The Paul Jones was a Medford-built ship, launched in 1843, that brought the first cargo of ice to China.

Voyages

Paul Jones sailed from 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...

 on Jan. 15, 1843, on her maiden voyage, arriving in Hong Kong

Hong Kong

Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...

 in 111 days, under captain N.B. Palmer

Nathaniel Palmer

Nathaniel Brown Palmer was an American seal hunter, explorer, sailing captain, and ship designer. He was born in Stonington, Connecticut.-Sealing career and Antarctic exploration:...

.

The ship made a fast passage in 1848, from Java Head

Java Head

Java Head is a prominent cape at the extreme western end of Java, at the Indian Ocean entrance to the Sunda Strait. Java Head is a bluff at the sea's edge with higher land beyond, visible from a significant distance at sea, with deep water close to the shore....

 to New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

, in 76 days.

First cargo of ice to China

Paul Jones sailed in the ice carrying trade, which had been built up over the course of more than two decades by the "Ice King", Frederick Tudor. Tudor experimented with various materials for packing and insulating bulk ice, such as "rice and wheat chaff, hay, tan bark, and even coal dust." He eventually settled on sawdust. When Tudor extended the business from Charleston, Savannah, New Orleans, and Havana to the Far East, Paul Jones brought the first cargo of ice

Ice

Ice is water frozen into the solid state. Usually ice is the phase known as ice Ih, which is the most abundant of the varying solid phases on the Earth's surface. It can appear transparent or opaque bluish-white color, depending on the presence of impurities or air inclusions...

 to China.

R.B. Forbes

Robert Bennet Forbes

Captain Robert Bennet Forbes , was a sea captain, China merchant, ship owner, and writer. He was active in ship construction, maritime safety, the opium trade, and charitable activities.-Captain, opium trader and humanitarian:...

 sent a small quantity of ice to India aboard Paul Jones in 1843, and a full cargo aboard the ship Bombay in 1847.

Captain Forbes, in his reminiscences, has slightly different dates: "The Paul Jones, in 1844, took the first American ice to China, and, on her way to Bombay, landed apiece at Singapore; whereupon the Singapore Free Press congratulated the people on the prospect of getting ice from China! In January, 1847, I was concerned in shipping the first cargo of ice in the ship Bombay, to Whampoa

Huangpu District, Guangzhou

Huangpu District is one of the ten districts in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, People's Republic of China.-History:...

."

Role in design of the first clipper ship

In 1843, the A. A. Low & Bros. representative in Canton, William Low, and his pregnant wife Ann had been passengers on a very slow and frustrating trip home from Canton with Captain Nathaniel Palmer

Nathaniel Palmer

Nathaniel Brown Palmer was an American seal hunter, explorer, sailing captain, and ship designer. He was born in Stonington, Connecticut.-Sealing career and Antarctic exploration:...

 on the Paul Jones. "To vent his frustration [Captain Nat] began carving a block of wood into the shape of what he thought the ideal hull of a Canton trader should look like, one that .. 'would outsail anything afloat' ... "He incorporated John W. Griffiths

John W. Griffiths

John Willis Griffiths was an American naval architect who designed the first true clipper ship.His first ship, the Rainbow, was viewed with shock as a difference in design, until she made the round trip from New York to Canton in 180 days instead of the normal year.-Books and...

' ideas concerning a sharp concave bow with his own ideas of a fuller flat-bottomed hull."

Upon arrival in New York, they approached A. A. Low & Bros.

Abiel Abbot Low

Abiel Abbot Low was an American entrepreneur, businessman, trader and philanthropist who gained most of his fortune from the China trade, importing teas, porcelains, and silk, and building and operating a fleet of reputable clipper ships.- Early life :Abiel Abbot Low was one of twelve children of...

 with the new design, which was further developed and built by David Brown of Brown & Bell shipyard. The ship, Houqua

Houqua (clipper)

The Houqua was an early clipper ship with an innovative hull design, built for A.A. Low & Brother in 1844. She sailed in the China trade.-Name:...

, launched in 1844, was considered by many to be the first clipper ship

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...

.

External links

• Photograph of sailing ship Paul Jones, San Francisco Public Library