tea clipper
Racing cargo ship
A tea clipper was a type of fast sailing ship designed in the mid-19th century primarily to transport tea from China to Britain.
Speed mattered because the first cargo of the season's harvest commanded premium prices.
These narrow-hulled vessels with their tall masts and extensive sail area represented the peak of commercial sailing ship design: The tea clippers raced each other from Canton to London.
Steam power rendered them obsolete within decades.
- tall shipLarge traditional sailing vessel
- sailingWind-propelled water travel
- shipSeagoing transport vessel
- full sailEvery sail raised
- ChinaEast Asian superpower
trade · opium · race · Cutty Sark · mast · rigging · hull · voyage · fair winds · cargo · speed · canvas · bow · stern · merchant · fleet · Ceylon · nautical
tea, clipper, teas, clip, clips, clipped, clipping, clippings