Clipper Caper

The London times offered a prize to the captain and crew of the first ship to reach Southampton, England, sailing on March 1, 1858, from Melbourne, Australia. Five captains (Ahab, Bligh, Cook, Kirk, and Stalwart) took up the challenge, each sailing a different ship (Gallant, Maiden Fair, Osprey, Swallow, and Zephyr). Along the way, however, a different mishap befell each ship and delayed its voyage to England (elopement, mutiny, pirates, shopping, or a typhoon). Can you determine the order in which the five ships arrived, who captained each vessel, and the mishap that each ship’s crew faced in their pursuit of glory?

  1. Captain Kirk commanded the Maiden Fair.
  2. The Osprey was the third ship to arrive in Southampton after the one commanded by Captain Bligh.
  3. The ship that was delayed when its captain jumped ship on a tropical island to elope with a local lass arrived in Southampton sometime after the Gallant.
  4. The Swallow didn’t arrive in Southampton just after the ship that suffered damage in a typhoon.
  5. The ship attacked by pirates was the third to reach Southampton after the one commanded by Captain Ahab.
  6. The ship whose crew staged a mutiny to demand better beer was the fourth to reach Southampton.
  7. Captain Cook delayed his ship’s arrival by indulging his passion for shopping in tropical ports and weighing the ship down with his purchases.

Order

Ship

Captain

Mishap