The Clippers : 271 



tion of the independent shipbuilding firm of Currier & McKay. They 

 built some vessels together but the partnership was not one of long 

 duration, and McKay was soon in business for himself. 



During this period McKay produced the Delia Walter, which was 

 engaged in trade with South America. The owner of this vessel, 

 Dennis Condry, was both impressed with McKay and with the excel- 

 lent record of his ship. By chance Condry returned from England in 

 a packet vessel that was also carrying Enoch Train, who was th^ 

 engaged in organizing his line of White Diamond packets to operate 

 between Boston and Liverpool. As a result of conversations between 

 these two travelers Train, on arrival in Boston, went up to Newbury- 

 port to meet McKay. This resulted in McKay's receiving the contract 

 to design a fleet of four packets for Train's service. It resulted also 

 in McKay's moving his yard from Newburyport to Boston. 



Below is a brief list of a few of the vessels that McKay designed 

 and built in a period of approximately ten years. McKay was respon- 

 sible for many more than these vessels but this list illustrates certain 

 things. It shows in the first place what a large volume of business 

 developed in sailing vessels just at the time when some observers in 

 the 40's were predicting that the sailing ship was finished and that 

 the steamers would absorb all their business. In the second place it 

 illustrates how rapidly McKay's ideas developed and the size of his 

 vessels along with them. In 1842 he began with the Courier of only 

 380 tons; by 1853 he had already completed the Great Republic, 4,555 

 tons, which was certainly the largest and would probably have been 

 the fastest clipper ship ever built had it not met with a tragic acci- 

 dent. 



PACKETS 



Year 



1842 



1846 



1851 



1853 



1853 



CLIPPERS 



Name Tonnage Year 



Stag Hound 1,534 ^^5° 



Flying Cloud 1,783 1851 



Sovereign of the Sea 2,421 1852 



Great Republic 4,555 1853 



