''Taitsing'' was a famous British tea

clipper A clipper was a type of mid-19th-century merchant sailing vessel, designed for speed. Clippers were generally narrow for their length, small by later 19th century standards, could carry limited bulk freight, and had a large total sail area. "C ...

Tea Clipper Taitsing

''Taitsing'' was a full-rigged, composite-built clipper ship, measuring in length, with a beam of and a draught of . She was built in 1865 by Charles Connell & Co, Glasgow, Scotland, for Findlay & Longmuir,

Greenock Greenock (; sco, Greenock; gd, Grianaig, ) is a town and administrative centre in the Inverclyde council areas of Scotland, council area in Scotland, United Kingdom and a former burgh of barony, burgh within the Counties of Scotland, historic ...

, Scotland. The ship sailed from London to Chinese ports like Amoy, Hong Kong, Wusong,

Fuzhou Fuzhou (; , Fuzhounese: Hokchew, ''Hók-ciŭ''), alternately romanized as Foochow, is the capital and one of the largest cities in Fujian province, China. Along with the many counties of Ningde, those of Fuzhou are considered to constitute t ...

, and Shanghai. She also travelled from Fuzhou to

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

in 1874. In 1876 the ship was sold to James Findlay of Greenock. She was sold to John Willis & Son

obert D. Willis Obert may refer to the following people: ;Given name * Obert Bika (born 1993), Papua New Guinean football midfielder * Obert Logan (1941–2003), American football safety * Obert Mpofu, Zimbabwean politician * Obert Nyampipira (born 1966), Zimbabw ...

of London in 1879.

The Great Tea Race of 1866

Laden with just over a million pounds (453,600 kg) of tea, ''Taitsing'', under the command of Captain Nutsford, raced nine other ships from China to England in The Great Tea Race of 1866. The first five ships – ''Taiping'', ''Ariel'', ''Serica'', ''Fiery Cross'', and ''Taitsing'' – finished the 14,000- nautical-mile (25,930-km) race within three days of each other. ''Taitsing'' arrived fifth, in "the closest run ever recorded." ''Taitsing''′s best 24-hour run during the race was on 2 July 1866, when she traveled , averaging ).

Sinking

''Taitsing'', carrying a load of patent fuel from

Swansea Swansea (; cy, Abertawe ) is a coastal city and the second-largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Swansea ( cy, links=no, Dinas a Sir Abertawe). The city is the twenty-fifth largest in ...

, Wales, sank in the Indian Ocean off Nyuni Island, Zanzibar, on 20 September 1883.

In culture

A painting of ''Taitsing'' signed by the Chinese painter Hingqua, along with a painting of the clipper

brig A brig is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: two masts which are both square rig, square-rigged. Brigs originated in the second half of the 18th century and were a common type of smaller merchant vessel or warship from then until the ...

''Venus'', sold at auction at Sotheby's in New York City in 2009.

References

External links

Paintings

The Ship ''Taitsing'' entering Hong Kong, July 1877

Clipper ship ''Taitsing'' China trade portrait

"Ship TAITSING Visiting China", David Thimgan, 1955-2003

''Taitsing'', composite ship picture by David Michael Hartigan Little

"Fleeting Colors", British Tea Clipper ''Taitsing'', 1866-67, by Jim Griffiths, Maritime Gallery at Mystic Seaport

Scale model

* * Model built to a scale of 32 feet to one inch. Based on plans from:
Scale model of ''Taitsing''
{{coord missing, Indian Ocean Clippers Individual sailing vessels Tall ships of the United Kingdom Victorian-era merchant ships of the United Kingdom Ships built in Glasgow Shipwrecks in the Indian Ocean Maritime incidents in September 1883 1865 ships Full-rigged ships