In the mid 19th century, the world's trade routes were dominated by clippers. These great cargo ships designed with one thing in mind - speed. Tea was very fashionable in Victorian society, and each clipper was desperate to win the race back to London, such was the premium on each season's first crop. The 15,000-mile race from China was beset with dangers, from pirates to typhoons, and the clippers were not designed with safety in mind. In 1866, the Great Tea Race was fought between 16 clippers and resulted in the eclipsing of the previous record time. Public imagination was fired to such an extent that vast wagers were placed on which ship would win, and two new, cutting-edge, super-fast clippers were commissioned: Thermopylae and, soon after, the Cutty Sark. Both boats made use of the latest Victorian technology and had very similar designs. Their similarity placed the onus on the skill and bravery of their respective captains and crews in the many exciting races they fought over the tea route, constantly breaking records, and, after the Suez Canal and steam ships rendered that route unprofitable, the wool route from Australia, crossing the infamous roaring forties, tackling Cape Horn and adding yet another major danger to the catalogue of risks that the clippers ran - icebergs. Speed Machines recaptures these great days of sail power, detailing the races, technology and characters involved, and features archive footage of, and first-hand testimony from those that sailed, the last of the square-riggers, which were still in operation in the middle of the 20th century.