By the mid-1860s, the clippers' annual homeward passage with the new season's tea crop had become a race and the contest fought out in 1866 became the most famous of them all. At the end of May that year, four of the tea trade's fastest carriers - 'Ariel', 'Fiery Cross', 'Serica' and 'Taeping' - were all loading cargo at Foochow; 'Ariel' cleared the dockside first but minor problems with tugs and tides in the estuary delayed all four until, by noon on 30th May, the quartet of contenders were all in open water. The run home to England proved heroic, with the four ships passing and re-passing each other on many occasions, but by the time 'Ariel' and 'Taeping' reached the Scillies, they were out in front with 'Serica' a few hours behind them. Practically neck-and-neck, the two leading clippers raced up the English Channel logging 14 knots for much of 5th September. At 8 o'clock the next morning, 'Ariel' signalled her number off Deal with 'Taeping' only ten minutes astern of her. Reaching the Nore, 'Taeping' picked up the better of the two available tugs and arrived off Gravesend to await the tide just ahead of her running mate. Still a race to the last, 'Taeping' - drawing less water than her rival - docked in London at 9.47pm., 'Ariel' tied up at 10.13pm. and 'Serica' got in at 11.30pm., just as the dock gates were closing. It was a breathtaking finish to the 99-day dash across the world and the closest result possible to a dead heat.
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