China to Britain - The Great Tea Race of 1866
BY Steve Brand | Tuesday, May 20, 2025 | Features
“She was being closely tailed by Taeping and the race at this stage could hardly have been any tighter.”
Many of us know the history of the clippers, very fast sailing ships back in the 19th Century with three masts and a square rig. They had a limited bulk freight capacity and were generally narrow for their length. They were very fast for their time and almost yacht like when compared to larger sailing ships of the same period. The clippers of this era were at the leading edge of transport technology and what a wonderful sight they must have been. Many of these clipper ships sailed all over the world following the trade routes between Britain and the colonies, carrying cargo and passengers to far flung places that must have felt immensely distant back in the time before we took flying for granted.
One of the many clipper routes was, of course, between Britain and China in support of the tea trade. This route was the basis of many an informal race between ships departing from China to be the first to make landfall at the docks in London. One such race that was heavily reported on and captured the imagination of the public was The Great Tea Race of 1866. This race not only involved great skill and the ability of the crew in sailing their clippers at great speed, but the race also included the time taken to load the ships with freight. This must have been a highly exhausting and challenging task back in the days before heavy machinery.
Five ships participated in the great tea race. They were named Ariel, Fiery Cross, Serica, Taitsing, and Taeping. The aim was to arrive in London with a full cargo of tea. All of these ships were different from one another and varied in their strengths and weaknesses in terms of sea going ability. £100 was to be paid to the captain on board the winning ship and the crew would receive an extra month’s wages. The owners were offered an additional payment on every ton of cargo carried.
After three months of setting sail from China in early September 1866, Arial and Taeping were spotted at Lizard Point off the South coast of England. The two ships were by now also aware of each other’s presence. The captains and crews put everything they had into the race to the finishing point with Ariel in the lead, her 38 sails fully filled and pushed to the limit in an effort to win the race. She was being closely tailed by Taeping and the race at this stage could hardly have been any tighter.
On the 6th of September just before 10:00 am, Taeping arrived in the Old London Docks and moored up, the official winner of the race. Ariel arrived less than an hour later and so close behind, after a full 99 days of sailing, it was decided by ship’s owners to share the prize between the captains and crews.
The remaining ships arrived a relatively short time after, with Serica sailing up only one hour and fifteen minutes after Ariel. These were the great days of the clippers, amazing vessels for their time and it must have been quite an experience sailing in them. The Great Tea Race of 1866 has now gone down as part of the great historical period in which the captains and crews were at the height of their game, plying the oceans, carrying tea from China all the way back to Britain.
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