When gold was discovered in California, there was an overnight demand for swifter sailing ships to carry much needed merchandise to the miners. In San Francisco eggs were selling for one dollar each, coffee at four dollars a barrel. Sometimes a sailing ship could earn the entire cost of its construction on its first commercial voyage.

The answer to the demand for speed-at-any-cost was the extreme clipper ship, as streamlined as any fish or bird. Donald McKay was the greatest builder and designer of these handsome vessels. From his yards in East Boston came some of the swiftest and most beautiful sailing ships the world has ever seen.

The very names of these vessels read like a poem: Stag Hound, Flying Cloud, Staffordshire, Flying Fish,Sovereign of the Seas, Westward Ho!, Great Republic, Lightning. Every launching was a gala occasion. Schools were closed for the day and crowds gathered for the supreme moment when, to stirring music and wild applause, the latest creation of the talented designer slipped down the ways to float like a swan upon the waters.

Fitted with clouds of snowy sail, these sleek greyhounds of ocean commerce were immediately engaged in the profitable California trade—south to stormy Cape Horn, then northward to San Francisco. Frequently there were exciting races between rival clippers. The graceful Flying Cloud once made the run to California in an incredible 89 days and 8 hours.

From the dust jacket