pre WW2 Clipper ships

[Bruce_in_Oz]

The great rival of "Cutty Sark" was "Thermopylae". a ship so elegantly engineered that she was said be "able to "ghost" along at a steady five knots in a breeze that would not blow out a candle on deck"

The opposite of that was the "Marco Polo", described as being "square as a brick, fore and aft", but a ship that could be driven through gales that would dis-mast or destroy lesser vessels.

The biggest problem with these "high-performance" Clippers was a need for a steady supply of extremely skilled seamen. Steam, whilst hugely inefficient at first, eventually killed off the Clippers, once coaling ports were established on the trade routes. Many once-noble sailing ships ended their days as coal shuttles. The Triple-expansion steam engine was a marvel ot 19th Century engineering..

Kiwi readers may be familiar with the TS "Earnslaw,which plies Lake Wakatipu at Queenstown. She has a perfectly functional triple expansion engine, chugging away since 1912..