Between 1850 and 1858, Donald McKay of East Boston built 31 clipper ships which sailed with exceptional speed. The Flying Cloud was McKay's crowning glory.

The typical passage of a merchant ship between New York and San Francisco in the 1850s was about 200 days. The gold rush, however, created highly profitable markets for goods supplied to the gold fields of California. Overland routes were more time-consuming and were therefore not as favorable for shipping goods or human cargo.

In 1851, the Flying Cloud made her 16,000 mile maiden voyage around the Horn from New York to San Francisco in 89 days and 21 hours. She broke her own record in 1854 making the passage in 89 days, 8 hours.

Josiah Perkins Creesy the captain of the Flying Cloud, and Eleanor "Nell" Creesy his navigator and wife were both Marblehead natives.