The ''Game Cock'' was a

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 ...

known for its long sailing life of 29 years and 2 months. Its principal route was the

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

run.

Construction

A game cock with neck extended served as the ship's

figurehead In politics, a figurehead is a practice of who ''de jure'' (in name or by law) appears to hold an important and often supremely powerful title or office, yet '' de facto'' (in reality) exercises little to no actual power. This usually means that ...

. ''Game Cock'' was considered either a medium or

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 ...

, Its materials were similar to the ''Surprise''. It was built by S. Hall of East Boston, after being commissioned by Captain Daniel C. Bacon, a retired sailor and successful merchant.

Voyages

''Game Cock'' sailed between

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

and

. The ship put in for repairs in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

in 1851, and made voyages to

Bombay Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial centre, financial capital and the list of cities i ...

in 1851, and Batavia in 1859. In the mid 1860s the ship was bought by Robert L. Taylor and others of New York. The ship was condemned in 1880, at the

Cape of Good Hope The Cape of Good Hope ( ) is a rocky headland on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula in South Africa. A List of common misconceptions#Geography, common misconception is that the Cape of Good Hope is the southern tip of Afri ...

References

External links

American clipper ship ''Game Cock''
Hansen, J., artist and lithographer Nagel & Weingaertner (1849–1857), printer
''Game Cock'' at Whampoa
painting by Gordon Grant (1875–1962)
Lithograph of clipper ''Game Cock''
* Clippers Individual sailing vessels Ships built in Boston 1850 ships Age of Sail merchant ships of the United States {{merchantship-stub