On the wharf the crowd surged and shouted. The ship was under weigh. Cries and cheers and goodbys reached across a widening gap of water. The Flying Cloud was off for California a-quiver with life, eager for what lay ahead, and Enoch Thacher was aboard her—aboard the ship of his dreams which he had watched grow in the Boston shipyards. Built by Donald McKay, it was a challenge to the steamboat and the gold newly discovered in California.

With this young ship's apprentice you will live through the thrills and tragedies of this maiden voyage of the greatest of clipper ships around the Horn in 1851. Through the teeth of terrific gales, with the wash of tons of leaden water over her decks, even mutiny on board, she fought her way through the sea to San Francisco in a week's less time than had any other ship before her.

From the dust jacket

Who can love the spread of canvas and the bend of the oak and not thrill to the names of the great clippers built by Donald McKay? Great Republic, Sovereign of the Seas, Lightening, Star of the Empire, and Westward Ho — these names ring from an era when the windships were the queens of the ocean and sail was king. But the most famous, the one that most securely captured the hearts and imaginations of the entire nation, was McKay’s masterpiece, the Flying Cloud.

Here is the story of Enoch Thacher, a boy whose father lost his fortune at sea, who McKay takes on during the lofting, building, and rigging of the Cloud, and who finally ships out on her for her maiden, record-breaking trip around the Horn. Accompanied by Sperry’s wonderfully vigorous drawings, this realistic and riveting narrative will keep even landlubbers pegged to their seats.

From the 1995 paperback edition