Romance of the Sea (clipper) explained

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 Fenimore] Cooper on the other - the greatest romancers of the century".[4] She lost that figurehead during a storm on her third voyage. Some time later it was replaced by "a full-length figure of an ancient navigator, with head bent forward and right hand raised to shade his eyes as he searched for the land beyond the horizon."[5]

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 Seas 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 Deal, England or LondonSeptember 21, 1854 102 or 103 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 September 28, 1857 88 Eben Caldwell
4 See note[6] Eben Caldwell (see note)[7]
4 Shanghai March 20 or 21, 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 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)[8] December 31, 1862 San Francisco Lost during voyage

Artifacts

See also

List of clipper ships

Notes and References

  1. Book: Howe . Octavius T. . Matthews . Frederick C. . America Clipper Ships 1833-1858 . Marine Research Society . II . 1926 . 530–535 .
  2. Book: Cutler, Carl C. . Greyhounds of the Sea . United States Naval Institute . 1967 . 285–287, 356, 371, 431 .
  3. Book: McKay, Richard C. . Some Famous Sailing Ships and Their Builder Donald McKay . G.P. Putnam's Sons . 1928 . 249–254, 370, 376 .
  4. Web site: The New Clipper Ship Romance of the Sea, of Boston . Duncan McLean (Lars Bruzelius, transcriber) . November 8, 1853 . The Boston Daily Atlas . May 20, 2019 .
  5. Book: Heatter, Basil . Eighty Days to Hong Kong: The Story of the Clipper Ship . Farrar, Straus and Giroux . 1969 . New York . 124 . 978-0374319809 .
  6. Romance spent from late 1857 to early 1859 trading among Hong Kong, Bangkok, and Shanghai.
  7. A privately-printed family history, Caldwells & Clipper Ships, states that Captain Caldwell fell ill at Hong Kong and left the ship there.
  8. Between July and December 1862, Romance sailed to Bangkok and back; the exact dates are not known
  9. Web site: Half-hull working model: Romance of the Seas . . Museum of Fine Arts Boston . May 20, 2019 .
  10. Book: Forbes, Allan . Eastman . Ralph M. . Yankee Ship Sailing Cards . State Street Trust Company . 1948 . 47 .

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