''Donald McKay'' was an

extreme clipper An extreme clipper was a clipper designed to sacrifice cargo capacity for speed. They had a bow lengthened above the water, a drawing out and sharpening of the forward body, and the greatest breadth further aft. In the United States, extreme clipp ...

Donald McKay Donald McKay (September 4, 1810 – September 20, 1880) was a Nova Scotian-born American designer and shipbuilder, builder of sailing ships, famed for his record-setting extreme clippers. Early life McKay was born in Jordan Falls, Shelburne ...

, his last. Built for James Baines & Co., she sailed on the Black Ball Line of Liverpool from 1855 to 1868, carrying passengers and mail between England and Australia. ''Donald McKay'' achieved several notable voyages during her active years. One of her most significant accomplishments was setting a record for the fastest voyage from

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

, England, to

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

, Australia, completing the journey in just 63 days. Unfortunately, like many other

clipper ship A clipper was a type of mid-19th-century Merchant ship, merchant Sailing ship, sailing vessel, designed for speed. The term was also retrospectively applied to the Baltimore clipper, which originated in the late 18th century. Clippers were gen ...

s, her commercial success was relatively short-lived. The advent of steam-powered ships and changes in maritime transportation gradually rendered all sailing vessels less economically viable, especially the fast but limited hull displacement clippers. ''Donald McKay'' ended her days as a coal hulk in Portugal. Her figurehead is located at the

Mystic Seaport Museum Mystic Seaport Museum (founded as Marine Historical Association) is a maritime museum in Mystic, Connecticut, and the largest in the United States. Its site holds a collection of ships and boats and a re-creation of a 19th-century seaport vill ...

Mystic, Connecticut Mystic is a village and census-designated place (CDP) in Groton and Stonington, Connecticut, United States. Mystic was a significant Connecticut seaport with more than 600 ships built over 135 years starting in 1784. Mystic Seaport, located in ...

, USA.

History

''Donald McKay'' was launched on Donald McKay's shipyard in

East Boston East Boston, nicknamed Eastie, is a Neighborhoods in Boston, neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, United States, which was annexed by the city of Boston in 1836. Neighboring communities include Winthrop, Massachusetts, Winthrop, Revere, Mas ...

, USA, in January 1855. Newspapers reported that she had "all the airy beauty of a clipper combined with the stately outline of a ship of war and, though not sharp, yet her great length, buoyancy, and stability, indicate that she

ould Ould is an English surname as well as an element of many Arabic names. In Arabic contexts it is a transliteration of the word wikt:ولد, ولد, meaning "son". Notable people with this surname include: English surname * Edward Ould (1852–190 ...

sail very fast, and be an excellent sea boat". Her passenger capacity was reported at 591 plus crew.

Voyages

* In 1855, on her maiden voyage, she sailed from

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

under command of Captain Henry Warner in 17 days. * In 1855, from 6 June to 21 August she sailed from Liverpool to Port Phillip, Melbourne, in 81 days. * In 1855, from 2 October to 28 December she sailed from Melbourne to Liverpool, in 86 days. * In 1856, from 4 October to 1(?) January 1857 she sailed from Liverpool to Melbourne. * In 1857, in February, she cleared out 365.25 ounces of gold through Melbourne customs for Liverpool. * In 1857, from 8 July to 29 September, she sailed from Liverpool to Port Phillip, Melbourne, in 83 days. * In 1857, in November, she cleared out 205 ounces of gold through Melbourne customs and sailed to Liverpool from 5 December to 1 March 1858. * In 1858, on 8 August, she arrived in Melbourne from Liverpool. * In 1858, in November, she cleared out 34,390 ounces of gold through Melbourne customs for Liverpool. * In 1859, on 4 July, she arrived to Melbourne from Liverpool, in 87 days. * In 1859, on 8 November, she departed

Port of Melbourne The Port of Melbourne is the largest port for containerised and general cargo in Australia. It is located in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, Victoria, and covers an area at the mouth of the Yarra River, downstream of Bolte Bridge, which is at th ...

for Liverpool, carrying 4 ounces of gold. * In March 1861, upon arrival in Melbourne from Liverpool, ''Donald McKay'' was placed in

quarantine A quarantine is a restriction on the movement of people, animals, and goods which is intended to prevent the spread of disease or pests. It is often used in connection to disease and illness, preventing the movement of those who may have bee ...

due to cases of

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by Variola virus (often called Smallpox virus), which belongs to the genus '' Orthopoxvirus''. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (W ...

on board. * In 1862, on 9 October, arrived in Melbourne. * In 1863, on 30 July, arrived in Melbourne. * In March 1864, ''Donald McKay'' bound for London collided with the barque ''Albina'' in the English Channel. ''Donald McKay'' was at fault and fined the full amount of the damage of £15,000 to ''Albina''. * In 1865, on 4 December, she arrived in Melbourne. * In 1866, she was sold to Thomas Harrison and was chartered back to the Black Ball Line under the new ownership. * Her arrivals of the last three voyages to Melbourne were on 22 December 1866, 21 November 1867 and 19 November 1868. * In 1874, after arriving in Melbourne on her 13th voyage, she was sold for £8,750. She was placed on the Pacific trade. * In 1879, she was sold to the German company Bertus Bartlin' of

Bremerhaven Bremerhaven (; ) is a city on the east bank of the Weser estuary in northern Germany. It forms an exclave of the Bremen (state), city-state of Bremen. The Geeste (river), River Geeste flows through the city before emptying into the Weser. Brem ...

, reportedly becoming old and leaking water.

Fate

* In 1886, she was used as a coal hulk in

Madeira Madeira ( ; ), officially the Autonomous Region of Madeira (), is an autonomous Regions of Portugal, autonomous region of Portugal. It is an archipelago situated in the North Atlantic Ocean, in the region of Macaronesia, just under north of ...

. * In 1888, she caught fire and was broken up.

References

External links

* Detailed description of ''Donald McKay'', based on a 1855 Boston Daily Atlas article, sourc
1
an

*''Donald McKay'' o
List of the ships of the Liverpool Black Line at TheShipsList
{{DEFAULTSORT:Donald McKay Individual sailing vessels Ships designed by Donald McKay Ships built in Boston 1855 ships

History

Voyages

Fate

See also

References

External links