''Lahloo'' was a British tea clipper known for winning the Tea Race of 1870, and finishing second in the Tea Race of 1871. She sailed from Fuzhou to London with over a million pounds (500 tons) of tea in 1868.

Construction

''Lahloo'' was of the same class and sharpness as ''Ariel'', "with more deadrise and

tumblehome Tumblehome or tumble home is the narrowing of a Hull (watercraft), hull above the waterline, giving less beam (nautical), beam at the level of the main deck. The opposite of tumblehome is flare (ship), flare. A small amount of tumblehome is nor ...

and a slightly fuller run." She was designed by William Steele, had a

composite Composite or compositing may refer to: Materials * Composite material, a material that is made from several different substances ** Metal matrix composite, composed of metal and other parts ** Cermet, a composite of ceramic and metallic material ...

hull, and carried Cunningham's roller-reefing

topsail A topsail ("tops'l") is a sail set above another sail; on square-rigged vessels further sails may be set above topsails. Square rig On a square rigged vessel, a topsail is a typically trapezoidal shaped sail rigged above the course sail and ...

Voyages

Fuzhou Fuzhou is the capital of Fujian, China. The city lies between the Min River (Fujian), Min River estuary to the south and the city of Ningde to the north. Together, Fuzhou and Ningde make up the Eastern Min, Mindong linguistic and cultural regi ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

**101 days, 1868 **101 days, 1869 (via the "Eastern Passage" out of the China Sea) **111 days, 1871 *London to

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

**98 days (95 days pilot to pilot), 1869

Won the Tea Race of 1870

"The race of 1870 from Foo-chow to London was won by the Lahloo in 97 days, the other vessels being: the ''Windhover'', 100 days; ''Sir Launcelot'', 102 days;

Leander Leander is one of the protagonists in the story of Hero and Leander in Greek mythology. Leander may also refer to: People * Leander (given name) * Leander (surname) Places * Leander, Kentucky, United States, an unincorporated community * L ...

, 103 days; ''Thermopylae'', 106 days."

Finished second in the Tea Race of 1871

"In 1871 the ''Titania'' won in 93 days; the ''Lahloo'', 111 days, from Foo-chow to London; and from Shanghai to London the ''Thermopylae'' was 106 days; ''

Cutty Sark ''Cutty Sark'' is a British clipper ship. Built on the River Leven, Dumbarton, Scotland in 1869 for the Jock Willis Shipping Line, she was one of the last tea clippers to be built and one of the fastest, at the end of a long period of desig ...

'', 110 days, and ''Forward Ho'', 118 days. This was about the last of the tea clipper racing, for the combined competition of

steam Steam is water vapor, often mixed with air or an aerosol of liquid water droplets. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization. Saturated or superheated steam is inv ...

and the

Suez Canal The Suez Canal (; , ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, Indo-Mediterranean, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia (and by extension, the Sinai Peninsula from the rest ...

proved too powerful for sail. No more tea clippers were built after 1869; by degrees these beautiful vessels were driven into other trades; and so the Clipper Ship Era drifted into history."

Sailing performance

According to Lubbock, the tea clippers ''Lahloo'', '' Fiery Cross'', ''

Taeping The ''Taeping'' was a tea clipper built in 1863 by Robert Steele & Company of Greenock and owned by Captain Alexander Rodger of Cellardyke, Fife. Over her career, ''Taeping'' was the first clipper to dock in London in three different tea seaso ...

'' and ''

Serica Serica (, ) was one of the easternmost countries of Asia known to the Ancient Greek and Roman geographers. It is generally taken as referring to North China during its Zhou, Qin, and Han dynasties, as it was reached via the overland Silk Roa ...

'' performed at their best in light breezes, as they were all rigged with single

s. The photograph at the beginning of this article shows Lahloo rigged with double topsails. The photograph is believed to date from the early 1870sshe was built with single topsails and it is not clear when the change was made.

Loss of the ship

''Lahloo'' was wrecked on Sandalwood Island, Sunda Islands, on 31 July 1872 whilst on a voyage from Shanghai to London with tea. Her crew survived.

Notes

References

External links

Lahloo Tea
company founded by great-great granddaughter of a man who sailed on the ship
Description of the Tea Race of 1871Lithograph of ''Lahloo''Betting on ''Lahloo'' for upcoming Tea RaceAccount of 1868 Tea RaceAccount of the wreck of ''Lahloo''
{{1872 shipwrecks Tea clippers Individual sailing vessels Victorian-era merchant ships of the United Kingdom Ships built on the River Clyde Vanua Levu Shipwrecks in the Pacific Ocean Maritime incidents in July 1872 1867 ships