The famous clipper race, between the Ariel and Taeping in 1866, bringing back tea from China to London. Clippers were built for speed and before the opening of the Suez Canal there was an annual clipper race. The winners earned a bonus for the first tea cargo delivered.
Tudor sailors like this, most likely civilian crewmen for merchant vessels, often found themselves involved in sea battles as England and Spain fought for control of the great Atlantic sea routes.