User:Jncawse

The John R. Worcester was an English composite clipper ship.

Construction
The John R. Worcester was designed by William Rennie (who also designed the Black Prince, Fiery Cross, and Norman Court) built by the Marine Investment Co Ltd (Patterson, Port Glasgow, Scotland. The ship was 844 tons register and it measured 191 ft long, 32 ft wide, and 19 ft deep.

Voyages
The ‘’John R. Worcester’ sailed from Glasgow to Shanghai under Captain W. Brown in 1866 and on July 9, 1866 it sailed from Shanghai to London in 114 days with a cargo of tea. In subsequent years (1867-1877) it sailed every year from Shanghai to London or New York with tea, taking 114-142 days to London and 90-114 days to New York. On some voyages it stopped at Sydney on the outbound leg.

Captains
The John R. Worcester was captained by W. Brown (1865-1867) and Captain Wawn (1867-8). Captain Thomas Cawse captained her from 1868 to 1875, then turned her over to Captain James Cawse in 1875. Captain James Cawse brought his wife Emma on board in 1876; she recorded the outbound voyage (8/12/76- 11/22/76, Liverpool to Sydney) and the return voyage (6/4/77-10/24/77, Shanghai to London) in two diaries. There was at least one other captain in the 1880's. It was captained by Captain WC Smith from 1887 to 1889 and Captain N. Siano after 1889.

The John R. Worcester was part of a famous clipper race in 1870. "'Capt. Dalrymple of the Duke of Abercorn was evidently full of confidence that his ship could beat any other ship in Shanghai on the race home, and he proceeded to challenge every clipper which was going to load new teas. This sporting spirit led to a great deal of betting amongst the shipping fraternity, and finally the crews of the Cutty Sark, Duke of Abercorn, Serica, Foreward Ho, Argonaut, Ethiopian and the John R. Worcester waged a month's pay, to go to the ship which made the quickest passage from Shanghai to the Channel. The race was won by the Cutty Sark.

Later service
The John R. Worcester probably made its last tea run in 1877. Like most clippers, it was then shifted to the Australian wool trade. It was sold to John Stewart and Co. London, in 1884 and reduced to a barque rig. In 1889 it was sold to F. Lubrano, Castellamere, and was renamed L’Immacolata. It was grounded and dismantled in Naples in 1896 and hulked at Montevideo in 1902.