The Original Silent Ships

One hundred and fifty four years ago on August 31, 1851 the Yankee clipper ship The Flying Cloud arrived in San Francisco from New York after a record run of only 89 days, 21 hours . That record of 89 days was only shared by one other ship of that era the Andrew Jackson . No other sailing ship beat the 89 day mark for nearly 130 years when in 1989 the OSTAR single-handed racing yacht Thursday's Child bested the record by 9 days. The Flying Cloud is considered to have been the fastest clipper ship ever launched. The ships navigator was Ellen Creesy, the wife of the captain Josiah P. Cressy.

The Flying Cloud (Source: National Archives)

The Silent Ship by Colin West

I sailed a ship as white as snow,
As soft as clouds on high,
Tall was the mast, broad was the beam,
And safe and warm was I.

I stood astern my stately ship
And felt so grand and high,
To see the lesser ships give way
As I went gliding by.

That was the Golden Age of Clipper Ships romanticized in books and movies.

In another one hundred and fifty years will these be the new silent ships of legends?

(The Urban Legends link above is for my friends back in maneuvering ;-)