Cutty Sark

The last clipper ship to be built as a merchant vessel, the Cutty Sark was completed in 1869. It is the only remaining tea clipper ship from the 19th century.

It is said that the name of the ship comes from a Robert Burns comic poem, in which a beautiful witch is described as wearing a cutty sark, a Scottish term referring to a short chemise. The figurehead on the Cutty Sark would represent this witch.

The ship was constructed in Dunbarton, England for Captain “Jock” Willis. It was designed by Hercules Linton, a well-known ship architect of that era. The ship has a composite wrought iron frame structure covered by wooden planking and weighs 921 tons. It is 212 feet (65 meter) long.

At the time Cutty Sark was built, the tea trade between China and London was at its peak and the ship was meant to be quick so that Willis could beat his competitors across the ocean. In 1871 it won the yearly clipper competition from China to London in 107 days. However, the Cutty Sark didn’t always win. Its most famous race was against the Thermopylae the next year, in 1872. The two ships left from Shanghai on the same day but Cutty Sark lost its rudder in the middle of the journey. However, the captain continued the trip and arrived only a week after the Thermopylae. It was that race that gave the famous ship its reputation as a hearty vessel.

The ship was later sold to a Portuguese company, and in 1895 the Cutty Sark became the Ferreira. She was sold again 20 years later and renamed the Maria do Amparo. However, Wilfred Dowman, a retired shipowner who had witnessed the Cutty Sark outpacing a steamship was determined to bring the ship back to its native land. He purchased the Cutty Sark in 1922 and restored it. After his death, the Cutty Sark was used as a training ship for more than two decades. In 1954, the ship was moved into dry dock where she remains today. It opened to the public three years later.

Visitors to the Cutty Sark in Greenwich can now enjoy the ship’s status as a museum ship. Tended by the Cutty Sark Trust, the vessel is a wonderful testament to the fine ship building of the 19th century and attracts tons of visitors.

Unfortunately, the ship suffered a devastating fire in May 2007 during restoration, though some of it was spared because parts had been taken off-site for repairs. Numerous funds have been raised since that time for the repair of the Cutty Sark and work continues in hopes of restoring it to its original grandeur.

Note: The Cutty Sark cannot be visited due to a restoration project. It is expected to be open to the public again during Spring 2010.