Rakehell Dynasty — Michael William Scott

From the first time he saw the ship in full sail like a winged bird against the sky, Jonathan Rakehell knew the clipper held his destiny.

First he must persuade his New England family that the future of their shipping business lay in this amazingly fast vessel. He must build a clipper, sail it, and, in proving its worth, prove his own.

But there were others whose plans ran counter to his: an ambitious brother-in-law, the woman the family had chosen for him, the bribed skipper of his ship, the wily profiteers in the opium trade in faraway China, and a girl who believed in making her own destiny.