Red Jacket

 

Clipper Ship

History of the Red Jacket

The Red Jacket was built by George Thomas at Rockland, Maine in 1853.

Length overall

251'

Beam

44'

Draft

31'

Gross Tons

2305

The extreme clipper ship Red Jacket was designed by Samuel H. Pook and built by George Thomas at Rockland, Maine. She was launched November 2, 1853 and towed to New York to receive spars and rigging. The owners were Seacomb & Taylor of Boston.

The maiden voyage of the Red Jacket is one of the most famous in clipper ship annals. Captain Asa Eldridge, a Cape Cod skipper of world wide reputation, was in command and she left New York on January 11, 1854, bound for Liverpool. Through the fearsome winter gales of the North Atlantic with snow, hail, or rain every day, the Red Jacket tore along carrying every bit of canvas she could wear. Exactly 13 days, 1 hour and 25 minutes later she dropped her hook in Liverpool Harbor, an all time record smashing run. During this voyage she logged 413 sea miles in 24 hours, thereby becoming one of the seven fastest sailing ships in history. The other six that logged over 400 miles in 24 hours were: Flying Cloud, Great Republic, Donald McKay, Lightning, James Baines, and Sovereign of the Seas.

After this convincing performance the Red Jacket was immediately chartered for a voyage to Melbourne and at the completion of that voyage, was purchased by the White Star Line for $30,000. She continued in the Australian passenger trade for some time and later made voyages to Calcuttaa and other ports. Later she was used in the timber trade from Quebec to London and, after 1882, eventually went to Cape Verde as a coal hulk.

The Red Jacket was named for a Seneca Indian chief, Sagoyewatha, of Revolutionary War fame who habitually wore a red jacket given to him by the British. The Red Jacket was celebrated for the delicate beauty of her graceful lines. To the end of her sailing days she was considered the handsomest of the large American built clippers.

Our Model

The Red jacket has been built with great care and skill from the scaled-down plans based on the original lines. The hull was carved from select basswood and has been finished to give the appearance of the original ship. The hull is dull black and the bottom is antiqued copper-green to simulate the sea tarnished copper bottom of the real ship. The deck houses are white with gray tops and other fittings include detailed hatches, water casks, ship boats and brass capstan. The masts are white and natural with black yards. The base is mahogany with brass finished nameplates on each side of the name block.

Model Measurements

Length overall

21"

Height

14 1/2"

Width of main yard

5 1/2"

How to Order

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