Clipper

a fast sailing vessel. The clipper is to sailing vessels what the ocean greyhound is to steamships, or the race horse to cart horses. The desire for speed led to the building of slender, graceful ships of great depth, for carrying fast freight. The superiority of steamships has caused the clipper to lose its place in public importance; but in the early half of the last century the record of the fastest clipper was of as much interest as the world's record for the trotting horse. An average of fifteen miles an hour for a long voyage was considered extraordinary.