Romance of the Sea (clipper)
Romance of the Sea was a clipper ship launched in 1853.[1][2][3][4] She was "the last extreme clipper ship built by Donald McKay for the California trade".[3] Her original figurehead was "a small female figure, intended to represent Romance, with the name of [Sir Walter] Scott on one side, and [James Fennimore] Cooper on the other - the greatest romancers of the century".[4] She lost that figurehead during a storm on her third voyage.
| History | |
|---|---|
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| Name: | Romance of the Sea(see note)[notes 1] |
| Owner: | George B. Upton |
| Builder: | Donald McKay of East Boston, MA |
| Launched: | October 23, 1853 |
| Fate: | Unknown; sailed from Hong Kong December 31, 1862 and was not heard from again |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Extreme clipper |
| Tons burthen: | 1782 tons |
| Length: | 240 feet (73.2 m) |
| Beam: | 36.5 feet (11.1 m) |
| Draft: | 29.5 feet (9.0 m) |
| Sail plan: | Double topsails; fore and mizzen royals; main skysail[1] |
In her nine year life, Romance of the Sea made six round-trip voyages from North Atlantic ports before being lost during her seventh voyage.
Her voyages
The Romance of the Sea's voyages are listed here. Sources disagree on some items; disagreements or ambiguities are individually cited. City names are as they were at the time.
| Voyage | Origin | Depart | Destination | Arrive | Days | Captain |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Boston | December 16, 1853 | San Francisco | March 23, 1854 | 96 | Philip Dumaresq |
| 1 | San Francisco | March 31, 1854 | Hong Kong | May 16, 1854 | 45 | Philip Dumaresq |
| 1 | Hong Kong | May 9, 1854[3] | Deal, England[1][3] or London[2] | September 21, 1854[3] | 102[3] or 103[1][2] | Philip Dumaresq |
| 2 | Deal | Hong Kong | 99 | William H. Henry | ||
| 2 | Shanghai | November 1, 1855 | Deal | March 7, 1856 | 126 | William H. Henry |
| 2 | Deal | Boston | August 15, 1856 | William H. Henry | ||
| 3 | New York | July 3, 1856 | San Francisco | October 24, 1856 | 113 | William H. Henry |
| 3 | San Francisco | November 17, 1856 | Shanghai | December 22, 1856 | 113 | William H. Henry |
| 3 | Shanghai | February 16, 1857 | New York | May 27, 1857 | 100 | William H. Henry |
| 4 | New York | July 3, 1857 | Batavia, Dutch East Indies | September 28, 1857 | 88 | Eben Caldwell |
| 4 | See note[notes 2] | Eben Caldwell (see note)[notes 3] | ||||
| 4 | Shanghai | March 20[1] or 21[2], 1859 | New York | June 22, 1859 | 94 | |
| 5 | New York | August 11, 1859 | Hong Kong | December 6, 1859 | 109 | |
| 5 | Manila | June 23, 1860 | Boston | October 10, 1860 | 109 | |
| 6 | Boston | December 28, 1860 | San Francisco | April 13, 1861 | 105 | Ashman J. Clough |
| 6 | San Francisco | May 12, 1861 | Queenstown, Ireland | August 13, 1861 | 93 | Ashman J. Clough |
| 6 | Liverpool | September 29, 1861 | Boston | October 27, 1861 | 34 | Ashman J. Clough |
| 7 | New York | February 7, 1862 | San Francisco | May 24, 1862 | 106 | |
| 7 | San Francisco | June 7, 1862 | Hong Kong | July 24, 1862 | 46 | |
| 7 | Hong Kong (see note)[notes 4] | December 31, 1862 | San Francisco | Lost during voyage |
Artifacts
- Donald McKay's original half-hull working model is held by the Museum of Fine Arts Boston.[5]
- Sailing cards advertising Romance's first two voyages to San Francisco are held by the Francis Russell Hart Nautical Museum of MIT. The one for the first voyage is reproduced in Yankee Ship Sailing Cards.[6]
Notes
- A contemporary account (McLean) calls the ship Romance of the Sea, and that name is on the original half-hull model. However, since the early 1900s references have called the vessel Romance of the Seas.
- Romance spent from late 1857 to early 1859 trading among Hong Kong, Bangkok, and Shanghai.
- A privately-printed family history, Caldwells & Clipper Ships, states that Captain Caldwell fell ill at Hong Kong and left the ship there.
- Between July and December 1862, Romance sailed to Bangkok and back; the exact dates are not known
References
- Howe, Octavius T.; Matthews, Frederick C. (1926). America Clipper Ships 1833-1858. II. Marine Research Society. pp. 530–535.
- Cutler, Carl C. (1967). Greyhounds of the Sea. United States Naval Institute. pp. 285–287, 356, 371, 431.
- McKay, Richard C. (1928). Some Famous Sailing Ships and Their Builder Donald McKay. G.P. Putnam's Sons. pp. 249–254, 370, 376.
- Duncan McLean (Lars Bruzelius, transcriber) (November 8, 1853). "The New Clipper Ship Romance of the Sea, of Boston". The Boston Daily Atlas. Retrieved May 20, 2019.
- "Half-hull working model: Romance of the Seas". Museum of Fine Arts Boston. Retrieved May 20, 2019.
- Forbes, Allan; Eastman, Ralph M. (1948). Yankee Ship Sailing Cards. State Street Trust Company. p. 47.
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