Hurricane was a prominent and exceptionally fast extreme clipper built in Hoboken, New Jersey, in 1851 by Isaac C. Smith. With a burthen of 1,608 tons, she was the largest vessel produced by Smith’s shipyard and was constructed from high-quality live oak, with a white oak keel, kelson, and frame, topped with a deck made of live oak and locust. Her design emphasized speed and strength, featuring copper and iron fastenings, square bolted throughout, and an overall length of 230 feet (70 meters), with a 215-foot (66 meters) deck, a beam of 40 feet (12 meters), and a draft of 20 feet (6.1 meters). She had two decks and was equipped to carry both cargo and passengers. Her rigging was notably sophisticated, with a gracefully rising bow, rounded stern, and a brass rail along the poop deck. The bow was decorated with an eagle’s head inscribed with her name in gilt, creating a striking visual impression. Her sails included rolling topsails with “HURRICANE” emblazoned on the foretopsail, emphasizing her shipshape appearance. She was renowned for her sleek, sharp lines, which minimized water resistance and contributed to her remarkable speeds, reputedly reaching up to 18 knots. Hurricane’s service was marked by record-breaking voyages. Her maiden voyage in 1851 was completed in 120 days, with a notable 66-day passage from Rio de Janeiro to San Francisco, one of the fastest in history. She set multiple speed records, including a 100-day passage from New York to San Francisco in 1854—an extraordinary feat for the era—and made several transpacific crossings to China, Hong Kong, and India, often in record times. Her fastest New York–San Francisco voyage took only 85 days, and her 1854 voyage was celebrated as one of the most extreme and efficient sailing performances of her time. After a successful career in American hands, Hurricane was sold to British interests in 1860, renamed Shaw-Allum, and her subsequent activities remain obscure, with her last appearance in shipping registers recorded in 1876. Her legacy as an outstanding example of extreme clipper design and speed underscores her maritime significance during the peak of the clipper ship era.

This description has been generated using GPT-4.1-NANO based on the Vessel's wikidata information and then modified by ShipIndex.org staff.