Witch of the Wave (clipper)
Encyclopedia
Witch of the Wave was a long-lived extreme clipper
in the California trade, with a sailing life of over 34 years. She held the record passage from Calcutta to Boston
.
was a young woman in a flowing white gossamer dress, with gold. One arm was extended, and she stood atop the crest of a wave in bare feet. The stern ornament was a seashell with a child, being drawn by dolphins. Both decorations were designed by John W. Mason, of Boston.
The cabins and staterooms featured luxurious finish work, "the wainscot of the main cabin being of rosewood, birdseye maple, satin and zebra wood, exquisitely polished, with cornices and mouldings of white and gold."
.
During this passage, Witch of the Wave also tied a record set by the clipper Typhoon-- 37 days from Calcutta to the Cape of Good Hope
.
, just nine days out from Hong Kong. She had sustained damage to her rudder
as the result of a collision with the barque Spartan.
, and the Trade Wind. Six clippers in all arrived in San Francisco within 30 hours of Witch of the Wave, the other two being Mandarin and Hurricane.
. She was still listed in Amsterdam in 1871, with Van Eighen & Co. as owners.
Extreme clipper
An extreme clipper is a clipper designed to sacrifice cargo capacity for speed. They had a bow lengthened above the water, a drawing out and sharpening of the forward body, and the greatest breadth further aft. Extreme clippers were built in the period 1845 to 1855.-Medium and extreme clippers:From...
in the California trade, with a sailing life of over 34 years. She held the record passage from Calcutta to Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
.
Construction
Her figureheadFigurehead
A figurehead is a carved wooden decoration found at the prow of ships largely made between the 16th and 19th century.-History:Although earlier ships had often had some form of bow ornamentation A figurehead is a carved wooden decoration found at the prow of ships largely made between the 16th and...
was a young woman in a flowing white gossamer dress, with gold. One arm was extended, and she stood atop the crest of a wave in bare feet. The stern ornament was a seashell with a child, being drawn by dolphins. Both decorations were designed by John W. Mason, of Boston.
The cabins and staterooms featured luxurious finish work, "the wainscot of the main cabin being of rosewood, birdseye maple, satin and zebra wood, exquisitely polished, with cornices and mouldings of white and gold."
Festivities greeting arrival of the new ship
Clark describes a party of two hundred people greeting the arrival of the Witch of the Wave in Salem, MassachusettsSalem, Massachusetts
Salem is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 40,407 at the 2000 census. It and Lawrence are the county seats of Essex County...
.
At about eleven o'clock, everything being ready, the Witch of the Wave, with colors flying and the Boston Cadet Band on board playing "The Star Spangled Banner," was towed out into the stream amid the shouts and cheers of a multitude of people, who thronged the wharves and shipyards along the river. After passing through the Narrows and rounding New Castle Point, the R. B. ForbesUSS R. B. Forbes (1845)USS R. B. Forbes was a steamer acquired by the Union Navy during the American Civil War. Her primary task was to prevent blockade runners from entering, or departing from, the South....
, which had been towing alongside, took her hawser out ahead and shaped a course for Cape Ann, which brought the wind well over the starboard quarter. The breeze had freshened, though the sea was still quite smooth, and this, with the clear, blue sky and bright sunshine, made a day altogether too fine to be spent on shore.
Many of those on board were interested to see what effect some canvas would have on the new clipper, so Mr. Raynes said to Captain Bertram that he thought it might perhaps be a good plan to set some sail, "just to assist the tow-boat a little." Captain Bertram, with a twinkle in his eye, said he thought so, too, and gave orders to loose the topsailTopsailA topsail is a sail set above another sail; on square-rigged vessels further sails may be set above topsails.- Square rig :On a square rigged vessel, a topsail is a square sail rigged above the course sail and below the topgallant sail where carried...
s, jib, and foretopmast staysail. The Witch of the Wave had a crew of Portsmouth riggers ... and it did not take them long to put the topsails on her. As soon as the yardsYard (sailing)A yard is a spar on a mast from which sails are set. It may be constructed of timber, steel, or from more modern materials, like aluminium or carbon fibre. Although some types of fore and aft rigs have yards , the term is usually used to describe the horizontal spars used with square sails...
were bracedBraces (sailing)The braces on a square-rigged ship are lines used to rotate the yards around the mast, to allow the ship to sail at different angles to the wind....
, she began to dart through the water like a fish, and soon ranged up on the weather beam of the R. B. Forbes, the hawserHawserHawser is a nautical term for a thick cable or rope used in mooring or towing a ship. A hawser passes through a hawsehole, also known as a cat hole, located on the hawse....
towing between them with the bightBight (knot)In knot tying, a bight is a curved section, slack part, or loop between the two ends of a rope, string, or yarn. The term is also used in a more specific way when describing Turk's head knots, indicating how many repetitions of braiding are made in the circuit of a given knot.-Slipped knot:In order...
skipping along among the blue waves in showers of sparkling spray. On board the R. B. Forbes the safety valve was lifting, with steam at thirty pounds pressure ... There was great joy on board the Witch of the Wave, with clapping of hands and waving of handkerchiefs, while the band struck up "A Life on the Ocean WaveA Life on the Ocean Wave"A Life on the Ocean Wave" is a song by Henry Russell published in 1838. The song originated from the poet Epes Sargent. One day he and Russell were walking on The Battery in New York City watching the ships enter the harbour. This scene inspired Sargent to write a poem, which Russell then put to...
." The log was hove, and she took nine and one half knots off the reel. The topsail yards were then lowered on the caps, and the reef tackles hauled out, yet with only this small canvas, the R. B. Forbes did not have much towing to do ...
Record passage from Calcutta
Witch of the Wave set the record for the passage from Sand Heads, Calcutta, to Boston—81 days, in 1853.During this passage, Witch of the Wave also tied a record set by the clipper Typhoon-- 37 days from Calcutta to the Cape of Good Hope
Cape of Good Hope
The Cape of Good Hope is a rocky headland on the Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula, South Africa.There is a misconception that the Cape of Good Hope is the southern tip of Africa, because it was once believed to be the dividing point between the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. In fact, the...
.
Voyages
- BostonBostonBoston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
to San Francisco- Capt. J. Hardy Millet, 123 days, 1851
- Capt. Benjamin Tay, 119 days, 1852
- Capt. Lewis F. Miller, 117 days, 1853
- WhampoaWhampoaWhampoa is the old English transliteration of Huangpu District, Guangzhou, in China.From there, it derives its other meanings, and can also refer to:* Relating to the Whampoa district:...
to LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, 91 days, 1852- 19,000 chests of teaTea chestA tea chest is a type of wooden case originally produced and used to ship tea to the United Kingdom. The conventional tea chest is a case with riveted metal edges, of approximate size 500x500x750 millimetres. The term is now used more widely to indicate similarly-sized cases, including cardboard...
as cargo - Best day’s run for this voyage was 338 mi.
- 19,000 chests of tea
- San Francisco to SingaporeSingaporeSingapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
, Capt. Lewis F. Miller, 46 days, 1854 - Singapore to Calcutta, 18 days, 1854
- Calcutta to Boston, 102 days, 1855
- Boston to Batavia, Capt. Shreve, 76 days, 1855
- Batavia to AmsterdamAmsterdamAmsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
; chartered for repeat voyage, 1855
Collision with the barque Spartan
On January 23, 1853, Witch of the Wave put into SingaporeSingapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
, just nine days out from Hong Kong. She had sustained damage to her rudder
Rudder
A rudder is a device used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, aircraft or other conveyance that moves through a medium . On an aircraft the rudder is used primarily to counter adverse yaw and p-factor and is not the primary control used to turn the airplane...
as the result of a collision with the barque Spartan.
1853 race with six clippers
On August 16, 1853, Witch of the Wave left Boston bound for San Francisco, under Capt. Lewis F. Miller, arriving in 117 days. She beat the Raven, the CometComet (clipper)
The Comet was an 1851 California clipper built by William H. Webb which also sailed in the Australia trade and the tea trade. This extreme clipper was very fast...
, and the Trade Wind. Six clippers in all arrived in San Francisco within 30 hours of Witch of the Wave, the other two being Mandarin and Hurricane.
Later career
In 1855, Witch of the Wave was renamed the Electra by new owners in AmsterdamAmsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
. She was still listed in Amsterdam in 1871, with Van Eighen & Co. as owners.
External links
- The New Ship Witch of the Wave, The Boston Daily Atlas, March 24, 1856
- Clippers of the Port of Portsmouth, image of Witch of the Wave
- Witch of the Wave, clipper ship card
- Witch of the Wave, oil on canvas painting
- Witch of the Wave, color lithograph
- Witch of the Wave Reel, fiddle tune