Snow Squall

Built in South Portland in 1851, Snow Squall holds the record for the fastest round trip between New York and Rio de Janeiro at 53 days. Snow Squall was an extreme clipper ship built for the China trade. She was built for speed with a sharp, narrow hull, and an enormous amount of sail. She was launched by Cornelius Butler at Turner's Island and purchased by Charles R. Green of New York for $30,410. In March 1864, Snow Squall ran aground in the Straits of Le Marie, a strait between Isla de los Estados and the Argentine portion of Tierra del Fuego. She was moved to Port Stanley in the Falkland Islands, a 365 mile distance. In July, she was found damaged beyond repair, condemned, and sold - seven years short of her 20-year expected useful life. In 1979 she was rediscovered in the Falklands, and in 1982 a 32-foot portion of her bow and other remains were returned to Maine. Since 1995 the bow resides at the Maine Maritime Museum, Bath, Maine. It remains a solitary reminder of American-built clipper ships.