Challenger (1853 clipper)

Content sourced from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Challenger was an extreme clipper ship built in East Boston in 1853. It was designed by Samuel Hartt Pook and weighed about 1,334 tons, with a length of 206 feet, a beam of 38 feet 4 inches, and a draft of 23 feet.

Originally, Challenger was owned by W. & F.H. Whittemore of Boston, and later by Samuel G. Reed & Co. She sailed the San Francisco trade and later the guano trade in Peru. Between 1854 and 1863, Challenger completed two Boston–San Francisco voyages in 112 and 134 days, and five New York–San Francisco voyages in 115–133 days.

In October 1861, she collided with the Roswell Sprague in a gale at Bremerhaven. In 1863, Challenger was sold to the Peruvian Government and renamed Camille Cavour. She was used to transport Chinese workers to the guano islands.

In October 1875, after being damaged in a gale while en route from Port Discovery to Peru, she was abandoned off the coast of Mexico. The wreck drifted ashore at Manzanillo.