Flying Spur was a British Tea Clipper

Clipper

A clipper was a very fast sailing ship of the 19th century that had three or more masts and a square rig. They were generally narrow for their length, could carry limited bulk freight, small by later 19th century standards, and had a large total sail area...

, built of teak and greenheart in 1860.

Voyages in the tea trade

For twenty years, Flying Spur sailed with cargoes of tea between London

London

London 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...

 and the Chinese

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

 port of Foochow

Fuzhou

Fuzhou is the capital and one of the largest cities in Fujian Province, People's Republic of China. Along with the many counties of Ningde, those of Fuzhou are considered to constitute the Mindong linguistic and cultural area....

, with voyages to Canton

Guangzhou

Guangzhou , known historically as Canton or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of the Guangdong province in the People's Republic of China. Located in southern China on the Pearl River, about north-northwest of Hong Kong, Guangzhou is a key national transportation hub and trading port...

, Nagasaki

Nagasaki

is the capital and the largest city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan. Nagasaki was founded by the Portuguese in the second half of the 16th century on the site of a small fishing village, formerly part of Nishisonogi District...

, and Deal

Deal, Kent

Deal is a town in Kent England. It lies on the English Channel eight miles north-east of Dover and eight miles south of Ramsgate. It is a former fishing, mining and garrison town...

 as well.

"On 13 February 1881 she stranded on Martin Vas, North Rock in South Atlantic, having aboard cargo of coal and crew of 18 (compared to 36 in her days as tea clipper)."

The Great Tea Race of 1866

Along with nine other ships, Flying Spur sailed from China to England in The Great Tea Race of 1866

The Great Tea Race of 1866

The Great Tea Race of 1866 was an unofficial competition between the fastest clipper ships of the China tea trade to bring the season's first crop of tea to London in 1866....

, but was not considered a contender, as she left on the 6th of June; the favorites had already departed on May 30th and June 1st.
Flying Spur placed fourth in the Tea Race of 1867, "(116 days with 49,710 lbs tea). First was [Ariel|Ariel] (102 days, 1,283,000 lbs tea).