Challenger was an extreme clipper ship built in East Boston in 1853. She sailed in the San Francisco trade, and later in the guano trade in Peru.

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History
United States
Name	Challenger
Owner	W. & F.H. Whittemore, Boston; later, Samuel G. Reed & Co.
Builder	Robert E. Jackson, East Boston, MA
Launched	1853
Notes	Collided with Roswell Sprague in a gale at Bremerhaven, October 1861
Peru
Owner	N. Larco, agent for the Peruvian Government
Acquired	1863
Renamed	Camille Cavour
Fate	Abandoned off the coast of Mexico, October 1875, en route from Port Discovery to Peru, after damage during a gale. Camille Cavour's wreck drifted ashore at Manzanillo.
Notes	Coolie ship in the guano trade
General characteristics
Class and type	Extreme clipper, designed by Samuel Hartt Pook
Tons burthen	1334 tons
Length	206 ft (63 m)
Beam	38 ft 4 in (11.68 m)
Draft	23 ft (7.0 m)[1][2]

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Between 1854 and 1863, Challenger made two voyages from Boston to San Francisco, in 112 and 134 days, and five voyages from New York to San Francisco, in 115 to 133 days. In 1861, she "collided with the ship Roswell Sprague in a gale in the roadstead of Bremerhaven".^[1]

In 1863, Challenger was sold to the Peruvian Government, and renamed Camille Cavour. She was "used in the transport of Chinese coolies to the guano islands".

In 1875, she was "damaged in a gale on voyage from Port Discovery to Peru and was abandoned off the coast of Mexico. The wreck drifted ashore at Manzanillo."^[1]