Robert Waterman (sea captain)

Robert H. Waterman
Captain Robert H. Waterman
Born	March 4, 1808 Hudson, New York
Died	August 8, 1884(1884-08-08) (aged 76) San Francisco, California
Nationality	American
Other names	Bully Waterman Bully Bob Waterman
Occupation	Sea captain Maritime consultant
Known for	Master of the record breaking run of the Sea Witch
Notes
Helped found the town of Fairfield, California

Robert H. Waterman, (March 4, 1808 - August 8, 1884), known as 'Bully Waterman' or 'Bully Bob Waterman', was an American merchant sea captain. He set three sailing speed records; his time of 74 days from Hong Kong to New York City has never been bettered in a sail-powered vessel. He was reputed as a martinet, and was once convicted of assault against a crewman in a controversial California criminal case.

Waterman was born in Hudson, New York, the son of a Nantucket whaling captain. His father died at sea when the boy was eight, and the family moved to Fairfield, Connecticut. Waterman first went to sea at age 12 aboard a China trader, and spent most of the next nine years aboard transatlantic packet ships. By 1829, at the age of 21, he had been promoted to first mate of the Black Ball packet Britannia. His captain aboard the Britannia, Charles H. Marshall, later bought the packet South America and made Waterman the skipper. It was Waterman's first command.

In 1836, Waterman accepted command of the cotton freighter Natchez, owned by Howland & Aspinwall, a Manhattan merchant company. He guided the Natchez on several voyages around Cape Horn to Valparaiso. In 1842, Howland & Aspinwall switched the Natchez to the China trade, and Waterman sailed her to Macao. His return trip from Macao to New York took only 78 days, a new record.

During the late 1840s, Howland & Aspinwall gave Waterman command of the clipper Sea Witch. Waterman worked with the ship's designer, John W. Griffiths, designing much of the Sea Witch's rig and sail plan, specifying 140-foot-tall (43 m) masts and more square footage of sail than a 74-gun warship. In 1847, he brought the Sea Witch from Hong Kong to New York in 77 days, beating his previous record by a day.

In 1849, Waterman set his final record for the Hong Kong–New York trip. Leaving New York on April 27, 1848, he went to China by the unusual route of Cape Horn (most China clippers traveled by way of the Cape of Good Hope). Loading a cargo of tea at Hong Kong, Waterman took the Sea Witch out of harbor on January 9, 1849. Spending much of the voyage under full sail, he started the Sea Witch's return voyage via the Sunda Strait, often covering over 200 miles (320 km) per day and once reaching 300 miles (480 km). He reached the Cape of Good Hope February 16, logging a 308-mile (496 km) run for the day, his best of the voyage. Waterman reached New York on March 25, a 74-day passage. Neither he nor any other captain of a sail-powered vessel would ever break this record.