_off_Hong_Kong.png) The British clipperTaitsing (Great Arrow) off Hong Kong | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Name | Taitsing |
| Owner |
|
| Builder | Charles Connell & Co,Glasgow |
| Launched | 25 July 1865 |
| Fate | Sank 20 September 1883 |
| Notes | Arrived fifth inThe Great Tea Race of 1866 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Clipper |
| Tonnage | 815 NRT[1]: 166 |
| Length | 192 ft[1]: 166 |
| Beam | 31.5 ft[1]: 166 |
| Depth | 20.1 ft[1]: 166 |
| Sail plan | Full-rigged ship |
Taitsing was a famous British teaclipper.
Taitsing was afull-rigged, composite-builtclipper ship, measuring 192 feet (59 meters) in length, with a beam of 31.5 feet (9.6 meters) and a draught of 20.15 feet (6.14 meters). She was built in 1865 by Charles Connell & Co,Glasgow,Scotland, for Findlay & Longmuir,Greenock, Scotland.[1]: 166 Taitsing was launched on 25 July 1865.[2]
The ship sailed fromLondon toChinese ports likeAmoy,Hong Kong,Wusong,Fuzhou, andShanghai. She also travelled from Fuzhou toNew York in 1874. In 1876 the ship was sold to James Findlay of Greenock. She was sold to John Willis & Son [Robert D. Willis] of London in 1879.[1]: 235–243
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Laden with just over a million pounds (453,600 kg) of tea,Taitsing, under the command ofCaptain Nutsford, raced nine other ships from China toEngland inThe Great Tea Race of 1866. The first five ships –Taiping,Ariel,Serica,Fiery Cross, andTaitsing – 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."[3]Taitsing′s best 24-hour run during the race was on 2 July 1866, when she traveled 318 nautical miles (589 kilometres), averaging 13.25 knots (24.54 km/h)).[4]
Taitsing, carrying a load of patent fuel fromSwansea,Wales, sank in theIndian Ocean off Nyuni Island,Zanzibar, on 20 September 1883.[1]: 169
A painting ofTaitsing signed by the Chinese painterHingqua, along with a painting of the clipperbrigVenus, sold at auction atSotheby's in New York City in 2009.[5]
Hungarian writerAndrás Dékány centered his second fiction book of his "Monostory" trilogy "The Black Prince" ("A fekete herceg")[6] around the Taitsing, and the great tea clipper race. András Dékány was a writer, journalist, critic, while in early life worked among other things as sailor. A number of his books spoke about sailboats and sailors, including the "Monostory" trilogy, a fictional work centered on Lt. Balázs Monostory who becomes sailor during the failedHungarian Revolution of 1848 and in this fictional book he becomes captain of Taitsing for the time of the race.[7]
The Taeping took in 1,108,700 lbs. of tea, the Ariel 1,230,900 lbs., the Serica 954,236 lbs., the Fiery Cross 854,236 lbs., and the Taitsing 1,093,130 lbs.
The best twenty -four hours' runs were as follows : Average, Ariel June 25 317 miles 13.2 knots, ... Taitsing July 2 318 13.25
PROPERTY FROM THE COLLECTION OF FRED F. AND LOIS K. ROGERS CHINESE SCHOOL, 19TH CENTURY, THE CLIPPER SHIP VENUS AND THE CLIPPER SHIP TAITSING: TWO CHINA TRADE SHIP PORTRAITS
David R. MacGregor (1988)."Fast Sailing Ships: Their Design and Construction, 1775-1875". Naval Institute Press. pp. 239–40. Retrieved18 February 2010.Taitsing, ship, compared with Serica, 240 ... compared with other clippers, 239-40
