The rivalry which had existed between nation and nation now continued between ship and ship, between skipper and skipper, shipowner and shipowner. This led to the finest development of sailing ships, and as long as the word remains in the English language, so long will these clipper races remain famous alike for the skill as for the sporting instinct in the crews that got them home in record time. [Illustration: FIG. 73. THE “ARIEL” AND “TAEPING,” TWO OF THE FINEST TEA-CLIPPERS, RACING HOME, OFF THE LIZARD, ON SEPTEMBER 6, 1866.] Among the most celebrated ships of the ’sixties were the Black Ball liners _Flying Cloud_ and _Scomberg_; the Aberdeen clipper liners _Thermopylæ_, _Thyatera_; whilst among the China clippers were the _Sir Lancelot_, which was lost in the Bay of Bengal in a cyclone in 1896, the _Black Adder_ and the _Cutty Sark_. Other famous tea clippers were the _Ariel_, _Taeping_, _Serica_, _Fiery Cross_ and _Taitsing_. The first two of these will be found in Fig. 73, in which they are seen off the Lizard on September 6, 1866. They started together with _Serica_ from Foo-choo on May 30, and lost sight of each other till they reached the English Channel. _Taeping_ arrived in the London Dock (the same day she had passed the Lizard) at 9·45 P.M., while _Ariel_ arrived at the East India Dock at 10·15 P.M., or with half an hour’s difference after racing for over three months on end. _Serica_ arrived only a few hours later. In the thrilling picture before us, these two ships are seen with stun’s’ls and staysails set. The foretopmast staysail in both ships is stowed since the foresail with its projecting stun’s’l would otherwise blanket and render it useless. The improved lines at bow and stern to which we referred just now are here seen at their best. Two of the fastest sailing vessels ever built were the _Thermopylæ_ and the _Sir Lancelot_. The former especially, had a marvellous capacity for speed. In one day, in the year 1870, she made a run of 330 knots, or 380 statute miles, being an average of 16 miles an hour. The _Sir Lancelot_, for seven consecutive days, kept up an average of over 300 miles a day. It was the _Thermopylæ_, which in 1869 was the first tea ship home, having made the passage in 91 days, but the _Sir Lancelot_ presently eclipsed even this wonderful passage in 89 days, being the fastest clipper ever built.