Captain Donald MacKinnon and the Tea Race

Captain Donald MacKinnon was born in Heanish in 1828 and became an apprentice sailor aged sixteen. He gained his Masters certificate at 23. As a sign of things to come, he was presented with a gold watch for making the fastest voyage between the St Lawrence river and Glasgow: nineteen days.

China tea was a luxury in the tea houses of London in the mid-nineteenth century. Traders competed to be the first with the season's crop, leading to the first Tea Race in 1856. In 1866 MacKinnon, now captaining the tea clipper Taeping, found himself in the Chinese port of Fuzhou competing in a strong field. The Fiery Cross had won the prize five times in four years. The Ariel was another favourite.

After 16,000 miles of racing and 100 days at sea, the Taeping and the Ariel raced up the English Channel neck-in-neck under full sail. Arriving at Dungeness station the Taeping took the faster tug, and her shallower draught allowed her to inch into dock 30 minutes before her rival. The Ariel made her way into the harbour an hour later on the same tide, in what was agreed was the most exciting clipper race of all time.

The bonus that the tea attracted was split between the two ships, but MacKinnon won the captain's prize, with a further £500 from the vessel's owner. He promptly gave every member of the crew a sovereign.

Captain Mackinnon returned to Tiree to a hero's welcome. It was said that the Duke added a field, Pàirc a’ Chrannaig- 'the field of the pulpit or mast top'- to the family's croft in recognition.

As told by John Holliday, author and chairman of An Iodhlann, the historical centre on Tiree. The full story is here.

More information on visiting the area can be found here.