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The Cutty Sark Take a step back in history when you board the Cutty Sark, the sole surviving clipper in the world. It offers an opportunity to see what life was like for seamen engaged in the China sea trade and the Australian wool trade of the Victorian era. During the mid 1800’s the major annual seafaring event was the 'race of the Tea Clippers' from China back to the UK, with the new season's crop. This was a prestigious event worth a considerable amount to the winning owner and crew. The Cutty Sark was built, in 1869, to be the fastest clipper in the annual race to bring the crop home to Britain. She made her maiden voyage in January 1870, and between 1870 and 1877 she carried mainly tea but was never able to win the coveted race. Her most successful year should have been in 1872, when she was leading her great rival, the Thermopylae, by 400 miles, but disaster struck when she lost her rudder in a storm. The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 saw the demise of the sea trade carrying tea crops for the sailing ships, as steamships could make the passage in half the time. It's then that the Cutty Sark moved on to the next stage in her sailing life, the wool trade with Australia. From 1878 she carried coal between Shanghai and Sydney, and wool between Melbourne and New York, but her finest hour came in the Australian wool trade to London. Her design and speed were well suited to the rough seas of the Southern Hemisphere and between 1885 and 1895 she was without compare. She still retains her eleven miles of rigging, and once carried 32,00 square feet of sail. She was recorded to have reached speeds of 17 and a half knots, and her best day's run is recorded at 363 miles. On one occasion she sailed 2,164 miles in six days, and on another, 3457, in eleven days. She once crossed from Newcastle in New South Wales to Deal in Kent in only 82 days. Visiting the Cutty Sark, now moored at Greenwich, you can tread the decks and see the officers and crews accommodation. It's all been restored to its original condition, complete with authentic ship's fittings. The displays on the 'tween deck tell the story of the ship and the tea and wool trades those many years ago. Cutty Sark Information and photograph the Cutty Sark Preservation Society |
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