Name Flying Spur Out of service 1881 Launched 1860 Draft 5.89 m | Cost £13.787 Class and type Extreme clipper Length 56 m Builder Aberdeen | |
Owner John Robertson & Co, London Fate Wrecked on Martin Vas, North Rock, in the South Atlantic. | ||
Flying Spur was a British tea clipper, built of teak and greenheart in 1860.
Contents
Voyages in the tea trade
For 20 years, Flying Spur sailed with cargoes of tea between London and the Chinese port of Foochow, with voyages to Canton, China; Nagasaki, Japan; and Deal, Kent, England, as well. As a tea clipper, she had a crew of 36.
Along with nine other ships, Flying Spur sailed from China to England in The Great Tea Race of 1866, but was not considered a contender, as she left on 6 June; the favourites had already departed on 30 May and 1 June.
Flying Spur placed fourth in the Tea Race of 1867, with a time of 116 days, carrying 49,710 pounds of tea. First in the rae was Ariel, with a time of 102 days, carrying 1,283,000 pounds of tea.
Loss
On 13 February 1881, Flying Spur "was wrecked on Martin Vas, North Rock, in the South Atlantic Ocean while carrying a cargo of coal and a crew of 18."