Gravina (clipper)
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.jpg) Gravina | |
| History | |
|---|---|
| Name | Gravina |
| Namesake | Federico Carlos Gravina y Nápoli |
| Owner | Loring Brothers |
| Builder | Isaac C. Smith & Son (Hoboken, NJ) |
| Launched | 8 October 1853 |
| Maiden voyage | 14 November 1853 |
| Homeport | Málaga, Spain |
| Fate | Unknown; last reported sighting 1866 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Clipper ship |
| Tonnage | 818 register |
| Length |
|
| Beam | 32 ft (9.8 m) |
| Draft | 17 ft (5.2 m) ? |
| Depth of hold | 18 ft (5.5 m) |
| Decks | 1 "& Beams" |
| Armament | 2 deck guns |
Gravina was an 818-register ton clipper ship built in Hoboken, New Jersey, in 1853. A rare example of a clipper built in the United States for foreign owners, Gravina was originally homeported in Spain, though commanded by an American.
Gravina spent the early part of her career in China service, making at least two trips to Shanghai. She later roamed far and wide, making voyages to South America, Pacific destinations and Australia. Sold at Valparaiso, Chile, in 1860, the ship disappeared from the documentary record after 1866.
Gravina, a wooden-hulled clipper ship, was built in Hoboken, New Jersey, in 1853 by Isaac C. Smith & Son.[1][2] She was launched at 12:30 pm on 8 October.[1] Unusually for an American-built clipper, Gravina was built for foreign owners, the Loring Brothers of Málaga, Spain. The brothers, George, Edward and Joseph, were the sons of American expatriate George Loring, who "went to Málaga as a young man and married there a very beautiful Spanish girl of sixteen years of age."[3] Gravina was named after Spanish Admiral Federico Carlos Gravina y Nápoli, commander of the reserve fleet under the French at the Battle of Trafalgar.[3][4]
Gravina was built of oak, with copper and iron fastenings.[5] She had a length of 165 feet (50 m), keel length of 150 feet (46 m), beam of 32 feet (9.8 m), draft of 17 feet (5.2 m) and hold depth of 18 feet (5.5 m).[6] Her registered tonnage was 818.[6] She was fitted with a half poop deck,[6] and in addition to her cargo capacity, had a cabin for the accommodation of passengers.[7] For defense, she was armed with a pair of cannon.[7]
Gravina was built by the Loring Brothers with Captain Caleb Sprague, a native of Hingham, Massachusetts, in mind as her master.[3] Sprague would skipper the vessel until about 1860. His son, F. W. Sprague, was familiar with Gravina as a boy and described her in his memoirs as "a beautiful ship".[7]
