Red Jacket (clipper)

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Anatol
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Joined: Sun Apr 12, 2009 2:13 pm

Red Jacket (clipper)

Post by Anatol » Wed Mar 16, 2011 11:14 am

One such extreme clipper was the Red Jacket, designed by Samuel Harte Pook, and built and launched from George Thomas' shipyard at Rockland, Maine on November 2, 1853. She was a large exquisitely handsome clipper of perfect proportions quite pleasing to the eye that some said "had the graceful appearance of a dainty tea clipper," but much larger measuring out at 251 x 44 x 31 feet and 2305 tons. She had hollow entrance lines and her ends were long and very sharp, but not as pronounced as her great rival, the Lightning.
The Red Jacket was to be sent to Liverpool uncoppered with few interior fittings and all the coppering was to be done upon arrival, along with the decorating of her saloons and cabins by Liverpool artisans to customize her for the Australian emigrant trade. American artisans, however, took great pride in carving the figureheads, taffrail scrolls, and carvings of their ships and such was the case with the Red Jacket.
The Red Jacket's figurehead was a life-size carving of the great Seneca Indian chief Red Jacket of the Wolf Clan presented in a magnificent fashion with beaded buckskins, a red jacket, and a feather head-dress. His Indian name was chief Sagoyewatha (He that keeps them awake). The carving was a carefully crafted likeness of the Indian chief, for Red Jacket had been a scout for British forces at the time of the Revolutionary War and had lived on a reservation near Buffalo, New York until he died in 1830.
The Red Jacket was Pook's masterpiece and owned by Boston merchants Seacomb & Taylor. A week after her launching, the Red Jacket was towed to New York to be fitted with her spars and rigging. The Red Jacket was upstream from the Great Republic a sufficient distance on the night of December 26th and was not in any danger that night of the fire. Command of the Red Jacket was given to Captain Asa Eldridge, the former captain of the packet ship Roscius of the Collins Line, a superb navigator known around the world. A very indifferent crew was rounded up and the Red Jacket cleared New York on January 11, 1854. They had an amazingly swift voyage across the Atlantic even though there was snow, hail, and rain throughout every day of the voyage accompanied by westerly gales and the Red Jacket arrived off Point Lynas on January 23rd.
A pilot came aboard shortly after noon in stormy weather and guided her up the Mersey River to Liverpool. The Red Jacket had a dock to dock elapsed time of 13 days, one hour and 25 minutes, thus beating the record time of 13 days, 22 hours set by the Sovereign of the Seas the year before. The three best days of the Red Jacket's run were 413, 374 and 371 miles. The Red Jacket was held in such favorable esteem in Liverpool that Pilkinton & Wilson soon chartered her for a round voyage to Melbourne for the White Star Line. The Red Jacket was immediately fitted out to accommodate a large number of emigrants for the passage to Australia.
Captain Eldridge had no desire to leave the Atlantic New York - Liverpool trade and passed on command of the Red Jacket to a captain of the White Star Line's choosing, Captain Samuel Reid. The record setting best day's distance of the Red Jacket's maiden voyage across the Atlantic of 413 nautical miles in 24 hours was short-lived. Eight days before the Red Jacket had cleared New York, on January 3, 1854, the Lightning was launched at Donald McKay's shipyard in East Boston and she was soon to follow the Red Jacket across the Atlantic.
. Under Captain Samuel Reid (who owned 1/16 of her), she reached in Melbourne in 69 days. Only one clipper, James Baines, ever made the run faster.
Red Jacket served in the immigrant trade until 1861, when she became an Australian and Indian coastal freighter.
In 1872 Red Jacket joined clippers Marco Polo and Donald McKay, which "ended their days in the Quebec lumber trade,"[2] and became a lumber carrier from Quebec to London. In 1883 she was sold to Blandy Brothers, a Portuguese shipping company in the Madeira Islands as a coaling hulk. She was driven ashore in a gale in 1885.
Burkina Faso 1999 100f SG?

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. http://www.eraoftheclipperships.com/page44web7.html
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red jacket.jpg
red jacket pic.jpg

Anatol
Posts: 1037
Joined: Sun Apr 12, 2009 2:13 pm

Re: Red Jacket (clipper)

Post by Anatol » Wed Feb 08, 2017 10:05 pm

The clipper Red Jacket. The design stamp is made after painting of Frank Vining Smith: Red Jacked’
Uganda2016;20000s.
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img07815.jpg
by Frank Vining Smith. Red Jacked.jpg

Anatol
Posts: 1037
Joined: Sun Apr 12, 2009 2:13 pm

Re: Red Jacket (clipper)

Post by Anatol » Sun Oct 03, 2021 7:08 pm

RED JACKET (1853-1882), 2,305 tons, length overall 260ft, beam 44ft, depth 31ft Of softwood construction, deigned by Samuel A. Pook of Boston and built by George Taylor of Rockland, Maine. Her first owners were Seacomb & Taylor. The name Red Jacket came from the Seneca Chief of the Wolf Clan who worked as a scout for the British in the War of Independence and was presented with a British soldier's red jacket. The ship's figurehead was representation of him. The vessel sailed in early 1854 to Liverpool. The vessel was chartered by Pilkington & Wilson's White Star Line to carry emigrants to Melbourne - it was the during the Gold Rush.in Australia. She left Liverpool in May 1854 and reached Melbourne (Rock Light to Port Phillip Heads) in 69 days 13 hours 15 minutes. She had been under sail for 67 days 13 hours. On her return she was bought immediately for the White Star Line.
A rivalry had also developed with LIGHTNING which had been purchased by James Baines' Black Ball Line. RED JACKET was on the Melbourne run unti 1869.. About 1870, with her hull water soaked, she was sold into the Quebec timber trade. In 1882, she became a coal hulk at Cape Verde.
The design stamp is made after painting of Jack Spurling.
Mozambique 2020;(6x16,0)MT.
Source:http://www.spurlingandrouxwatercolours.com/mpab.html
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Clipper RED JACKET.jpg
Clipper RED JACKET.jpg (90.39 KiB) Viewed 1402 times
red-jacket.jpg
red-jacket.jpg (110.11 KiB) Viewed 1402 times

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