From the equator to the Golden Gate 21 “ 18 “ 23 “ --- --- --- Total 105 “ 106 “ 110 “ This was a great victory for the _Raven_, the only ship of her tonnage that ever outsailed the _Sea Witch_, to say nothing of vanquishing the large and famous _Typhoon_, a ship more than double her size. It should, however, be remembered with regard to the _Sea Witch_, that she was at that time over five years old, and had led a pretty wild life under Waterman, while she had known no peace with Frazer in command, and had been strained and weakened by hard driving. Moreover, a wooden ship, after five or six years, begins to lose her speed through absorbing water, and becomes sluggish in light airs. In her prime and at her best with Waterman in command, the _Sea Witch_ was probably the fastest sailing-ship of her inches ever built. The California clippers were, of course, racing all the time, against each other and against the record, and the strain upon their captains in driving their ships against competitors whose relative positions were unknown, was terrific. It became a confirmed habit with them to keep their ships going night and day in all weathers and at their utmost speed. In order to appreciate what a passage of 110 days or less from an Atlantic port to San Francisco really means, we must take a few of the long passages of 1851, made by ships that were not clippers: _Arthur_, from New York, 200 days; _Austerlitz_, Boston, 185 days; _Barrington_, Boston, 180 days; _Bengal_, Philadelphia, 185 days; _Capitol_, Boston, 300 days; _Cornwallis_, New York, 204 days; _Franconia_, Boston, 180 days; _Henry Allen_, New York, 225 days; _Inconium_, Baltimore, 190 days. The logs of these vessels tell of long, weary days and nights of exasperating calms, and dreary, heart-breaking weeks of battle with tempests off Cape Horn. Some of the vessels built in 1851 did not take part in the races of that year, as they were not launched until too late; and did not arrive at San Francisco before 1852. Those among them which became most famous were the _Hurricane_, _Comet_, _Northern Light_, _Flying Fish_, _Staffordshire_, _Trade Wind_, _Sword-Fish_, and _Shooting Star_. We shall hear of them later. The record of San Francisco passages for 1851 should not be closed without mention of the pilot-boat _Fanny_, of 84 tons; length 71 feet, breadth 18 feet 4 inches, depth 7 feet 2 inches, built by Daniel D. Kelly at East Boston in 1850. This schooner was commanded by Captain William Kelly, a brother of her builder, and arrived at San Francisco February 18, 1851, 108 days from Boston. She passed through the Straits of Magellan and thus saved a considerable distance; but even allowing for this, her passage was a very remarkable one for a vessel of her tonnage, and reflects much credit upon the skill and courage of her captain and his plucky companions.