C. (1927). American Clipper Ships, 1833–1858. Volume 2, Malay – Young Mechanic. Salem, MA. pp. 628–630.
  2. 1 2 Bruzelius, Lars (1997). "The New Clipper Ship "Shooting Star", of Boston". "Boston Daily Atlas", March 2, 1854. The Maritime History Virtual Archives. Retrieved October 2, 2015.
  3. ↑ "Some ships of the clipper ship era, their builders, owners, and captains". Internet Archive . State Street Trust Company. 1913. p. 36. Retrieved 2015-10-02.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.