Ships Through the Ages: The "Dreadnought," The Clipper Ship - "Flying Cloud," Old New Bedford Whaler

King, Frederic Leonard, 1879-1947 · 1934–1935

The Dreadnought: This 19th-century vessel was a forerunner to the modem armored warship. The Dreadnought was the queen of the clipper fleet commanded by Captain Samuel Samuels of the American merchant marine. The Dreadnought holds the record for the nearly three thousand mile run between Sandy Hook, New Jersey and Queenstown, Ireland (at nine days and seventeen hours) and possessed an intimidating armament, outfitted as part of a naval arms race between the England and Germany. / Flying Cloud Clipper Ship: This ship was built in 1851 by East Boston shipbuilder Donald McKay, who was known for the manufacture of extreme, record-setting clippers. The vessel was part of the fleet owned by sea merchant Enoch Train of East Boston. On her maiden voyage, the Flying Cloud broke all speed records for the passage from New York City around Cape Horn to San Francisco, and set a nautical record for the route between New York and San Francisco, which was instrumental in supporting the California Gold Rush of 1848-1855. / Old New Bedford Whaler: In the 1760s, New Bedford, Massachusetts became the center of American whaling, and it was from this port that whalers first ventured from the Atlantic into the Pacific in search of whales. These whaling vessels were usually of three hundred to five hundred tons and were fitted with windlasses, devices for lifting heavy weights, for raising the whale's blubber, the boilers for separating the fat from the tissue, and tanks or barrels for holding the oil. This enabled the processing of multiple whales at a time, as opposed to older ships that were only able to manage single whales. The windlasses and boilers can be seen on the deck of the Whaler depicted here.