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Cutty Sark
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The
British clipper ship Cutty Sark was one of
the last, and one of the fastest, tea
clippers to be built. Cutty Sark was built
for the Jock Willis Shipping Line and spent
time transporting tea before switching to
the wool trade, transporting wool from
Australia. For ten years Cutty Sark held the
record as the fastest clipper between
Australia and England. With greatly improved
steam technology being used on steamships,
and the opening of the Suez Canal,
steamships began to dominate the route to
Australia resulting in the sale of Cutty
Sark to the Portuguese company J. Ferreira
and Co, where she was renamed ‘Ferreira’. In
1922 She was sold to another Portuguese
company, Companhia Nacional de Navegacao,
where she was renamed Maria do Amparo before
being sold to a retired English sea captain,
Wilfred Dowman. Cutty Sark was employed as a
training ship by Dowman who operated her out
of Falmouth, Cornwall. Cutty Sark was later
taken over by the Thames Nautical Training
College at Greenhithe where she was used as
an auxiliary cadet training ship until she
was handed over to the Cutty Sark
Preservation Society. She was restored in a
custom built dry dock in Greenwich where she
remains on display as a museum ship.
Why
was Cutty Sark Built?
Cutty Sark was built to order for
shipping tycoon John Willis. He wanted a
fast ship to compete with the clipper
Thermopylae which had been built in Aberdeen and
had set a record time for sailing from
London to Melbourne.
Who Designed Cutty Sark?
Willis chose Scottish designer and
shipbuilder Hercules Linton to design and
build Cutty Sark. The inspiration for the
bow shape appears to have come from another
of his ships, The Tweed, which he’d taken
Linton to see in dry dock. The Tweed had
been built in Bombay Dockyard and Willis
believed that her performance was
exceptional.
Where and When was Cutty Sark
Built?
Cutty Sark was built at a shipyard
on the River Leven in Dumbarton,
Scotland. The contract for the
construction of Cutty Sark was won
by the shipbuilders Scott & Linton
in February 1869 with construction
to be completed, to Lloyd’s A1
standard, within six months. Captain
George Moodie, who was to be Cutty
Sark’s first captain, supervised the
build on behalf of Willis. A
requirement, by the Lloyd’s
inspectors, for additional
strengthening led to delays in the
build and work was halted when Scott
& Linton ran out of money. The
shipbuilders William Denny &
Brothers completed Cutty Sark after
the contract was taken over from
Scott & Linton by agreement.
When was Cutty Sark Launched?
Cutty Sark was launched, by Captain
Moodie’s wife, on November 22, 1869.
Cutty Sark was then taken to Denny’s
yard where her masts were added, and
later to Greenock to be fitted with
her rigging.
Where did Cutty Sark Get Her
Name?
The name Cutty Sark came from the
Robert Burns poem Tam
O’Shanter. A
character in the poem, a witch
called Nannie, is given the nickname
Cutty-sark as she is wearing a shirt
that is too small for her. Cutty-sark
is 18th Century Scots for short
shirt. The figurehead of Cutty Sark
is the witch Nannie holding the tail
of Tam o’Shanter’s horse which she
managed to grab while chasing him.
How Big is Cutty Sark?
Cutty Sark has an overall length of
280ft, a beam of 36ft, a draught of
22ft 6ins and displaces 2,100 tons
of water. Her mainmast is 146ft, her
foremast 130ft and her mizzenmast
109ft. She had 32,000 sq ft of sail
which propelled her to a maximum
speed of 17.5 knots. She held a
complement of between 28 and 35
crew. Her Gross Registered Tonnage
was 963. She had been constructed
using three different types of wood,
English Oak, American Rock Elm and
East India Teak.
The First Tea Voyage of Cutty
Sark
Cutty Sark was brought to London in
January 1870 to load cargo for her
first voyage. On February 16, 1870,
Cutty Sark left London, heading for
Shanghai, loaded with beer, spirits
and wine. After many issues and
accidents with the rigging, Cutty
Sark arrived in Shanghai 104 days
later. Cutty Sark was loaded with
tea and her return journey began on
June 25, 1870. She arrived in London
110 days later on October 13,
completing the first of eight tea
voyages, from China, that Cutty Sark
would undertake.
Cutty Sark Races Thermopylae
In 1872 Cutty Sark came into direct
competition with a rival clipper,
Thermopylae. They left Shanghai,
China, on the same tide and headed
for London remaining close to
each other while they sailed down
the China Sea. Having built up a
lead of 400 nautical miles over
Thermopylae, Cutty Sark lost her
rudder in a heavy gale. Thermopylae
went on to win the race while Cutty
Sark was fitted with a new rudder
that had been made from spare timber
by the ship’s carpenter Henry
Henderson.
Cutty Sark’s Captain Resigns
Robert Willis, the brother of the
owner, was aboard the Cutty Sark
while it raced Thermopylae, and when
the rudder was lost he insisted that
Captain Moodie take Cutty Sark to
the nearest port. A fierce argument
ensued with Moodie refusing to make
port and Willis remaining critical
of him. Despite Moodie’s seamanship
in dealing with these problems
being praised by the shipping
community, he resigned in protest.
Cutty Sark Sets a Record
Captain F.W. Moore was given command
of Cutty Sark and completed one
round trip to Shanghai before being
replaced by Captain W.E. Tiptaft. In
November 1875, Cutty Sark left
London for Sydney where she arrived
in a record 73 days, having recorded
speeds of 17 knots.
Cutty Sark’s Last Cargo of Tea
Cutty Sark took on her final
cargo of tea at Hankow, China, in
1877. By this time clippers were
finding it increasingly difficult to
compete with steamers for the tea
trade, and despite returning to
Shanghai again, Cutty Sark was
unable to load any more tea.
Cutty Sark Runs Aground
In November 1877, while sheltering
from a storm, Cutty Sark was
anchored with several other ships
off the east coast of Kent. Her
anchor failed and she was blown
through the other ships, damaging two
before running aground on the
Goodwin Sands. She was towed off by
two tugs and went to London for
repairs.
Cutty Sark’s First Cargo of Wool
In December 1877, Cutty Sark left
London for Sydney where she took on
coal for Shanghai. On arrival at
Shanghai there was no tea to bring
back to London. Captain Tiptaft died
while there and was replaced by the
First Mate, James Wallace, who took
the ship back to Australia. While there
Cutty Sark received her first cargo
of wool and headed for New York.
Cutty Sark Turns to Tramping
At this point Cutty Sark turned to
ocean tramping; the practice of
finding cargo wherever she could
around the world. The owner, John
Willis, altered the sail plan so
that he could reduce the complement
of crew in an effort to economize. In
1880 Cutty Sark took on coal at
Penarth and headed for China.
Murder aboard Cutty Sark
While in the Indian Ocean, on route
to China, the First Mate Sidney
Smith hit Seaman John Francis with a
capstan handle. The blow, which he
received for failing to respond to
an order, killed him. Captain
Wallace allowed Smith to leave the
ship at Java which led to a mutiny.
To make matters worse, Cutty Sark
became becalmed in the Java Sea for
three days. With the unrest and the
becalming, the strain became too
much for Wallace and he committed
suicide by jumping overboard.
Cutty Sark Enters the Wool Trade
Wallace was replaced by William
Bruce who was suspended following an
inquiry in New York, and Captain F.W.
Moore took command once again. Cutty
Sark left Newcastle, New South Wales,
for London in December 1883, with a
cargo of wool and tallow. She
arrived in London in 83 days, which
was 25 days faster than any other
ship that year.
Cutty Sark Under Captain Woodget
Cutty Sark remained a wool clipper
until 1895 and Captain Woodget, who
took command in 1885, proved to be
her most exceptional master. His
first voyage to Australia, in 1885,
established Cutty Sark as the
fastest of the Australia wool
clippers when she returned from
Australia in 73 days, beating
Thermopylae by 7 days. In 1889,
Cutty Sark was the subject of an
entry in the
log of the British Liner SS
Britannia, which stated that she was
overtaken, while steaming at 15-16
knots, by a sailing ship (Cutty Sark) travelling at 17 knots.
Cutty Sark Flies the Portuguese
Flag
With steamships now dominating
the wool trade, it became
unprofitable to use Cutty Sark in
that role so, in 1895, John Willis
sold her to the Portuguese company
J. Ferreira and Co., and her name
was changed from Cutty Sark to
Ferreira. She returned to tramping
and sailed to destinations such as
Angola, the Cape Verde Islands,
Mozambique, New Orleans, Rio and
England.
Re-rigging of Cutty Sark
Cutty Sark had always been a ship
rigged vessel, however she lost her
mast during bad weather off the Cape
of Good Hope in May 1916. With WW1
under way it was difficult to obtain
materials to carry out the necessary
repairs so she was re-rigged as a
barquentine with her mizzen and main
masts becoming aft and fore rig.
Cutty Sark Becomes the Last
Operational Clipper
By 1922, Ferreira (Cutty Sark) had
become the only clipper in the world
to still be operating. After being
caught in a storm in the English
Channel she was towed into Falmouth
where she was recognised as the
Cutty Sark by retired Captain
Wilfred Dowman, who was operating
Lady of Avenel as a training ship.
Cutty Sark Returns to England
Dowman resolved to buy her, however
she returned to Lisbon where she was
sold to another Portuguese company
and renamed Maria di Amparo. Despite
this, Dowman continued to pursue the
ship and eventually bought her. He
returned her to Falmouth where he
gave her back her original name
Cutty Sark and had her re-rigged to
as near her original arrangement as
possible. He then used her as a ship for
training cadets and as a museum
ship.
Cutty Sark Sails for the Final
Time
Dowman had wanted to return Cutty
Sark to seaworthy condition, but
following his death in 1936, his
widow donated Cutty Sark to the
Thames Nautical Training College at
Greenhithe. In 1938, crewed by
cadets, Cutty Sark journeyed under
sail, for the final time, mooring in
the River Thames at Greenhithe,
where she
began her time as an auxiliary
training vessel alongside HMS
Worcester.
The Cutty Sark Preservation
Society
In 1949 it was decided that Cutty
Sark was no longer required, and in
1951 she was moved to Greenwich for
the 1951 Festival of Britain.
Following interest by the National
Maritime Museum and London County
Council, the Cutty Sark Preservation
Society was formed under the
patronage of Prince Philip the Duke
of Edinburgh. On May 28, 1953, the
Thames Nautical Training College
donated Cutty Sark to the Cutty Sark
Preservation Society.
The Restoration of Cutty Sark
Restoration work was begun on Cutty
Sark while she was in the East India
Docks, however she was moved to a
custom built dry dock at Greenwich
where the Duke of Edinburgh had laid
the foundation stone. Once in the
dock, it was sealed and the river
wall was rebuilt. Restoration
continued and on June 25, 1957,
Queen Elizabeth II, accompanied by
Prince Philip the Duke of Edinburgh,
opened Cutty Sark to the public.
Cutty Sark Damaged by Fire
By 1998 Cutty Sark was in need
of major conservation work and a
£25m project began in November 2006.
Cutty Sark was closed to the public
and dismantling began. Disaster
struck on May 21, 2007, when Cutty
Sark caught fire and burned for
several hours before the London Fire
Brigade brought it under control.
The fire resulted in an additional
conservation cost of £10m and a
delay of one year. Following an
investigation it was concluded that
an industrial vacuum cleaner that
had been left on over the weekend
may have caused the fire.
Cutty Sark Restoration Completed
The restoration was completed by
April 2012 when Cutty Sark was
re-opened to the public. A second
fire occurred, on deck three, on the morning of
October 19, 2014. A
small part of the deck and hull
timbers were damaged but Cutty Sark
was reopened to the public not long
afterwards.
Class and Type: Clipper
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Complement: 28 to 35 Crew
Displacement: 2,100 tons -
Length: 280ft overall -
Beam: 36ft -
Draught: 22ft 6ins
Propulsion: 32,000 sq ft
sail
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Masts: mainmast 146ft, foremast
130ft, mizzenmast 109ft
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Speed: 17.5 knots
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