Cutty Sark

The Cutty Sark was, in 1869, one of the last sailing clippers to be built, and she is the only classic clipper still surviving. She is now preserved in dry dock at Greenwich in England.

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:For the story behind the name, and for other uses, see the article Cutty-sark.

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The ship is named after the fleet-footed witch featured in the poem Tam o' Shanter written by Robert Burns. She was designed by Hercules Linton and built in 1869 at Dumbarton in Scotland, by the firm of Scott & Linton, for Captain John Willis, and launched November 23 of that year.

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The Cutty Sark was destined for the China tea trade, at that time an intensely competitive race across the globe from China to London, with immense profits to the ship to arrive with the first tea of the year. However she did not distinguish herself in this trade; in the most famous race, against Thermopylae in 1872, they left Shanghai together on June 18, but after two weeks Cutty Sark lost her rudder after passing through the Sunda Strait, and arrived in London on October 18, a week after Thermopylae, for a total passage of 122 days. Her legendary reputation is supported by the fact that her captain chose to continue this race with an improvised rudder instead of putting into port for a replacement and still managed to only be beaten by one week.

1869: 1869 is a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar)....

Clipper: A clipper was a very fast multiple-masted sailing ship of the 19th century. Generally narrow for their length, limited in their bulk freight carrying capacities, and small by later 19th century standards, the clippers had a large relative sail area. "Clipper ships" were mostly products of British an...

Dry dock: The dry dock is a place where ships come to be serviced or repainted. Many ships are built in dry docks, allowing them to be launched in a more gradual fashion than the gravity-assisted launches of yore....

Cutty Sark related Images and Photos (experimental)

Thermopylae and Cutty Sark	Noah's Ark I	Noah's Ark I	Noah's Ark
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