Serica (clipper)
| Career (United Kingdom) |  |
|---|---|
| Name: | Serica |
| Owner: | James Findlay |
| Builder: | Robert Steele & Co., Greenock |
| Launched: | 1863 |
| Fate: | Wrecked on the Parcels, 1872 |
| General characteristics | |
| Tons burthen: | 708 NRT |
| Length: | 185 ft. 9 in. |
| Beam: | 31 ft. 1 in. |
| Draught: | 19 ft. 6 in.[1] |
| Complement: | Crew of 23 |
The Serica was a clipper ship built in 1863 by Robert Steele & Co., at Greenock on the south bank of the Clyde, Scotland, for James Findlay.
Contents |
[edit] Winner of 1864 Tea Race
Serica is Latin for "China"-- the ship was built expressly for the China tea trade. The Serica participated in the annual "tea races" to bring the new season's crop to London; she won in 1864 and finished second in 1865,[2] and in The Great Tea Race of 1866 came in third, by a matter of hours.
[edit] Sailing performance
According to Lubbock, the tea clippers Serica, Fiery Cross, Lahloo and Taeping performed at their best in light breezes, as they were all rigged with single topsails. [3]
[edit] Loss of the ship
On her final voyage under Capt. George Innes, she left Hong Kong bound for Montevideo, 2 November 1872, and was wrecked on the Parcels, in the South China Sea the following day. Out of a crew of twenty-three that manned her, only one survived.
[edit] See also
[edit] Notes
- ^ Bruzelius, Lars (1996-09-02). "Sailing Ships: Serica (1863)". The Maritime History Virtual Archives. http://www.bruzelius.info/Nautica/Ships/Clippers/Serica%281863%29.html. Retrieved 2010-02-24.
- ^ RootsWeb mailing list thread
- ^ Lubbock, Basil (1919). The China Clippers (4th ed.). Glasgow: James Brown & Son. p. 155.
[edit] External links
- Lars Bruzelius, "The Maritime History Virtual Archives ,"Sailing Ships: Serica (1863)
- Newspaper notices of the Serica's arrival in New York, 28 December 1871
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