Footnotes

By the late 1820s the stocks of opium at Calcutta had greatly increased from previous years, and it was clear that the traditional one passage per year between India and China could not keep up with demand. Captain William Clifton persuaded the Governor General of India, Lord Bentick, to back his idea of constructing a fast, sleek clipper which could complete three round trips per year. The Howrah Dock Company was commissioned to construct a 255 ton barque rigged vessel with a flush deck with little or no sheer, so that in monsoon conditions she would encounter little wind resistance. Raking masts also lessened the strength of resistance.

The first true opium clipper, Red Rover was launched from the Hooghly River at Calcutta on 12th December 1829. She departed that port 17 days later with 800 chests of opium, and arrived at Macao on 17th February 1830, after sailing though the northeast monsoon in the China Sea. An equally fast return passage to Calcutta resulted in a round trip of 86 days, beating all previous British records. Further rapid passages followed, and such was the vessel's prowess that she soon came under the watchful eye of Jardine Matheson, who bought a half share in her in 1833, and on Clifton's retirement in 1836, completed full ownership. In the 1820s Singapore had become a free port and became a regular port of call between Calcutta and Hong Kong. Red Rover made several calls at Singapore during the 1830s and 1840s, her fastest passage being just 12 days in January 1836.

Other clippers were built or bought by Jardine Matheson, but none were as successful as Red Rover. Even as late as May 1850, more than 20 years after her maiden voyage, she made her fastest return passage to Hong Kong of 78 days. Her final passage departed Calcutta on 6th July 1853, but she was caught in a typhoon in the Bay of Bengal and never heard from again.