Taitsing
Books
- Ninety-Nine Days The Great Tea Race of 1866 and the End of the Clipper Era · Liszt Think
In May 1866, five clippers departed Foochow within three days, chasing a lucrative premium for the first new-season tea to reach London.
- The Premium and the Min River…in George Innes, had the reputation of a fast and reliable vessel. Fiery Cross, owned by Thomas Harrison, had won the premium twice before. Taitsing, the newest of the five, carried the ambitions of her owner, John Campbell, who had invested heavily in her construction. The premium of te…
- The Logbook’s First Page…and Serica had dropped their pilots within twenty minutes of each other that same morning. Fiery Cross had sailed the previous day, May 29. Taitsing would follow at midnight on May 31. The logbook lay open on the cabin table below. The first entry would record the departure, the wind, th…
- Tea, Salt, and Men…Taeping was similar. Serica was slightly smaller but equally fast. Fiery Cross was an older ship, but she had won the premium twice before. Taitsing was new and untested. The ships were matched, but they were not identical. The differences in design, condition, and crew could make a diff…