Surprise (clipper)
Surprise
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| History | |
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 United States
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| Name: | Surprise |
| Owner: | A. A. Low & Brother |
| Builder: | Samuel Hall, East Boston, MA |
| Launched: | 1850 |
| Fate: | Wrecked in 1876 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Clipper |
| Length: | 190 ft. |
| Beam: | 39 ft. |
| Draft: | 22 ft. |
| Complement: | A captain, "30 able seamen, 6 ordinary seamen, 4 boys, 2 boatswains, a carpenter, a sailmaker, 2 cooks, a steward, and 4 mates." Captain Philip Dumaresq, 1850-1852, Captain Charles A. Ranlett, 1852-1876. |
The 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.
The Surprise served as a clipper-rigged ship for 17 years, from 1850 until 1867, giving her an exceptionally long working life with this demanding rigging. After her sail plan was cut down in 1867, removing her skysails, she entered a second life as a slower merchant sailing ship from 1867 until her loss in 1876.
The Surprise was a highly profitable vessel for its owners. One historian has asserted that the vessel "was one of the most successful clipper ships ever constructed."
As with many Boston-built clipper ships, the Surprise was fully built and rigged in her port of origin, but was towed to the East Coast's shipping hub, New York City, to take on its first long-distance cargo. The ship's owner, and the New York reporters who covered the new ship's arrival from Boston, were impressed with the clipper's appearance and measurements.
Arthur Hamilton clark described the ship as fully rigged on the stocks, with all her gear rove off. She was launched with her three skysail yards across and colors flying, which attracted a multitude of people. When the Surprise arrived at New York to load for San Francisco, the New York Herald declared that she was the handsomest ship ever seen in the port.
"Her ends were said to be quite sharp," another account reads, "but she was not quite as large and did not carry as much sail as other clippers of her era, such as Game Cock, Sea Serpent and White Squall. The Lows were delighted with her and gave Samuel Hall a $2,500 bonus."
The Surprise was 190 feet long, with a breadth of 39 feet and a depth of 22 feet. Her main-yard was 78 feet long from boom-iron to boom-iron, and her mainmast was 84 feet from heel to cap, with other spars in proportion. She was beautifully fitted throughout. She was painted black from the water-line up. The figurehead was a finely carved and gilded flying eagle, and the stern was ornamented with the arms of New York.
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Wikipedia