Fore-and-Aft : 289 



necessity for the transatlantic crossings of the challenging vessel, 

 imposed an unequal burden on the challenger. 



From a disinterested point of view, however, the significant thing 

 was not in the defeats or in the victories but in the succession of won- 

 derful ships that participated in these events for so many years. The 

 validity of the whole enterprise is exemplified in the remarkable evo- 

 lutions of hull form and of sail plan that were tried, tested and dem- 

 onstrated in these races. 



In the years while the America was demonstrating the advantages 

 of the fore-and-aft rig for speedy yachts, the square rig was at its 

 apex of popularity and utility in the field of cargo carriers, as exem- 

 plified in the clipper ships and clipper barks. It continued in opera- 

 tion until the Civil War and after that survived in a long period 

 of gradually declining usefulness. Before the Civil War America was 

 the leading and most rapidly developing maritime nation in the 

 world. The war terminated American ship construction and brought 

 the wholesale destruction of fine vessels already built. 



During the critical years when steam was developing so that it 

 might later replace sail, America was falling behind. After the war it 

 took some years for the nation to reawaken her interests in ship con- 

 struction and operation and to revive the hope that some fair share 

 of her foreign commerce should be carried in ships flying the Amer- 

 ican flag. 



By this time the procession had passed by. The era of major clipper 

 ship activity was becoming a part of history. The Suez Canal was in 

 operation. Transatlantic passenger and freight service was progres- 

 sively, year by year, traveling in the bottoms of the Cunard steam- 

 ships subsidized by the British government and then into the trans- 

 atlantic lines subsidized by the Germans, the French and other na- 

 tions. 



All this aflected the design and development of sailing vessels. 

 Competition was increasingly intense; construction costs and the 

 wages of seamen were continually rising. Having lost most of the pas- 

 senger traffic, America was seeking to retain some of its business in 

 transatlantic freight. The extreme clipper was not the type of vessel 

 for this time or for this service. Ships and barks were still being built 

 but their hulls were no longer of clipper design. Smart service, at 

 extreme speed, was no longer the watchword but rather cargo-carry- 

 ing ability, so fuller and heavier hulls were in demand. It became evi- 

 dent also that the square rig required large crews. 



