Fiery Cross

An extreme clipper ship built in 1855 by Rennie, Johnson & Rankin, Liverpool, and designed by William Rennie. Her dimensions were 174'0"(keel+stem)×31'0"×19'1" and tonnage 788 tons [OM] and 686 tons [NM].

1855 July 31: Launched at the shipyard of Thomas Vernon, Liverpool, who had taken over after the bankrupcy of Rennie, Johnson & Rankin. Bought by John Campbell, Glasgow.
1855 October 9 — December 29: Sailed from Liverpool to Melbourne in 81 days under command of Captain John Dallas.
1856 August 12 — November 24: Sailed from Foochow to London in 104 days with a cargo of tea.
1857 August 9 — November 11: Sailed from Foochow to Dartmouth in 94 days (London five days later) with a cargo of tea. The 20 days between Foochow and Anjer is the record for the passage.
1858 January 12 — April 18: Sailed from London to Hong Kong in 96 days.
1858 June 27 — October 19: Sailed from Foochow to London in 114 days with a cargo of tea.
1859 June 11 — October 26: Sailed from Foochow to London in 137 days with a cargo of tea under command of Captain Duncan.
1860 March 4: Stranded on an uncharted reef near the NW Investigator Shoals in the China Sea.

References:

Clipper ships, general references.
The Shipping and Mercantile Gazette, Wednesday, September 12, 1866. p 5.

Updated 2002-01-16 by Lars Bruzelius

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