and the strain upon their captains in driving their ships against competitors whose relative positions were unknown, was terrific. It became a confirmed habit with them to keep their ships going night and day in all weathers and at their utmost speed.
In order to appreciate what a passage of 110 days or less from an Atlantic port to San Francisco really means, we must take a few of the long passages of 1851, made by ships that were not clippers: Arthur, from New York, 200 days; Austerlitz, Boston, 185 days; Barrington, Boston, 180 days; Bengal, Philadelphia, 185 days; Capitol, Boston, 300 days; Cornwallis, New York, 204 days; Franconia, Boston, 180 days; Henry Allen, New York, 225 days; Inconium, Baltimore, 190 days. The logs of these vessels tell of long, weary days and nights of exasperating calms, and dreary, heartbreaking weeks of battle with tempests off Cape Horn.
Some of the vessels built in 1851 did not take part in the races of that year, as they were not launched until too late; and did not arrive at San Francisco before 1852. Those among them which became most famous were the Hurricane, Comet, Northern Light, Flying Fish, Staffordshire, Trade Wind, Sword-Fish, and Shooting Star. We shall hear of them later.
The record of San Francisco passages for 1851 should not be closed without mention of the pilotboat Fanny, of 84 tons; length 71 feet, breadth 18 feet 4 inches, depth 7 feet 2 inches, built by Daniel D. Kelly at East Boston in 1850. This schooner was commanded by Captain William Kelly, a brother
