12/14/2001 - ECS - ( Era of the Clipper Ships editorial voice ) Welcome to the Era of the Clipper Ships Web site, the online magazine for maritime history enthusiasts of the clipper ship era. March 25, 2001 was the date chosen to go online for March 25^th is the 152^nd anniversary of the arrival of the Sea Witch back from China to New York with a record 74-day, 14-hour passage on March 25, 1849. The winds and the weather however, not to mention a few other problems, delayed our premiere date for a number of days, but we have been up and running and have been so for close to nine months now.

The South Street waterfront went wild with the exciting news of the Sea Witch's arrival on March 25, 1849, as did the rest of New York City and the maritime world. Go right to the Sea Witch link to catch this exciting moment just as soon as you finish reading this page. Then go to the Directory and then the beginning of The Era of the Clipper Ships. What follows is a lively and intelligent account of the era of the clipper ships that brings the era to life with the addition of a fine selection of pictures that enhances this literary effort considerably with the help of Web site savvy and the Internet. This is an exciting format we hope that maritime history enthusiasts of the clipper ship era will enjoy. We welcome you aboard.

The clipper ship era actually began on December 23, 1846 when Robert Waterman took the Sea Witch on her maiden voyage out into the blustery North Atlantic Ocean. The Sea Witch was christened for the first time by the fierce northeaster that splashed against her Chinese dragon figurehead with the open mouth and partly coiled tail as the Sea Witch roared on down the North Atlantic bound for Rio De Janeiro, the Cape of Good Hope and Canton. The era of the clipper ships had begun.

Now there are somewhere around 200 book pages posted on 39 Web pages on this site for maritime history enthusiasts of the clipper ship era to enjoy. Already we are attracting notice and favorable reviews by many in the maritime world we are happy to say. We are the number three listing on the Google Clipper Ships page and we hadn't even gotten around to submitting the Web site to their search engine directory yet! So we must be doing something right that echoes the sentiment of all. We all truly miss the lofty clipper ships that once graced our seas and at long last the family of Donald McKay, of which I am a proud member, is trying to do something about this loss.

We have gotten your feedback and are planning future strategies accordingly. I do, however, already have a pretty good idea about how I want to go with this. The main focus is to be on content presented in the story and the pictures in a lively and intelligent historically accurate way that fleshes out the characters and the sailing ships of those exciting times. To bring the era to life again within the imaginations of the readers is a high priority with me. The clipper ship era has always been an endless source of fascination and the time is now right for this site about our lost American clipper ship heritage and it is now out there in cyberspace for the rest of the world to see. To my way of thinking this site is long overdue. For the 150^th anniversary of the era of the clipper ships arrived several years ago. To date no American clipper ships sail the seas.

So it is about time that someone from the family of Donald McKay said something about this loss to the rest of the world. Simply this: Why? We would like to reclaim this lost clipper ship heritage and see clipper ships built and sailed again in our lifetimes. This site is dedicated to this goal. All I can do as a member of the McKay Clan is to try and spark the imaginations of the rest of the maritime world in such a way as to lead to this goal of lofty clippers sailing the Seven Seas once again. We welcome you all to come aboard in support of this goal. There is more about all of us on the McKay Clan Page. For this is the official Web site of the family of Donald McKay.

This site is simple and easy to navigate. Just go to the Directory. Everything is there under one nutshell. We just acquired Dreamweaver 4 and Fireworks 4 software and are at last getting around to expanding the concept of this Web site as the Directory Page, Maritime Links Page and new Tradewinds pages will attest. We have survived all of our earlier cyber sea trials full of computer crashes and server problems and are at last hoisting up our studding sails and have our kites flying. We are rapidly catching up with our Saga of the Seven Seas and have posted a whole new bunch of pages recently that brings the story up through the Deep-Sea Derby of 1852-53 where the era of the clipper ships reached its zenith. Soon to appear over this Holiday Season are the Mary Ann Patten chapter followed by the Great Republic chapter. Then comes the Blackball Quartette: Lightning, James Baines, Champion of the Seas and Donald McKay. Along with the Marco Polo, Red Jacket and other lofty clippers. We do hope that maritime history enthusiasts in Canada, England, Austraalia and New Zealand will take note.

Keep an eye on the Directory Page from now on for all the latest maritime news, links, feature articles, book reviews, scuttlebutt, letters and our coverage of maritime events such as the recent launching of the Baltimore Clipper topsail schooner Privateer Lynx in Rockport, Maine. A long-lost poem attributed to the tea clipper Oriental has also surfaced recently thanks to this site. Our new Maine Tradewinds Page, Hudson River Valley Tradewinds Page and Tradewinds Around the World Page just went up! Exciting things will be happening on these pages from now on over the Holiday Season! So put this Web site on your Favorite Links Directory.

To begin this clipper ship Saga of the Seven Seas go to The Era of the Clipper Ships link and click on the first of the chapter links and that will take you to the South Street waterfront "Street of Ships" for the beginning of the tale. We cover a lot of territory here that begins with young Donald McKay arriving from Shelburne, Nova Scotia aboard a lumber schooner in the East River at the South Street waterfront in New York City in 1826. The story goes on to right through the Deep-Sea Derby of 1852-53 and the Romance of the Seas.

As already stated, there are somewhere around 200 book pages along with a fine selection of pictures that brings the story right along in a visually stunning way. That is a lot of pages, but then again, this Web site is long over due as is the book. On the Internet this story can reach a wide audience at the speed of light. For we are not content to just write another book about clipper ships that will soon begin to collect dust on the library shelves along with all the others. This serialized clipper ship Saga of the Seven Seas will grow and grow in the months to come. When completed in 2002 it will be a historical archive of the clipper ship era that will stay on the Web. The book will be published sometime next year in 2002 and will come with a CD.

I should add, of course, that the journey from this point on is going to be fun, for I enjoy working with this Web site. Over the past year I have acquired the Internet savvy to accomplish this endeavor. I also have some expert help with this project that will grow as time goes on. Other members of the McKay Clan are involved with this Web site as well, as are friends and fellow maritime history enthusiasts of the clipper ship era. For we all share similar dreams and aspirations with wanting to see such lofty clipper ships sail the seas once again. This Web site will help us all to focus upon just what we can all do to make this happen.

Right from the beginning we are setting this Web site up with a firm foundation and strong links to the rest of the maritime community around the world that includes museums and bookstores. We hope to be a vital Internet hub for the maritime world. Particularly for maritime history enthusiasts of the clipper ship era like ourselves. Just go to our Maritime Links Page and check it out. New links are going up all the time.

We support any and all efforts to build an American clipper ship today such as those of Project Sea Witch and the Shining Sea Foundation. We welcome letters where anyone can comment on any subject concerning clipper ships. You can Email us in the meantime and let us know what you think about our site.

In hindsight of the September 11, 2001 tragic acts of terrorism I believe that now more than ever that the United States of America needs a clipper ship to call its own as a symbol to the rest of the world of just where our maritime heritage comes from. See the Editorial at the bottom of our Directory Page for more on this subject.

A great effort will be made over the coming years to achieve the lofty goals that we have set for ourselves. The support of patron-benefactors is heartily encouraged at this point in time from everyone who wishes to see future efforts to build American clipper ships get out of the "Horse Latitudes" and reach fruition. After all, a whole century just went by and over that period not one single American clipper ship was launched.

You can also give us a show of support by going to our Ship's Store Page and ordering an Era of the Clipper Ships T-shirt for $20. Check out this link for further details. Also available are window transparancies with pictures of clipper ships that look just like some of the clippers that you see on this screen. We are also in the midst of setting up our Tradewinds Pages where our supporters can find a place to advertise on our pages. The Tradewinds Pages are shaping up now as we play around with a freeform table-cell format features of Dreamweaver 4 - Fireworks 4 software. These things will go a long way in helping us establish our presence on the World Wide Web. Just like all clipper ship ventures in earlier times, 150 years ago, this venture is one of Yankee free enterprise. Yes, I do hope to sell a lot of T-shirts, transparencies and advertising space and eventually sell many copies of my book and CD and go sailing. I have just chosen an interesting and creative way to try and do this on the Internet that will hopefully somehow bring about another era of the clipper ships in the New Millennium. If that is the case I will get my greatest wish to sail around the Horn aboard an American clipper ship. Whatever works. As a member of the McKay Clan I certainly have to try. So here "on spec" is The Era of the Clipper Ships.