Fiery Cross (clipper)

Fiery Cross, in later years, with the rig reduced to barque
History
United Kingdom
OwnerJohn Campbell, Glasgow
BuilderShipyard at Chaloner, Liverpool
Launched1860
NotesFirst tea clipper home in 1861,1862, 1863 and 1865.[1]: 122 
History
Norway
NameEllen Lines
Acquired1887
Out of service1889 or 1893
General characteristics
Class and typeClipper ship
Tonnage695 NRT[1]: 122 
Length185 ft (56 m)[1]: 120 
Beam31.7 ft (9.7 m)[1]: 120 
Depth19.2 ft (5.9 m)[1]: 120 
NotesDesigned by William Rennie.[1]: 120  Equipped with Cunningham's roller-reefing top-sails and steel masts.[2]
Lines of clipper Fiery Cross

Fiery Cross was a famous British tea clipper which sailed in the Great Tea Race of 1866. She was the first ship home in the tea seasons of 1861, 1862, 1863, and 1865.[1]

She was the second tea clipper of this name; the first Fiery Cross, built in 1855, had the same owner and designer and was also built in Liverpool. This earlier ship was lost on the then-uncharted Fiery Cross Reef in the China Sea on 4 March 1860 (the crew reached land safely in her boats). The new ship was already being built and so took on the name of her predecessor.[1]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h MacGregor, David R. (1983). The Tea Clippers, Their History and Development 1833-1875. Conway Maritime Press Limited. pp. 120–123. ISBN 0-85177-256-0.
  2. ^ Robert Kipping (1847). "Cunningham's Patent Self-Reefing Topsails". Retrieved 19 February 2010.