The Houqua, Samuel Russell, and Oriental had all slid down the ways into the East River from the Brown & Bell shipyard, which had become Jacob Bell's shipyard, to enter into the service of A. A. Low & Bro. All three had made quite a name for themselves over the sea-lanes of the world with many fine passages in the China trade and around Cape Horn as well. And along with the N. B. Palmer, Surprise, and Contest, their prize clipper fleet brought prosperity to the Low brothers. Who early in the summer of 1853, went calling upon the Roosevelt & Joyce shipyard, the successors to Jacob Bell, to build them another clipper, the David Brown.

The Lows had been impressed with the Jacob Bell that had been launched from the same yard the previous November 12, 1852. This clipper had been named in honor of Jacob Bell who had died before completing his extreme clipper and the work was completed by his son, Abraham C. Bell, who strove to make her "a worthy memorial to my father."

Historians have described her as "a ship of faultless model and exquisite symmetry, everywhere attracting admiration as being a perfect specimen of naval architecture and the foremost production of that famous yard." The influence of Captain Nathaniel B. Palmer had much to do with her design. Like the earlier Palmer clippers, the Jacob Bell was meant for the China trade, but upon her launching, her owners put her up for San Francisco and she made her maiden Deep Sea Derby run under the command of Captain Kilham around the Horn in 122 days. The Lows would acquire the Jacob Bell in 1856.

Work began over the summer of 1852 on the Contest, for the Lows, and built at the Westervelt shipyard. Exciting races lay ahead for this clipper and the Lows were, indeed, well pleased with her.

David D. Westervelt designed the Contest according to the Low's wishes for a sharp, but not extreme clipper to be larger than the Oriental and smaller than the Surprise, with good carrying capacity and manageable with a small crew. The Contest measured out at 207 x 38 x 21 feet and was of 1098 tons register.

Captain Nat around that time did not have all that much to do with the design and building of Low clippers anymore. But Palmer's ideas concerning the building of China clippers were much in evidence as the Contest took shape on the stocks at of Jacob A. Westervelt's shipyard at a cost of $80,000. The Low's boasted that the Contest "measured a little less than eleven hundred tons but carried 1,500 tons measurement cargo."

The Contest was launched on October 9, 1852, and had sailed in the Deep Sea Derby around the Horn under the command of Captain William Brewster on a 100-day passage to San Francisco. Upon her arrival in the harbor, she was joined by the Trade Wind that was credited with a 103-day run. The Northern Light, the extreme clipper designed by Samuel Harte Pook and launched from the South Boston shipyard of H. O. Briggs, had arrived the day before with a 117-day run from Boston.

The Contest would go on to race her two Deep Sea Derby rivals back around the Horn in ballast and much San Francisco gold dust was wagered on the outcome and vast sums were wagered in New York and Boston as well.

Northern Light and Contest

In the dawn's early light on the morning of March 12, 1853, the Contest passed out the Golden Gate followed by the Trade Wind and began their race back around the Horn to New York, with the Northern Light following a day later sailing home to Boston.

The Contest and the Northern Light had very fine 14-day runs to the equator in the Pacific. Then the Boston clipper caught the better winds in the race for the Horn and arrived there 38 days out, followed by the Contest and the next day and the two clippers were in sight of each other just after rounding the Horn.

Then the Contest, with the gales and snow squalls at her stern, flew along around the bottom of the world with a best day's run of 320 miles over a 24-hour stretch.

The Contest proved to be the better sailer while in ballast. For the next four days, the two clippers sailed within sight of each other. And upon rounding Cape Horn, the Northern Light took an eastward tack 140 miles further out in the Atlantic than the Contest, as Captain Brewster of the Contest closely followed Maury's suggested track from the Wind and Current Charts and so did the Trade Wind.

All three clippers piled on sail and raced up the South Atlantic for the line. The Northern Light found the more favorable winds further out to sea and crossed the line on May 12th, ahead of her rivals, and raced up the North Atlantic, with the figurehead of an angel in flowing white drapery with one arm gracefully extending out above her head bearing a torch with the golden flame to light the way. The Northern Light was flying a full array of ring tails, sky sails, and studding sails as she knifed her way skimming along over the ocean at a fine clip. And upon rounding Cape Cod, caught the fresh easterly breezes across Massachusetts Bay to Boston Light before taking in sail, and arrived in the Harbor on May 29, 1853, with a record run of 76 days, 8 hours.

The Northern Light won the race as well as the laurels for the fastest passage for an eastward run around the Horn from San Francisco to an eastern port. There was much rejoicing along the Boston Harbor waterfront that day as the news of the "race" swiftly spread about the city and Boston shipbuilders and ship owners now had one more thing to brag about.

Boston newspaper accounts reported that the Northern Light had spoken the Contest off the Atlantic side of Cape Horn and "passed her with ease," and the newspapers mentioned of Captain Hatch signaling the Contest that he couldn't sail in company with her for he "couldn't hold his horse." The Northern Light was also credited with a best day's run of 355 miles.

The Contest was 76 days, 4 hours out and just 286 miles off Sandy Hook when the wind gave out and it took her four days to reach New York. The Contest took her pilot off the Jersey Highlands in the late afternoon and she arrived at the Low's pier in the East River on May 30, 1853, with an 80 days, 8-hour run from San Francisco.

The Trade Wind was never far from her rivals and Captain Webber brought the clipper home from San Francisco to New York four days later with an 84-day run.

The New York newspapers in an effort to fend off the barrage of Boston boastfulness were eager to point out the merits of the Contest's round voyage around the Horn to San Francisco and back. They were quick to state that the Contest had established the all-time record of 195 days for the round voyage between those ports. They were also quick to note that the Contest had beat the Boston clippers: Telegraph, Game Cock, Meteor, and Queen of the Seas, as well as the Northern Light in the Deep Sea Derby. New York backers of the Contest had lost a great deal of money on the outcome of the return race around the Horn from San Francisco. They were also by then quite weary of hearing the ditties singing the praises of Massachusetts clippers along the South Street waterfront. So, they offered to place large sums on the outcome of another race between the two clippers. They challenged their Boston rivals to "put up or shut up," and that "if the owners of the Northern Light feel inclined to bet on a race with the Contest we will accommodate them."

Any money wagered between the rivals over the outcome of the next run around the Horn to San Francisco between the Contest and the Northern Light ended up in New York pockets. Because the Contest had the better run with a passage of 108 days beating the 122-day run of the Northern Light. The Contest also beat the Boston clippers White Swallow, John Bertram, and Wild Ranger around the Horn as well.

By the time the Contest set sail for her second voyage around the Horn, another clipper contracted by the Low's, the David Brown, was beginning to take shape at the shipyard of Roosevelt & Joyce. In appearance, the David Brown much resembled the N. B. Palmer in model and rig and was larger by 300 tons.

Her design owed much to Captain Nat. She was not an extremely sharp clipper, but was said to be "faultless" in model and appearance and was spoken of as "a beautiful ship." She was a fair size out and out clipper measuring 225 x 41 x 22:6 feet, 1717 tons. This heavily but not over-sparred clipper was named after Jacob Bell's old partner David Brown.

The David Brown was launched on October 8, 1853, and New Yorkers had high hopes that they now had another worthy contender to take on the Boston clippers in the race for the laurels and the money around the Horn. The Boston newspapers described her as "built to beat the world and the rest of mankind." Fifteen days following the launching of the David Brown, the "sharpest ship built in Boston up to this time" slid down the ways on October 23, 1853 at the East Boston shipyard of Donald McKay; the Romance of the Seas.

Earlier that year, George B. Upton of Boston had come calling upon Donald McKay to build him an extreme clipper. Upton had a lot of his own ideas as to what his ideal clipper should be and Donald McKay designed the Romance of the Seas in accordance to Upton's wishes, of which cargo carrying capacity was a low priority. What Upton wanted was a sleek, sharp racing machine "that no vessel can outsail in any waters at any time."

The Romance of the Seas was the last extreme clipper that Donald McKay built for the California trade and was certainly very different in design from the other clippers that Donald McKay was building around that time for the Australia trade, the Great Republic and the Lightning. For the "Romance" was a narrower, shallower vessel of smaller tonnage with concave lines and very long, very sharp ends.

Richard C. McKay described her thus:

In model she was a beautiful vessel. Although concave below, she was convex in the lines of her upper works, and her outline on deck was true as the sweep on a circle. She had 15 inches dead rise at half floor, about 6 inches rounding of sides, and between 4 and 5 feet sheer, which was graduated her whole length, and nearly alike at both ends. For a figurehead she had a small female figure, intended to represent Romance, with the name of Scott on one side, and Cooper on the other-the greatest romancers of the century. The stern was nearly semi-elliptical in form, and rose from the line of the planksheer, the molding of which formed its base. It was very light and graceful and tastefully ornamented with gilded carved work.

The Romance of the Seas was a heavily-sparred "out-and-out" clipper and great care was taken in balancing her spars. She carried Forbes' rig topsails like the Great Republic did. Donald McKay was much intrigued with improved rigging appliances and every clipper he built from that point on would carry them.

The passenger accommodations were most elegant and the officers and crew had comfortable quarters. The "Romance" had a jaunty air about her that immediately became apparent upon her launching as she bobbed in the water for the first time almost as if she were a racehorse champing at the bit just waiting to take off. The Romance of the Seas was a thoroughbred clipper racing machine that under ideal sailing conditions would prove to be Donald McKay's fastest clipper as well as his masterpiece.

The Romance of the Seas was towed over to the South side of Long Wharf at Boston, where Messrs. Timothy Davis & Co.'s line of clippers loaded cargo for San Francisco and 2,000 tons of cargo was hauled aboard over the month of November. In early December, Captain Phillip Dumaresq, the "Prince of Sea Captains," came aboard to take command of Upton's new clipper.

Dumaresq had left the command of the Low's clipper Surprise to take command of Upton's McKay clipper Bald Eagle on her maiden Deep Sea Derby run from New York around the Horn to San Francisco in 107 days. Dumaresq brought the Bald Eagle back around the Horn to New York in 96 days, and passed on command to Captain Caldwell, before heading off to Boston to take command of the Romance of the Seas.

In New York, Captain George S. Brewster took command of the David Brown and soon the interest in both clippers intensified and vast sums were wagered in Boston and New York as to the outcome of a race between the two. In appearance they were different with the "Romance" measuring out as the longer ship at 240 feet, 9 inches against the 218 feet of the "Brown." The Romance had the greater tonnage of the two and was a clipper of 1,782 tons against the Brown's 1,717 tons, but the Romance was of 18 inches less beam.

The David Brown cleared New York on December 13, 1853 on her maiden run around the Horn and with her rode the high hopes of the South Street shipping community, who saw her off from the Low's pier upon the turn of the morning tide as her pilot came aboard and piloted the David Brown down the East River past Battery Point. The crowds along the South Street waterfront cheered her departure and wished her a swift journey as she passed out to Sandy Hook, discharged the pilot, and caught the prevailing winds out into the North Atlantic bound for Cape Horn and the Golden Gate.

The Romance of the Seas cleared Boston three days later on December 16th. The following account is said to be of the departure from Long Wharf of the Romance of the Seas. It appeared in the Boston Herald sometime around 1916, and rings with authenticity.

Full over the din rings the voice of the mate ; 'Now then boys, heave away on the windlass; strike a light; its duller than an old graveyard.' which continues through various verses, with but little variation, until the mate calls out, "Vast heaving,' lifts his hand and reports to the captain 'The anchor's apeak, sir.'' 'Very good, sir; loose sails for and aft,' is the order from the 'old man.' Now the mate's voice roars through the ship and across the wharf, 'Aloft there and loose sails. One hand stop in the tops and crostrees to overhaul the gear.' 'Aye! aye! sir; royals and skysails? ' 'Yes, royals and skysails; leave the staysails fast. Lay out there, four or five of you and loose the headsails. Hey you in the green spotted shirt, lay down out of that; there's men enough up there now to eat those sails.'

And so the orders crowd upon each other as the ship gets under way. 'Mr. Coffin, take some of your men aft and look after the main and mizzen; put a hand at the wheel; have the ensign halliards clear; lay the accommodation ladder on deck. Let the spanker alone. Hi! there! on the foremast yard, there; if you cut that gasket, I'll split your skull; you lubber, cast it adrift. Bo'sun, get our watch tackles along to the topsail sheets. Here, some of you genteel shipmates, get that fish-davit out and hook on.'

And then, as the ship feels the ship of life in her sails:- 'Sheet home the topsails. Look out for those clewlines at the main, bo'sun; ease down handsome as the sheets come home.' And having infused a little ginger into the crew and longshoremen, the mate has the satisfaction of seeing them walk away with the three topsail halliards, singing, 'Away, 'way, 'way, yar; we'll kill Paddy Doyle for his boots.' And the ship pays off and gathers way, the crowds at the wharf giving three rousing cheers. The ensign is dipped and the clipper is on her way past Boston Light to Cape Horn.

Both clippers raced on down the Atlantic to the line with the Brown crossing the line four days ahead of her rival gaining a day on the Romance over this opening leg of the passage. From there, the Romance closed the distance between the two as the Brown fell to leeward of Cape St. Roque, where she was forced to beat around the Cape tacking five times on one day losing almost three days of her lead over her rival as a consequence. From that point on, the two clippers were never more than 150 miles apart and the two experienced the same weather and each lost a jibboom in the same gale.

The Romance rounded Cape Horn one day behind the Brown and both clippers had 13-day runs between 50° south in the Atlantic to 50° south in the Pacific and the two were 29 days from Cape Horn to the line. The Romance crossed the Pacific equator one day after the Brown, both clippers crossing at 111° west, the Brown 80 days out and the Romance 78 days out.

The Romance did not catch up with the Brown until 89 days out when she crossed latitude 30° three degrees to the east of her rival who had sailed further to the west in search of more favorable winds. The Romance was less than 13 days from the line to latitude 33° N. and the Brown found less favorable winds to the west and it took her 15 days to cross the same latitude. The Romance was now one day in the lead and about 436 miles to the Golden Gate with the Brown 16 miles further out to the west.

Light winds blew over the last week of the race and it took the Romance six days to reach the Golden Gate. The Brown covered the distance in five days steadily closing the distance between the two clippers and passed through the Golden Gate on March 23, 1854, an hour or two behind her rival.

The Romance of the Seas was credited with a 96-day, 18-hour, 15,154-mile passage from Boston, and the David Brown with a 99-day, 20-hour, 16,167-mile passage from New York. Both runs were far better than all the other clippers that had sailed from eastern ports for San Francisco around that time.

Both clippers lost little time discharging their cargoes and taking on ballast. New crewmen were rounded up to replace those who ran off to the gold fields. Nine days later on April 1st, the Brown was the first to haul out into the bay where she saluted the Romance with several guns as her rival took on her pilot and proceeded to pass on out the Golden Gate at 3:30 p.m. with the Brown following behind her.

There was much gold dust and many eastern Yankee dollars riding on this continued race across the Pacific between the two with the Romance the more heavily favored. The Romance had the better steam tug of the two and she towed the Romance out through the Golden Gate past the bar, and upon discharging her pilot, the Romance set all sail to the SSW. Her skysail and three royal studdingsails were set and would not be taken in until she arrived in Hong Kong Harbor.

Captain Brewster found that the steam tug towing the Brown was too light to handle her and discharged her pilot outside the Golden Gate. Brewster worked the Brown out over the bar under sail and proceeded to chase on after the Romance, by then five miles ahead, as the Brown's crew observed many right whales about.

Later on in the evening, the Brown came up on the lee of the Romance and passed the other clipper in the late night fog. As the morning fog lifted the following day, the Romance was 12 miles astern of the Brown. And by noon the Romance could no longer be seen from the mizzenmast of the Brown and the two clippers did not come within sight of each other again over the course of their race across the Pacific.

The Brown was the first to pass through Lema Channel on May 17th at 1:oo a.m. There, she took on her pilot at 2:30 a.m. and waited for the morning light in a becalmed sea.

When suddenly at dawn, the Romance appeared on the Brown's stern horizon. The Romance had the luck of the winds behind her as she passed to the windward of the Brown around 9 a.m. and led the way into Hong Kong Harbor, anchoring there at 11:45 a.m., with the Brown anchoring a half hour later. Again, the gold dust and Yankee dollars ended up in Boston pockets, although it must be said that the advantage that the Romance had shown over the course of the passage across the Pacific was slight and owed much to the luck of the winds.

The Romance sailed for Whampoa, and the Brown to Shanghai, where both clippers loaded tea for the passage to London. The Romance sailed from Whampoa on June 9th and made a passage to London in just under 104 days, arriving there on September 21, 1854.

The Brown cleared Shanghai on July 11th, and while passing through the Straits of Sunda on August 18th, went up on a reef running her bow three feet out of the water and her forefoot was badly twisted. Following repairs, the Brown proceeded on with her voyage and ran into a 'beauty of a gale" on September 14th. The Brown arrived at the London docks after a passage of 111 days.

The race between the two clippers was over as the Romance was chartered for a round voyage to China. Captain Dumaresq left the ship to return to Boston and Captain William W. Henry took over command and from Deal made a 99-day passage to Hong Kong ,and from there on to Shanghai. She then returned to London with a passage of 126 days and then sailed home to Boston, arriving there August 15,1855, 22 days out from the Lizard.

Captain William W. Henry was well pleased with the sailing qualities of the Romance of the Seas and wrote to his wife on April 18, 1855, during a voyage, "So far I had my usual good luck and bid fair to make a quick passage for this season of the year. I am very much pleased with the Romance. She is probably the fastest ship in the world. You know I never was a believer in 16 knots, but it is a fact that she has gone over that. The greatest day's run is 341 miles and it pleases the master that it is 20 miles more than her last captain got out of her ..."

From London, the Brown was chartered for a round voyage to Bombay and reached that Indian port in 98 days. She sailed from there to Liverpool, England in 90 days. From Liverpool, the Brown sailed home to New York in 25 days.

Howe and Matthews summed up the race between the Romance of the Seas and the David Brown:

This remarkable instance of close sailing between the two ships, neither apparently having any advantage over the other as to speed, over the longest and most difficult course in ocean transportation, was further exemplified by the passages of the two rivals from San Francisco to Hong Kong. . . .

Although no further opportunity ever occurred for the two ships to sail together, it is apparent that neither had an advantage over the other in sailing ability and both are considered as ranking among the fastest sailing ships ever built.

But still, the Romance of the Seas had brought the laurels home to Boston along with the gold dust and Yankee dollars which indeed added to the prestige and legacy of Donald McKay.

* * * * *

The Dauntless over the course of the Deep Sea Derby of 1852 had cleared Boston on October 15, 1852, and made her maiden voyage around Cape Horn under the command of Captain Miller and his daredevil crew. The Dauntless had persevered fifteen days of stormy weather and heavy seas off Cape Horn before she had put into Valparaiso.

Upon clearing that port, the Dauntless crossed the equator on January 22nd and caught the light winds up the Pacific. She entered the Golden Gate 21 days later after a passage of 116 days at sea and joined the rest of the Deep Sea Derby fleet moored at the San Francisco piers. The small exquisite sharp Boston clipper attracted much attention with her magnificent appearance, and small wonder considering that she was the most expensive clipper ever built in Boston.

On March 3rd, the Dauntless sailed from San Francisco bound for Callao, arriving there on April 16th, and sailed for Valparaiso three days later, arriving at that port on May 14th.

From there, the Dauntless sailed for Boston, reaching her homeport in 64 days. For the next three months, she was the pride of Boston Harbor as her owner, Boston merchant W. N. Goddard, went about refitting and re-rigging his prize clipper and taking on cargo for another Cape Horn run.

The Dauntless left Boston on her second voyage for San Francisco on October 23, 1853. With Captain Miller still in command, along with his dare-devil crew, only this time the fierce westerly winds and stormy seas would take a heavy toll for the Dauntless never appeared on the western side of Cape Horn, never reached her destined port of Valparaiso, and was never seen again.

Another ship to perish that year was Donald McKay's Courier, the coffee trader that he had built in Newburyport in his earlier days and had made many fine passages between New York and Rio. Under the command of Captain Wolfe, the Courier met her end on the forbidden shores of the Falkland Islands where she ran aground.

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