Steve Young, age 13, of Dodge City, Kan., for his question:

HOW MANY SAILS WERE ON A CLIPPER SHIP?

The clipper ship was the fast, slender sailing craft that was developed in the United States in the mid 1800s. Designed for speed, the ships came in various lengths and always with many large sails mounted on tall masts. Some of the clipper ships had as many as 35 sails.

The name “clipper” came from the way ships “clipped off” the miles.

Traders used clipper ships to bring tea from China and wool and gold from Australia. Clipper ships also carried passengers across the Atlantic ocean and around Cape Horn to California during the gold rush of 1849.

Perhaps the most famous builder of clipper ships was Donald McKay, a Canadian. McKay did most of his work in East Boston. When launched in 1853, his Great Republic was the largest sailing ship in the world. It was 325 feet long and carried a crew of 130.

A fast clipper ship could cross the Atlantic Ocean in 12 days and six hours. A trip from New York City around Cape Horn to San Francisco could be made in a then fast 89 days.

A record run was made in 1854 by a clipper ship named Champion of the Sea. It traveled 465 miles in just 24 hours. It took steamships more than 25 years to beat this record.