Performance

On many of her voyages, the ship did not meet with favorable winds; nevertheless "in moderate breezes she was conceded to be a very fast ship and in strong winds frequently logged 16 and 17 knots. Her best day’s run ... was 358 miles."

Race to San Francisco, 1851

The Stag Hound sailed from New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

 on February 1, 1851 for San Francisco with a crew of 46 men. She was so heavily sparred that, at full sail, she carried almost 6,000 square yards of canvas. This was more sail area

Over-canvassed sailing

A sailing boat that is carrying too much sail for the current wind conditions is said to be over-canvassed. An over-canvassed boat, whether a dinghy, a yacht or a sailing ship, is difficult to steer and control and tends to heel or roll too much...

 than most able seamen and their officers knew how to handle in those days, and after only 6 days, a gale blew out her main topmast

Topmast

The masts of traditional sailing ships were not single spars, but were constructed of separate sections or masts, each with its own rigging. The topmast is one of these.The topmast is semi-permanently attached to the upper front of the lower mast, at the top...

 and all three topgallant masts.

Despite this mishap, she beat the John Bertram and the Sea Serpent

Sea Serpent (clipper)

The Sea Serpent was an 1850 extreme clipper that sailed in the San Francisco trade, the China trade, and the transatlantic lumber trade. She was one of the longest lived clippers, with a service life of 36 years and 5 months.-Race to San Francisco, 1851:...

to Valparaíso

Valparaíso

Valparaíso is a city and commune of Chile, center of its third largest conurbation and one of the country's most important seaports and an increasing cultural center in the Southwest Pacific hemisphere. The city is the capital of the Valparaíso Province and the Valparaíso Region...

.

The Stag Hound's crew raised a jury rig and reached California in 113 days (108 days at sea and 5 days in port), a very fast time for a partly dismasted vessel. The Stag Hound then proceeded to Guangdong

Guangdong

Guangdong is a province on the South China Sea coast of the People's Republic of China. The province was previously often written with the alternative English name Kwangtung Province...

 to load a cargo of tea

Tea

Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by adding cured leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant to hot water. The term also refers to the plant itself. After water, tea is the most widely consumed beverage in the world...

. The entire round-the-world voyage earned a profit of $80,000 in 1851 U.S. dollars, which was enough to inspire the construction of a fleet of California clippers in future years.

Mutiny

“Up till the time of her loss the Stag Hound seems to have been unusually free from accidents. True, she lost spars on her first voyage, but so did most all the early clippers and her after record shows that the underwriters were seldom called on ... She had one mutiny

Mutiny

Mutiny is a conspiracy among members of a group of similarly situated individuals to openly oppose, change or overthrow an authority to which they are subject...

 on board, at Anjer

Anyer

Anyer is a town in Banten, formerly West Java, Indonesia, fifteen kilometres south of Merak. It is home of a forty metre lighthouse built by King Willem III of the Netherlands in 1885 as a memorial for the townspeople killed by the eruption of Krakatau, which destroyed the town.It is also the...

, in 1860, where the first and second mate were reported stabbed by members of the crew. Captain Hussey was in command at the time."

Loss of the ship

A fire broke out on board about 45 mi. south of Pernambuco

Pernambuco

Pernambuco is a state of Brazil, located in the Northeast region of the country. To the north are the states of Paraíba and Ceará, to the west is Piauí, to the south are Alagoas and Bahia, and to the east is the Atlantic Ocean. There are about of beaches, some of the most beautiful in the...

, Aug. 2, 1861, at 1 AM, as the ship was en-route from Sunderland, England under Capt. Wilson, bound for San Francisco with a cargo of coal. The crew was able to contain the fire until 5 PM, when they had gotten 4 boats out and salvaged what was possible. At that point, the ship burned rapidly, and within one hour the masts went over the side. The crew arrived in Pernambuco the following morning.

Image of the ship

• Stag Hound, illustration

External links

• Clipper Ship Stag Hound of Boston, construction and design, from "Monthly Nautical Magazine and Quarterly Review"
• Stag Hound, The Maritime History Virtual Archives
• The New Clipper Ship Stag Hound, "Boston Daily Atlas", Dec. 21, 1850
• The Clipper-Ship Stag Hound of Boston, "Boston Daily Atlas", Jan. 26, 1852
• Stag Hound, "Boston Daily Atlas", Feb. 3, 1852, rescue of captain and crew of the Russian brig La Sylphide
• Letter from crew member of Stag Hound, "Boston Daily Atlas", Aug. 16, 1852