Clipper route

The clipper route was a sea path used by fast ships called clipper ships. These ships traveled between Europe and places like the Far East, Australia, and New Zealand.

A Dutch navigator, Hendrik Brouwer, created this route in 1611. It made trips much shorter, cutting the time from about 12 months to just six months for journeys between The Netherlands and Java in the Dutch East Indies.

The clipper route went from west to east through the Southern Ocean, using strong winds called the Roaring Forties. Ships and sailors faced danger, especially when going around Cape Horn on the way back to Europe.

As new technologies like marine steam engines and canals such as the Suez and Panama Canals were built, the clipper route was used less for business. It is still considered the quickest sailing path around the world. It is used in famous yacht races like the Velux 5 Oceans Race and the Vendée Globe.

Australia and New Zealand

The clipper route from England to Australia and New Zealand, returning via Cape Horn, was the fastest way around the world for captains. This route could bring great rewards. Many ships carried grain, wool, and gold, returning with valuable goods quickly. The route went through the Southern Ocean, south of three important points called the great capes: the Cape of Good Hope, Cape Leeuwin, and Cape Horn. Ships on this route faced strong winds, big waves, and icebergs.

The journey started from England, moving south down the east Atlantic Ocean to the Equator. It then continued south through the western South Atlantic, passing islands before turning south-east. Ships entered an area called the Roaring Forties, where ice could be found. To stay safe, ships needed to stay near the north edge of this area.

Ships going to Australia and New Zealand would stop at different ports. For example, a ship from Plymouth to Sydney would travel about 13,750 miles (22,130 km). The fastest time for this trip was around 72 days, achieved by the ship Cutty Sark. Another ship, Thermopylae, traveled from London to Melbourne in just 61 days in 1868–1869.

The return trip went east from Australia. Ships stopping at Wellington would pass through the Cook Strait. Others would go around the south end of New Zealand. After passing Cape Horn, ships would travel back up the Atlantic.

Use of the clipper route dropped quickly with the arrival of modern engines and stopped completely because of World War II. A few commercial ships still used the route in 1948 and 1949.

Variations

The route a ship took depended a lot on the wind. The winds in the forties and fifties latitudes usually come from the west, but they could change. Sometimes ships would get stuck because of strong winds or calm weather.

In 1922, a ship called Garthwray tried to sail west around Cape Horn from the Firth of Forth to Iquique, Chile. After two tries, the captain decided to sail east instead and reached Chile the other way.

In 1919, another ship, the Garthneill, tried to sail from Melbourne to Bunbury, Western Australia. Because of strong winds, it had to change its route. It ended up sailing all the way around the world, passing the Pacific, Cape Horn, the Atlantic, the Cape of Good Hope, and the Indian Ocean, finally arriving in Bunbury after 76 days.

Joshua Slocum was the first person to sail all the way around the world alone in his ship the Spray from 1895 to 1898. He sailed around Cape Horn from east to west, though it wasn’t the fastest trip.

Modern use of the route

The arrival of steam ships and the opening of the Suez and Panama Canals ended the clipper route's use for major trade. However, it is still the quickest sailing path around the world.

Because of this, more people are interested in long-distance sailing for fun and sport.

Francis Chichester, a pioneer in flying and sailing, was the first to try to sail around the world using the clipper route as quickly as possible. After flying alone from London to Sydney, he began racing sailboats by himself. In 1966, he sailed to Sydney in 107 days and then returned around the world in 119 days.

Chichester's success led to the Sunday Times Golden Globe Race, the first race where sailors tried to go around the world alone without stopping. Robin Knox-Johnston was the only one to finish this race, becoming the first person to sail the clipper route alone without stopping. Today, many big sailing races follow the clipper route, including the Volvo Ocean Race, the Around Alone, and the Vendée Globe.

In 2005, Bruno Peyron and his team set a new record for sailing around the world using the clipper route, finishing in just over 50 days. Also in 2005, Ellen MacArthur set a new record for sailing around the world alone, finishing in about 72 days.