- Thermopylae (clipper)
"Thermopylae" was an extreme composite
clipper ship built in1868 byWalter Hood & Co ofAberdeen to the design ofBernard Weymouth ofLondon for the White Star Line of Aberdeen.She measured 212'0"×36'0"×20'9" and tonnage 991 GRT, 948 NRT and 927 tons under deck. The under deck coefficient was 0,58. Rigged with
royal sails , single topgallant and double top-sails.She was designed for the
China tea trade, and set speed records on her maiden voyage toMelbourne -- 63 days, still the fastest trip under sail. In1872 she raced the clipper "Cutty Sark " fromShanghai back toLondon and won by seven days after "Cutty Sark" lost her rudder. From1882 she took part in the Australian wool trade but on this the Cutty Sark proved faster. In1897 she was sold toPortugal for use as a navaltraining ship and renamed the Pedro Nunes. ThePortuguese Navy torpedoed her at sea on October 13,1907.Further reading
* Hume, Cyril L.; Armstrong, Malcolm C. "The Cutty Sark and Thermopylae Era of Sail". Glasgow: Brown, Son & Ferguson, 1987 (hardcover, ISBN 0-85174-500-8).
* Matheson, Marny. "Clippers for the record: The story of ship Thermopylae, S.S. Aberdeen, and Captain Charles Matheson". Melbourne: Spectrum, 1984 (ISBN 0-86786-051-0).External links
* [http://www.aberdeenships.com/single.asp?searchFor=thermopylae&index=99403 "Thermopylae"] at [http://www.aberdeenships.com Aberdeen Built Ships] .
* [http://www.bruzelius.info/nautica/ships/Clippers/Thermopylae(1868).html "Thermopylae"] at [http://www.bruzelius.info/Nautica/Nautica.html The Maritime History Virtual Archives] .
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