Sea Serpent (clipper)
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| History | |
|---|---|
 United States
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| Name: | Sea Serpent |
| Owner: | Grinnell, Minturn & Co., New York City |
| Builder: | George Raynes, Portsmouth, NH |
| Launched: | 1850 |
 Norway
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| Acquired: | 1874 |
| Renamed: | Progress |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Extreme clipper |
| Length: | 212 ft (65 m) OA |
| Beam: | 39 ft 3 in (11.96 m) |
| Draft: | 21 ft (6.4 m) |
| Sail plan: | 3 masts, ship rig |
| Notes: | 2 decks. |
Sea Serpent was an 1850 extreme clipper that sailed in the San Francisco trade, the China trade, and the transatlantic lumber trade. She was one of the longest lived clippers, with a service life of 36 years and 5 months.
Sea Serpent raced Stag Hound and John Bertram from New York City to San Francisco in 1851. Stag Hound arrived in 107 days.Sea Serpent made a 125-day passage, having had to put into Valparaiso eight days for repairs.
Sea Serpent sailed from Shanghai for London in company with the British clipper Crest of the Wave. A premium of thirty shillings a ton, over and above the amount of the freight, had been offered to the vessel first in, and this was quite sufficient inducement for both skippers to crack on. The two ships were fairly near together all the way home, and they actually hove to for pilots, off the Isle of Wight, within an hour of each other. The American captain determined that he would not be outdone by the Britisher, so leaving his ship in the hands of the mate, he came ashore in the boat that brought out his pilot, took the steamer from Cowes to Southampton, and the train up to Waterloo. From thence he took a cab to the Custom-house, and reported the Sea Serpent as "arrived," while each ship was carrying on all she knew in order to get into the Thames before the other.
In 1853, Sea Serpent "sailed from Whampoa Reach to New York in 101 days. The 29 days passage from Whampoa to Anjer was the fastest made that season."
About 1850-51, the upper anchorage at Whampoa Reach, below Canton, was a sight to be remembered by those who loved to look at beautiful ships, and the 'tea-fleet' was gathered waiting for 'the new crop.' There, moored in line, were the Sam Russell, the Sea-Serpent, the Challenge, the Flying Cloud, the Sea Witch, and half a dozen others, bright with paint and varnish and gilding, and their bottoms well cleaned of barnacles by the swift muddy current of fresh water ... They scrubbed copper, holystoned decks, squared the yards by the lifts and braces, and hoisted and lowered colors in unison with the American man-of-war which happened to be stationed there ...
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Wikipedia