The Clipper is not really a class of ship, in the strictest sense. Sailing ships known as Clipper rightly belong to the schooner or brig class. The term Clipper is used to describe fast, three or four-masted sailing ships with a concave-shaped bow. They were developed around the middle of the 19th century in Aberdeen, Scotland, and perfected further in the USA.

In our mind's eye, the very essence of sailing is captured by images of fast sailing ships slicing through wind-whipped seas. However, most of the finest oil paintings of these swift sailing ships in their absolute prime were created by marine painters who had never actually been to sea. These painters were unlikely to have any personal experience of the way Clipper captains insisted on sailing forward under full canvas through dreadful storms - long after other ships had reefed their sails. Sailors reserved their greatest dread for leeward sails, because they were so hard to handle. They gave the ships that illusion of a pyramid of sails, so cherished by poets.

The technical perfection of these ships is demonstrated by the fact that some of the records set under sail at that time have still not been broken, despite all the high-tech equipment available to sailors in modern regattas. It is simply not possible for today's ships to bear so much sail material off such a small area of deck. One of the records still unbroken was set by the Clipper "Sea Witch" in 1850. This ship made the journey from Canton (now Guangzhou) to New York in just 74 days.