Replica of 1847 "Baltimore Clipper" Californian built in 1984

Baltimore Clipper is the colloquial name for fast sailing ships built on the south-eastern seaboard of the United States of America, especially at the port of Baltimore, Maryland. Sailing ship is now used to refer to any large Wind -powered Vessel. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the It is most commonly applied to two-masted schooners and brigantines. A schooner (ˈskuːnɚ is a type of sailing vessel characterized by the use of fore-and-aft sails on two or more masts Schooners were first used by the In Sailing, a brigantine is a vessel with two masts only the forward of which is Square rigged Originally the brigantine was a small ship carrying both oars and

Baltimore clippers were first built as small, fast sailing vessels for trade around the coastlines of the United States and the Caribbean Islands. The Caribbean (ˌkærəˡbiən kæ'rəbiən Cariben|Caraïben or Caraïben; Caraïbe or more commonly Antilles; Caribe is a Region consisting Their hull-lines tended to be very sharp, with a "V"-shaped cross-section below the waterline and strongly raked stem, stern posts, and masts. The origins of the type are unknown but certainly hulls conforming to the concept were being built in Jamaica and Bermuda (the hull of the Bermuda sloop, designed for the open ocean, was broader than the Jamaican and deeper than the American) by the late 1600s and by the late 1700s were popular both in Britain and the United States. Jamaica (ˈdʒəˈmeɪkə} is an Island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length and as much as in width situated in the Caribbean Sea. Ba (officially The Bermuda Islands or The Somers Isles) is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. The Bermuda sloop is a type of fore-and-aft rigged sailing vessel developed on the islands of Bermuda in the 17th century The Kingdom of Great Britain, also known as the United Kingdom of Great Britain, was a State in northwest Europe, in existence from 1707 to 1800

Drawing for the Flying Fish class, modelled on an American vessel, sent to Bermudian builders by the Admiralty.

They were especially suited to moving low-density, high value perishable cargoes such as slaves, and in that trade operated as far afield as the west coast of Africa. Slavery is a social-economic system under which certain persons — known as slaves — are deprived of personal freedom and compelled to perform labour or services Similar vessels were built as privateers during the War of Independence and the War of 1812, and as pilot boats. A privateer was a private Warship authorized by a country's Government by Letters of marque to attack foreign shipping The War of 1812 was fought between the United States of America and the British Empire, particularly Great Britain and her North American colonies A pilot boat is used to transport pilots between land and the inbound or outbound ships that they are piloting The famous yacht America, derived from the lines of a New York pilot boat, was conceptually not far removed the Baltimore clipper. Designer The America was designed by George Steers a revolutionary designer who began the practice of giving ships a knife-like bow widening Aft Many such vessels went to Australia during the Australian gold rush, or after being seized as slavers and sold. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. The Australian gold rushes started in 1851 when prospector Edward Hammond Hargraves claimed the discovery of payable Gold near Bathurst, New South

One particularly famous Baltimore Clipper, and one of the last of the type in commercial service, was the schooner Vigilant that traded around the Danish Caribbean islands for over a century before sinking in a hurricane on September 12, 1928. The Danish West Indies ( Danish: Dansk Vestindien or De dansk-vestindiske øer) or "Danish Antilles" were a colony of Denmark-Norway A tropical cyclone is a storm system characterized by a low pressure center and numerous Thunderstorms that produce strong winds and Flooding Year 1928 ( MCMXXVIII) was a Leap year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. She was believed to have been built in the 1790s. Events and trends French Revolution ( 1789 - 1799) It is considered to have effectively ended on November 9, 1799 when

A modern replica of an early 19th century Baltimore Clipper was the ill-fated Pride of Baltimore and her replacement Pride of Baltimore II. The 19th century of the Common Era began on January 1, 1801 and ended on December 31, 1900, according to the Gregorian calendar Chasseur: The historical "Pride of Baltimore" The Pride was originally built as an authentic reproduction of a 19th century Baltimore Clipper schooner patterned

References

• Howard I. Chapelle, The Baltimore Clipper.
• Howard I. Chapelle, The Search for Speed Under Sail

External links

• Rootsweb: Excerpt of Tidewater Triumph, by Geoffrey Footner. Describing development of the Baltimore Clipper (large chapter on Bermuda sloops and role of Bermudian boatbuilders).