"Fastest Ship in the Tea Trade, Named after a F Leet-Footed Witch" - The Evening Standard (London, England), May 21, 2007 | Online Research Library: Questia Read preview Article excerpt THE Cutty Sark is thoughtof as one of Britain's best-loved maritime landmarks, the world's sole surviving tea clipper and a monument to the age of sail. But in her day she had another reputation as one of the fastest vessels around. In the tea trade, speed was all. Getting the first of the new season's tea back from China to London was worth great profits for a clipper's owner and the Cutty Sark was built to win that race. Designed by Hercules Linton, the Cutty Sark was built in 1869 in Dumbarton, Scotland, by the firm Scott & Linton for a captain by the name of Jock "White Hat" Willis and launched in November of that year. She was named after a fleet-footed witch in the old Scottish legend of Tam O'Shanter, which was later turned into a poem by Robert Burns: no-one ever knew the precise reason why.

Three years after she was launched she got her chance to prove her speed in 1872 when she was was pitted against the Thermopylae in the annual race back from China. She left Woosung on 17 June and by 7 August she was a good 400 miles ahead of her rival. But bad luck befell her when her rudder broke, and after twice being repaired in heavy seas, she finally limped home on 19 October, 122 days after leaving China and a week behind the Thermopylae. Her captain, George Moodie, retired from his command due to stress, and the Cutty Sark would never come that close to winning the race again. Indeed, she spent more of her life in dry dock than she did as a tea clipper. In all, she made eight voyages to China to bring back tea, but in the end clippers had to give way to steamships, which were narrower and could pass through the newlybuilt Suez Canal. They might not have been quite so fast as the clippers, but they were more reliable, and that was what mattered.

The Cutty Sark's speed was still invaluable, however, and after taking various cargoes round the world coal from Japan to China, jute from Manila to New York she entered her most successful phase, working for the Australian wool trade. Despite being halfway through her working life of30 years, she turned in some impressive voyage times: she sailed between London and Sydney in as little as 67 days. Known as the fastest vessel in the business, in 1889 the Cutty Sark was involved in a famous incident involving the crack P&O steamship, the Britannia. The Britannia was doing between 14.5 and 16 knots when the Second Officer, Robert Olivey, noticed a sailing ship passing at 17 knots. He could scarcely contain his astonishment in the log which said: "Sailing ship overhauled and passed us!" But with steamships making inroads into the wool trade, "White Hat" Willis sold the Cutty Sark in 1895 to the Portuguese firm of Ferreira, and she was renamed after the firm. The Ferreira was a regular sight in Rio, New Orleans, Mozambique, Angola and Britain.

Still capable of 16 knots, she survived until 1916 when she was dismasted in bad weather off Cape Town. Converted into a barquentine with a fore and aft rig she lasted as a working ship until 1922 when she was badly damaged in a Channel gale. A retired skipper, Wilfred Dowman, saw her when she was being repaired in Falmouth, and decided she should be preserved. He bought her and she became a cadet training ship. The last time she went to sea was in 1936. In 1938, Dowman's widow presented the ship to the Thames Nautical Training School at Greenhithe.

… Subscribe to Questia and enjoy: Full access to this article and over 10 million more from academic journals, magazines, and newspapers Over 83,000 books Access to powerful writing and research tools Article details Subscribe to Questia and enjoy: Full access to this article and over 10 million more from academic journals, magazines, and newspapers Over 83,000 books Access to powerful writing and research tools Article details Fastest ship in the tea trade, named after a fleet-footed witch | Daily Mail Online Fastest ship in the tea trade, named after a fleet-footed witch Last updated at 09:54 21 May 2007 The Cutty Sark is thought of as one of Britain's best-loved maritime landmarks, the world's sole surviving tea clipper and a monument to the age of sail. But in her day she had another reputation - as one of the fastest vessels around. In the tea trade, speed was all. Getting the first of the new season's tea back from China to London was worth great profits for a clipper's owner - and the Cutty Sark was built to win that race.

Designed by Hercules Linton, the Cutty Sark was built in 1869 in Dumbarton, Scotland, by the firm Scott & Linton for a captain by the name of Jock "White Hat" Willis and launched in November of that year. She was named after a fleet-footed witch in the old Scottish legend of Tam O'Shanter, which was later turned into a poem by Robert Burns: no-one ever knew the precise reason why. Three years after she was launched she got her chance to prove her speed in 1872 when she was was pitted against the Thermopylae in the annual race back from China. She left Woosung on 17 June and by 7 August she was a good 400 miles ahead of her rival. But bad luck befell her when her rudder broke, and after twice being repaired in heavy seas, she finally limped home on 19 October, 122 days after leaving China and a week behind the Thermopylae. Her captain, George Moodie, retired from his command due to stress, and the Cutty Sark would never come that close to winning the race again.

Enlarge Indeed, she spent more of her life in dry dock than she did as a tea clipper. In all, she made eight voyages to China to bring back tea, but in the end clippers had to give way to steamships, which were narrower and could pass through the newly built Suez Canal. They might not have been quite so fast as the clippers, but they were more reliable, and that was what mattered. The Cutty Sark's speed was still invaluable, however, and after taking various cargoes round the world - coal from Japan to China, jute from Manila to New York - she entered her most successful phase, working for the Australian wool trade. Despite being halfway through her working life of 30 years, she turned in some impressive voyage times: she sailed between London and Sydney in as little as 67 days. Known as the fastest vessel in the business, in 1889 the Cutty Sark was involved in a famous incident involving the crack P&O steamship, the Britannia. The Britannia was doing between 14.5 and 16 knots when the Second Officer, Robert Olivey, noticed a sailing ship passing at 17 knots.

He could scarcely contain his astonishment in the log which said: "Sailing ship overhauled and passed us!" But with steamships making inroads into the wool trade, "White Hatî Willis sold the Cutty Sark in 1895 to the Portuguese firm of Ferreira, and she was renamed after the firm. The Ferreira was a regular sight in Rio, New Orleans, Mozambique, Angola and Britain. Still capable of 16 knots, she survived until 1916 when she was dismasted in bad weather off Cape Town. Converted into a barquentine - with a fore and aft rig - she lasted as a working ship until 1922 when she was badly damaged in a Channel gale. A retired skipper, Wilfred Dowman, saw her when she was being repaired in Falmouth, and decided she should be preserved. He bought her and she became a cadet training ship. The last time she went to sea was in 1936. In 1938, Dowman's widow presented the ship to the Thames Nautical Training School at Greenhithe. In 1951 she took part in the Festival of Britain celebrations.

By then, the college had found another training vessel, and a new home had to be found for the ship. Her plight was noticed and in 1952 the Cutty Sark Preservation Society was formed under the leadership of Frank Carr, director of the National Maritime Museum, and the patronage of HRH the Duke of Edinburgh. The ship was permanently installed in a stone dry-dock at Greenwich on the Thames, and over three years was fully restored to her appearance as an active sailing vessel. Since her official opening by the Queen in 1957 - which was broadcast live on the BBC - the Cutty Sark has been seen by 15 million visitors from all over the world. In the Nineties, structural problems were first identified in her hull. The metal plates lining it were corroded by salt. A survey suggested that if nothing was done, she would become unsafe within ten years. She was awarded a grant of £13 million by the Heritage Lottery Fund for a £25 million restoration project. Repairs started last November to preserve as much of the original fabric as possible.

The work would strengthen the weakened frames, replace the keel, main deck and metal sheathing and replace the props with a new support system to give an even support to the hull. A canopy was to have been built to cover the ship at waterline level to protect the hull and improve security. One of the most dramatic aspects of the programme was to have been the raising of the ship by three metres to allow visitors to get a better view of the majestic hull and graceful lines. The ambitious programme meant the Cutty Sark was closed to visitors, who have been confined to a pavilion next to the ship. Launching the conservation programme, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, Tessa Jowell, said: "The Cutty Sark is a special part of our history. It has delighted and inspired young and old for many years." The newly conserved ship had been due to open in August next year.

Historic Clipper Ship Damaged by Fire : NPR Historic Clipper Ship Damaged by Fire Embed Embed Historic Clipper Ship Damaged by Fire Historic Clipper Ship Damaged by Fire Embed Embed May 21, 20074:00 PM ET Rob Gifford The Cutty Sark, the historic British ship that once represented the peak of development of sailing cargo vessels, has been badly damaged by fire in London. Police are investigating reports that the fire might have been an act of arson. ROBERT SIEGEL, host: A fire in London has badly damaged the historic sailing ship Cutty Sark. The vessel was the fastest ship of its day and it was one of the last relics of the 19th century tea trade between China and Britain when clipper ships raced each other to bring tea to London. NPR's Rob Gifford reports from London. ROB GIFFORD: The fire broke out just before 5 o'clock this morning in a dry dock beside the River Thames where the Cutty Sark was undergoing a $50 million restoration. The fire was brought under control within two hours but it was soon clear there had been extensive damage to the ship. Eric Kentley works for the Cutty Sark Trust.

He said the damage was considerable but not beyond repair. Dr. ERIC KENTLEY (Consultant, Cutty Sark Trust): It can be saved. It's certainly not completely devastated. The timbers of the lower part of the hull look to be scorched but intact. I mean, they are five, six inches thick timbers so they should be okay. I don't think there's any question of losing the Cutty Sark. We will put her back together, but it's going to take much, much longer and a lot more money than we originally thought. GIFFORD: The Cutty Sark has become a London landmark, with a best-selling brand of whiskey named after it and 15 million visitors since it opened to the public. 280 feet in length and weighing in at 979 tons, it was regarded as the ultimate development of a merchant sailing vessel when it left on its first voyage to Shanghai in 1870. The ship made a number of record-breaking runs from China to England, bringing the first tea of the season to the London market. But sail power was soon replaced by steamships and for the last 50 years, the vessel has been preserved as a tourist attraction on London's River Thames.

Chris Livett form the Cutty Sark Trust called the ship a national treasure. Mr. CHRIS LIVETT (Chairman, Cutty Sark Trust): If you think of three famous ships in the world, the Cutty Sark would probably be the top. She's significant in many, many ways. For her construction, for what she did for England when she was trading, the way she used her sails, the type of trade that she was engaged in, the type of construction, the people that were involved in that construction. She is part of our national heritage and is something that we are determined to conserve. GIFFORD: Police say they are treating the fire as suspicious. Surveillance cameras showed several people in the area in the early hours of the morning when the fire started, but investigators say so far they have no evidence of arson. Rob Gifford, NPR News, London. SIEGEL: Here's my question about the Cutty Sark, why is it called that? Well, by even asking, it's proof of what a Scotsman I am not. Cutty Sark is from the most famous line of one of the most famous poems by Scotland's most famous poet, Robert Burns.

The 1790 poem is called "Tam O'Shanter." What it did for nautical names is nothing compared to the poem's legacy in the hat business. Anyway, young Tam encountered some witches including one that is wearing a Cutty Sark - a skimpy or short undershirt. A sark that is cutty. A garment that she wore as a girl but has outgrown. Here's how that part of the poem goes, read by Marilyn Wright. Ms. MARILYN WRIGHT: (Reading) Her cutty sark, o' Paisley harn, that while a lassie she had worn. In longitude tho' sorely scanty, it was her best, and she was vauntie. SIEGEL: Tam is so taken by this spectacle that he yells out the most famous line in the poem... Ms. WRIGHT: Weel done, Cutty-sark! SIEGEL: The witches hear him and chase him and during the pursuit, the witch with the cutty sark pulls the tail off his horse but Tam escapes. The figurehead of the ship named Cutty Sark portrayed Robbie Burns' beautiful young witch from the poem Tam O'Shanter.

Copyright © 2007 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at for further information. NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by Verb8tm, Inc. , an NPR contractor, and produced using a proprietary transcription process developed with NPR. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record. Fire Devastates Historic Clipper Ship Fire Devastates Historic Clipper Ship Embed Embed Places to visit - ships Places to visit There are a number of historic ships & boats on the Thames and in Docklands Those listed below are open to visitors HMS BELFAST Morgans Lane, Tooley Street SE1 2JH. Tel 020 7940 6300. A powerful cruiser built by Harland & Wolff in Belfast in 1936-8. In 1939 it was damaged by a mine but was rebuilt by 1942 and covered Russian convoys and supported allied landings on D-Day.

It served in the Far East from 1945 and performed peacekeeping duties before becoming a floating barracks at Portsmouth in 1963. Saved from the scrapyard by the Imperial War Museum it was moved to the Thames for public opening in 1971. Visitors can now explore its seven decks. Open daily 10-6 (Mch - Oct) 10-5 (Nov - Feb). Charge for adults but children free. SS ROBIN Tilbury Dock. Tel 020 7538 0652 The world's only complete coastal cargo steamer. It was built at Thames Ironworks, Orchard House Yard, Bow Creek in 1890 and fitted out in East India Dock with its engines installed in Dundee. Cargoes were carried between Britain and Europe until 1900 when the ship was sold to Spain. In 1974 it was about to be scrapped but was rescued by the Maritime Trust and steamed back to England. It was moored for at time at St Katherine's Dock but moved under the LDDC to West India Quay.

Having undergone a major restoration in Lowestoft it has been given a berth in the Royal Victoria Dock near Millennium Mills whilst further work is carried out to prepare it for opening in 2013. GOLDEN HINDE (Replica) St Mary Overie Dock, Cathedral Street SE1 9DE. Tel 08700 118 700. A full sized reconstruction of the 16th century ship in which Sir Francis Drake circumnavigated the world between 1577-80. Authentically hand-crafted it was built in Devon and launched in 1973. It retraced Drake's route in 1979-80 crewed by a Master, Mate, Cook and 10-12 deckhands, living as the original 60 crew would have done. It now operates as a living history museum running a schedule of education programmes for schools and families. At other times it is open to the public for self guided tours with exhibits and artifacts on five decks. Thames Foreshore and Southwark & the Borough walks STEAM TUG PORTWEY South Dock (east end).

Tel 07973 139491. Constructed at Harland & Wolff in Govan and launched in 1927. It served coaling companies in the South West with a period on war service in 1942-6. It worked until 1967 when it was saved from scrap. Since 1982 it has been owned by a trust and based in London. Money from the Heritage Lottery Fund and the efforts of dedicated volunteers has enabled major repairs to be undertaken. A booklet on the ship's history has also been produced. Usually open to visitors on Wednesdays 2-9pm. Deptford & Millwall and Surrey Docks walks. CUTTY SARK Cutty Sark Gardens SE10 9HT. Tel 020 8858 3445 This ship was built in Dumbarton in 1869 and is the last of the tea clippers. The name means 'short shirt' as worn by the witch Nannie in the Burns poem 'Tam O'Shanter'. It brought tea from China until 1877 but with the opening of the Suez Canal switched to general cargoes.

Between 1883-1895 it served the Australian wool trade. It was then sold to Portugal which used it to trade with its colonies. In the 1920s it was purchased by a Cornish mariner and given for use as a training ship. It went on display at Greenwich in the 1950s, partly as a memorial to the men of the Merchant Navy. It reopened in 2012 after a major restoration. Greenwich walks Visiting ships are sometimes open to the public. These are usually moored alongside HMS Belfast, in the West India or St Katherine's Docks or at Woolwich Arsenal Pier. The following are not open as attractions but can be seen at close quarters and are accessable in some instances (ie to diners) HQS WELLINGTON is the white ship moored at Victoria Embankment. Tel 020 7836 8179. A Grimsby Class sloop launched in 1933 it first served in New Zealand. It was on convoy duty through World War II and assisted with the Dunkirk evacuation.

It was purchased in 1947, having been in reserve at Milford Haven and was converted at Chatham to become the Livery Hall of the Master Mariners. The Master Mariners wished to form a guild after World War I. They received a Royal Charter in 1930 and were granted livery in 1932. The vessel has occasional open days. Visits can also be arranged for those interested in maritime history and guided tours are available for groups (nominal cost to include refreshments). Thames Foreshore and Inns of Court walks HMS PRESIDENT is the blue ship moored at Victoria Embankment. A sloop of World War I it now serves as a venue for special events. Thames Foreshore walk TS QUEEN MARY on north bank near Waterloo Bridge Built in 1933 at a cost of ï¿½62,000 at William Dennys in Dumbarton. It provided excursions on the Clyde for 1500 passengers. The ship was bought to London in the 1980s as a pub/restaurant with spaces for hire and was refurbished in 1997.

THREE SISTERS (Replica) Tobacco Dock, off The Highway E1 This is a copy of a 330 ton ship built at Blackwall Yard in 1788. It took manufactured goods to the East & West Indes and returned with tobacco and spices. It was set up as a visitor attraction dealing with pirate history. Shadwell & Wapping walk SEA LARK (Replica) Tobacco Dock, off The Highway E1 This is a copy of an 18th century American built merchant schooner. It was captured by the Admiralty during the Anglo-American War in 1812-4. It was set up as a visitor attraction with a 'Treasure Island' theme. Shadwell & Wapping walk DAME DE SERK Nelson Dock, off Rotherhithe Street SE16 This French Navy training barque, built in 1952, serves as a restaurant to the Scandic Crown Hotel. Surrey Docks walk THAMES SAILING BARGES St Katherines (West) Dock The early versions were wind-powered. Hundreds operated carrying corn and hay from East Anglia.

They needed only a skipper and mate or man and boy and could even be sailed alone. Many of the sails were painted with a red substance. A number are moored in St Katherines including RAYBEL, PHOENICIAN, ADIEU, BENC, MARJORIE & ARDWIN (?). Shadwell & Wapping walk THE LIGHTSHIP St Katherines (West) Dock This was built in Copenhagen in 1877 and utilised around the Danish coast. It was seized by the Germans in 1943 but returned in 1946. It was used until 1972 then was converted into a restaurant (currently closed). Shadwell & Wapping walk CONTINENTAL BARGES West India Dock A number are moored alongside the Museum of London Docklands including DANA and MARIA. The LEVEN IS STRIJD was built in Holland in 1928 and carried grain. In 1985 it travelled under its own steam to its present mooring and is now available for private hire. The PRINS serves as the Prenelle Gallery.

ST PETER was a Dutch freight barge which was refitted and brought across under its own steam in 2003. It is now a floating church with lunchtime talks at 1:05 on Wednesdays and 1:15 on Thursdays. Sunday services are at 4pm (with Sunday School & creche) and 6:30pm. Canary Wharf Estate and East to West India walks THE MASSEY SHAW South Dock This firefloat is named after the brigade's first Chief Officer Eyre Massey Shaw. It was commissioned by the LCC in 1935 and constructed by J Samuel Whites of Cowes IOW at a cost of ï¿½18,000. As one of the Dunkirk 'Little Ships' it rescued 600 soldiers and played a major role on the Thames during the Blitz. It was retired in 1971, one of the last shouts having been to Tate & Lyles at Silvertown. In 1980 it was acquired by a charitable preservation society who are carrying out restoration work. The Gleniffer diesel engines and pumping equipment were made by Merryweathers of Greenwich.

Boats of interest can also be found in the South Dock at Surrey Quays and Limehouse Basin. If you are interested in historic ships a visit to Chatham Dockyard is recommended. It is outside the Travelcard area but there are trains to Chatham from Central and SE London. The 80 acre site has lots of exhibitions and attractions including the submarine OCELOT, Victorian sloop GANNET and WWII destroyer CAVALIER. There is also a display of lifeboats and it serves as a base for the paddle steamer KINGSWEAR CASTLE (trips available). [ website ] Cutty Sark - Great London Landmarks Cutty Sark Phone: +44 (0) 208 858 4422 Entry Price: £13.50 for adult Click here to rate Cutty Sark Cutty Sark was a three masted sailing ship launched in Dumbarton, Scotland in 1869, with the name coming from the poem Tam O’Shanter by Scottish poet Robert Burns.

In it, one of the witches who are chasing the hero is wearing a child’s sark (undergarment) and as it’s too small for her, it is referred to as ‘cutty’. The figurehead on the ship is the Naughty Witch. The great sailing ships of the era were extremely fast and called clippers, being used to carry cargo on the trade routes around the world. At the time tea had become the exciting drink of Victorian times and there was a rush every year to get the new crop of tea back from China. These vessels were thus referred to as ‘Tea Clippers’. The nation was enthralled by the race with news of progress relayed by telegraph and newspapers with huge bets taking place. The first vessels back could command the highest tea price. Shipping magnate Jock Wallis commissioned the ship, but ironically it was towards the end of the clipper era as steamships were beginning to take over. Cutty Sark went on the tea run every year until 1878, on one occasion losing a rudder in a race against her great rival Thermopylae.

After the tea runs, she went on the Australian wool runs, breaking a number of records and experiencing a mutiny in 1880. In 1895 Wallis sold the ship to a Portuguese company who named her Ferreira. In 1922, as the last clipper operating in the world she was sold and named Maria do Amparo. Shortly afterwards, Englishman Wilfred Dowman bought the famous vessel, restored her name and used her as a training ship. In 1951, when about to be scrapped, the Cutty Sark Society formed led by the Duke of Edinburgh. She was put in dry dock in Greenwich and opened to the public. In 2007, when undergoing conservation work, a fire broke out and swept through the ship. It has since been fully restored, costing almost £50m to do so. The ship is part of the Royal Museums of Greenwich, gives a marvellous experience and is one of the most famous London landmarks. Click on the pics below for an enlarged view and use the arrow towards the right edge of each pic to go on to the next.

London Visitor's Guide - The Cutty Sark The Cutty Sark, Greenwich The Cutty Sark - Description The Cutty Sark is a clipper ship in dry dock in Greenwich next to the Old Royal Naval College . The boat was built in Scotland in 1969 as a merchant vessel for the tea trade and is one of 3 remaining clipper ships of the 19th century built with a composite construction of a wooden hull on an iron frame. The Cutty Sark is 94 feet long, decorated with gold leaf and ornately carved. Her top recorded speed is 17.5 knots. The vessel was named Cutty Sark after the witch Nannie Dee in Robert Burns' 1791 poem Tam o' Shanter. Tam meets a group of witches all of whom are ugly except for Nannie who dances in a revealing garment called a Cutty Sark. The figurehead is a carving of a bare-breasted woman holding a horse's tail in her hand. The Cutty Sark - History The tea trade in the early days of the Cutty Sark's working life was an extremely competitive business and there was a substantial bonus for the ship to arrive in London with the first tea of the year.

While the Cutty Sark was never the first ship home, she was one of the fastest and in 1871 broke the world record for sailing between London and China completing the trip in 107 days - at her fastest she covered 360 miles in a single day. The Cutty Sark completed 8 round trip annual journeys to China, but the Suez Canal opened to shipping in the same year as her launch. The canal spelt the end for tea clippers as steam ships could use the shorter route through the canal and deliver goods more reliably, if not more quickly. In 1883 the Cutty Sark started transporting wool from Australia to England and for 10 years she was the fastest ship in the wool trade, however steamships eventually dominated that business too making it unprofitable for a sailing ship. As a result Cutty Sark was sold to a Portuguese firm in 1895 and she was used as a cargo vessel until the 1920s when she was sold on and converted to a cadet training ship based in Falmouth. In 1954 after a collision in the Thames and subsequent repairs she was moved to a dry dock in Greenwich where she remains.

The Cutty Sark - Restoration In the course of major restoration works in 2007 the ship was badly damaged by fire the cause of which remains uncertain. Thankfully at least half of the fabric of the ship was off-site at the time being restored at another location. Restoration of Cutty Sark is now completed and she was reopened by the Queen on 25 April 2012. Around 90% of the vessel is original including the masts, rigging, figurehead (called the Naughty Witch) and coach house. The ship is suspended 3 metres above her dry dock and it is possible to stand underneath her as well as go aboard. The restoration project won the Building Design Magazine Carbuncle Cup 2012 . The Carbuncle Cup is a tongue in cheek architecture prize for the ugliest building in the UK completed in the past 12 months.

Reasons given for the award of the cup to the restoration of the Cutty Sark included: from street level, the once thrilling lines of the ship's stern and prow have been obscured behind a glass enclosure; the act of lifting the ship put a dangerous strain on its fabric (the Cutty Sark's chief engineer apparently resigned from the project over this issue); the entrance to the ship is through a hole bashed through the side of the hull; the banal design of the lift, stair and air conditioning tower which provides access between the ship's deck and the undercroft and, overall, the lack of sensitivity shown to the historic ship. Il leave it to you to decide if they're right. The Cutty Sark - Visiting Entry is by timed tickets available online ( ), telephone ( +44 (0)20 8312 6608) or in person on the day (availability is often limited on the day).

The Cutty Sark - Website The Cutty Sark - Getting There Address: Cutty Sark Clipper Ship, King William Walk, Greenwich SE10 9BG Nearest Underground/DLR Stations: Cutty Sark DLR (2 minute walk), Greenwich DLR (8 minute walk) (click on a station name to find other places to visit nearby) Selangor Scotsman May 2016 by Selangor St. Andrew's Society - issuu issuu Selangor Scotsman Newsletter of the Selangor St. Andrewâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Society May 2016 Chieftain’s Chatter Chieftain Ali King chieftain@ssas.com.my One of the main highlight of our social calendar is over and what a weekend it turned out to be! Today, I'm starting to feel human again, after several days of hard work and lack of sleep, may I add! Vice-Chieftain Paul Henderson vicechieftain@ssas.com.my Hon. Secretary Donna Miller secretary@ssas.com.my Hon.

Treasurer Hector Ingram treasurer@ssas.com.my Committee Members Alistair Millar Bernie Williams Grant Ferguson Jamie Graham Kelly Brown Kenny Ross Kerry Sharp Lisa Alkalil Resident Past-Chieftains Alan Bernard (2014-2015) Chuck Jeffery (2013) Ali King (2012) Johan Murison (2011) Richard Thompson (2010) Paul Henderson (2009) Alistair Paterson (2008) Hector Ingram (2007) John Thomson (2006) Roger McGowan (2005) Patrick Russell (1997 & 2004) Tristan Russell (1989) Stewart Forbes (1987) Newsletter Editor newsletter@ssas.com.my Membership Secretary membership@ssas.com.my Charities Lisa Alkalil Dance Convenor Bernie Williams Alice Smith School Governor Grant Ferguson Web-Master John Thomson Indeed everyone on the Organising Committee put in a lot of hours and hard work to pull the whole weekend together. The organising committee and every helper on the day deserve a huge thanks.

Without them the Highland Games and the May Concert would not happen, so a big thank you to each and every one of you. Saturday night's May Concert, went down a treat, it seems we drank the bar dry. Something that has never happened before, but Hey! there’s a first time for everything. Let’s hope that it is the last that of that particular “first”. The Red Hot Chilli Pipers and their new singer were met with an enthusiastic welcome. The dance floor was full all night long, the food was fantastic and the drinks were flowing as usual. What more do we need for a superb Scottish night of entertainment? After wrapping up around 1.00am it was time to catch some sleep before Sunday’s big event. The 2016 Kuala Lumpur High Games were opened by the Deputy High Commissioner, Mr Paul Rennie O.B.E. after the key participants had been delivered to the opening ceremony by the Head Hunters on their wonderful Harley Davidson bikes. That was my first treat of the day, but don't be fooled by all the tattoos of those guys, they are all a bunch of gentlemen. Kuala Lumpur Pipes and Drums played the opening ceremony for us, they were wonderful.

I had goose bumps listening to them, I hope all of you watching enjoyed hearing them play as much as we did. The pipping and drumming competitions have been growing as the years go by and we were especially pleased to see several oversea bands participating, such as the Hong Kong Civil Aid Services Pipe Band The Selangor Scotsman is sponsored by Asian Tigers Transpo Movers (M) Sdn Bhd Lot 6, Jalan Ragum 15/17, Seksyen 15 4000 Shah Alam, Selangor Darul Eshan Tel: +603 5565 2200 Fax: +603 5513 3788 The games themselves were going on all afternoon, even the intense heat and shower of rain didn't dampen the fun. The Tug of war drew large crowds to cheer on their teams. Ladies' Winners: KL Cougars Ladies' Runners-up: Bandar Putri Men’s Winners: PWC Men’s Runners-up: Jarrod & Rawlings The heavies came all the way from Scotland and Australia, Well done guys! What a fantastic display of strength and stamina was shown by you all.

To be honest, it was fascinating to watch, especially in the heat from the afternoon sun. We closed the games around 4.00pm with the magnificent massed pipe bands playing. Again a wonderful display enjoyed by all, a few last drinks in the bar and off home for a much needed early night. The kids village with Alice Smith School’s 70th Birthday celebrations together were a wonderful day out for our younger attendees. With the ‘Toss the Wellie’ - what fun to watch; and then the ‘Sack Race’, again a lot of fun to watch the kid’s faces. The Tug o’ War teams gave their all and our congratulations go to the Ladies KL Cougars team who retained their title from last year. The results were: Our next big event will be the St. Andrew’s Day Ball at the Hilton Doubletree Hotel on Saturday 26th November 2016. So put that date for your diary and I look forward to seeing you all there. Yours Aye Ali King, Chieftain The Society was especially pleased to welcome overseas participants such as the Civil Aid Services Pipe Band from Hong Kong.

Some members of the Hong Kong Civil Aid Services Pipe Band together with Past-Chieftain, John Thomson The 2016-2017 Committee Chieftain The Red Hot Chilli Pipers in Concert The Heavies at the KL Highland Games 2016 The Ladies Tug Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; War at the Highland Games Pipes and Drums at the Games Piping and Drumming Competition Results Mini Pipe Band Competition 1st Place - Sri Dasmesh Pipe Band 2nd Place - St Johnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Alumni Pipe Band 3rd Place - Hong Kong Civil Aid Service Pipe Band Honourable Mention - Malaysia Pipe Band Club "B" Bagpipes Solo Competition Novice Piper: 1st Place - Tarminder Singh, Sri Dasmesh Pipe Band 2nd Place - Rifleman Nimes Kumar Gurung,1st Batt. Royal Gurkha Rifles Pipes & Drums 3rd Place - Lance Cpl Ojasbi Narayan Rai, 1st Batt.

Royal Gurkha Rifles Pipes & Drums D Grade Piper: 1st Place - Ho Yan Wong, Hong Kong Civil Aid Services Pipe Band 2nd Place - Tirath Singh, Sri Dasmesh Pipe Band 3rd Place - Bhupinderjit Singh, Sri Dasmesh Pipe Band Drumming Solo Competition Novice Snare Drum: 1st Place - Suraj Veer Singh, Sri Dasmesh Pipe Band 2nd Place - Lance Cpl. Milan Thapa, 1st Batt. Royal Gurkha Rifles Pipes & Drums 3rd Place - Rahul Preet Singh, Sri Dasmesh Pipe Band D Grade Snare Drum: 1st Place - Au kok Yong, (Affiliation unknown).

2nd Place - Tony Ma, Hong Kong Civil Aid Services Pipe Band 3rd Place - Tripert Singh, Sri Dasmesh Pipe Band Novice Tenor Drum: 1st Place - Adlan Tarmizi, ACS Alumni Pipes & Drums 2nd Place - No Entry 3rd Place - No Entry D Grade Tenor Drum: 1st Place - Jasroop Singh, Sri Dasmesh Pipe Band 2nd Place - Manmeet Singh, Sri Dasmesh Pipe Band 3rd Place - Jasbir Kuar, Sunway Sikh Pipe Band Novice Bass Drum: No entries D Grade Bass Drum: 1st Place - Irwan Effendi, Kuala Lumpur Pipes & Drums 2nd Place - Ishvinder Singh, Sunway Sikh Pipe Band 3rd Place - Tashdev Singh, Sunway Sikh Pipe Band Junior Rugby at the KL Highland Games More Junior Rugby Photos…….

The Kidâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Village at the Highland Games The Cutty Sark Painting of the Cutty Sark under full Sail With the Annual Concert and the KL Highland Games over for another year, the committee will take a breather over the summer months and then will embark upon the work to stage the annual St. Andrew’s Ball which will be on 26th November 2016 at the Hilton Doubletree Hotel. Planning is also underway for the Burns’ Supper which will also be held at the Hilton Doubletree on 21st January 2017. The committee is always on the lookout for volunteers to speak at that event, but one of the challenges when speaking about Robert Burns is to come up with a new approach as so much has been written about him and spoken about him over the years. Also it is rather difficult to find a connection between Robert Burns and the Far East, but one such connection relates to the Cutty Sark! “The Cutty Sark was a “China Tea Clipper” built especially for the tea trade between China and London.

It was one of the fastest sailing ships of its day and was built to a revolutionary design which incorporated many of the mid-ship attributes of the Firth of Forth fishing boats. This design created a new hull shape which was much stronger than other designs. In consequence the ship could carry more sail and could be driven harder than other ships of the period. The designer was Hercules Linton, a partner in the Scott & Linton ship-building company from Dumbarton and the ship was built at the Scott & Linton yard on the Clyde. It was launched on 22 nd November 1869. The Cutty Sark was built for John “Jock” Willis, a fleet owner operating out of the port of London. Being a canny Scot, he drove such a hard bargain that the firm of Scott & Linton went bankrupt. The final fitting out of the ship had to be completed by William Denny & Brothers. In the early years, the Cutty Sark produced some of the fastest runs from Far East to London, but its dominance of the China tea trade was short-lived as the Suez Canal was opened in the same year that the Cutty Sark was launched.

This allowed steamers to reach the Far East via the Mediterranean, a route which was shorter and much faster, but not accessible to sailing ships. Within a few years it was no longer profitable to use sailing ships on the China run. The ship was then deployed on the Australian wool trade and repeatedly made the fastest passage from Australia to London. By 1895, the ship was no longer making a profit and was sold to a Portuguese company being renamed as the “Ferreira”. She was eventually sold again in 1920 to another Portuguese company and was again renamed as the “Maria do Amparo”. Cutty Sark at the Dry-Dock in Greenwich By 1922 the ship was dilapidated and in a poor state of repair when she was spotted by Captain Wilfred Dowman, a Cornishman, who re-fitted the ship and restored her original name. Following the death of Captain Dowman in 1938, his widow presented the newly restored clipper to the Thames Nautical Training College.

After years of service as a training ship, the Cutty Sark was acquired by the Cutty Sark Society, founded by HRH The Duke of Edinburgh and was eventually moved to a specially constructed dry dock at Greenwich in 1954 where it remains to this day. (For mony a beast to dead she shot, And perish'd mony a bonie boat, And shook baith meikle corn and bear, And kept the country-side in fear.) Her cutty-sark, o' Paisley harn That while a lassie she had worn, In longitude tho' sorely scanty, It was her best, and she was vauntie,Ah! little ken'd thy reverend grannie, That sark she coft for he wee Nannie, Wi' twa pund Scots, ('twas a' her riches), Wad ever grac'd a dance of witches!” But what of the name “Cutty Sark”. It is rather a strange name to give to a sailing ship as the word “cutty” means short and “sark” means a shirt or chemise. For those familiar with Robert Burns’ poetry the answer lies in the poem Tam O’ Shanter.

In this long rambling tale of witches and warlocks, the central character of the poem, Tam, happened upon a witch’s coven in full satanic rites while he was riding home from a drunken binge in a local pub. As Tam observed the witches dancing he noticed that one of them was young and very beautiful. She is described in the following passages: Of course, Tam didn’t know her name was Nannie and when he eventually threw caution to the wind and shouted out encouragement to the witch, he gave her the nick-name “Cutty-sark”.

Again this is described in the ensuing passages: “But Tam kend what was what fu' brawlie: There was ae winsome wench and waulie, That night enlisted in the core, Lang after ken'd on Carrick shore; To sing how Nannie lap and flang, (A souple jade she was, and strang), And how Tam stood, like ane bewitch'd, And thought his very een enrich'd; Even Satan glowr'd, and fidg'd fu' fain, And hotch'd and blew wi' might and main; Till first ae caper, syne anither, Tam tint his reason ' thegither, And roars out, "Weel done, Cutty-sark!" Tam eventually had to flee for his life pursued by the witches and Nannie being younger and faster The Figure-head on the bow of the Cutty Sark which depicts the witch from Tam O’ Shanter than the other witches caught up with Tam and made a grab at his horse, a grey mare named Maggie, pulling off the horse’s tail in the process: For Nannie, far before the rest, Hard upon noble Maggie prest, And flew at Tam wi' furious ettle; But little wist she Maggie

's mettle Ae spring brought off her master hale, But left behind her ain gray tail; The carlin claught her by the rump, And left poor Maggie scarce a stump.

The fire engulfed the ship and was apparently caused by an industrial vacuum cleaner which had been left running for two days and had eventually over-heated and set the ship ablaze. Somewhat fortuitously, the masts, saloon, deckhouse and other woodwork had been removed during the restoration work and consequently these were not damaged in the fire. But the hull sustained severe damage and it was not until several years later that the ship was once again restored to her former glory. So what has all this to do with the China Tea Clipper, the Cutty Sark? Well! The ship is named after the witch from Tam O’ Shanter and in fact the figure-head on the bow of the ship depicts the witch Nannie (nick-named Cutty-sark) clutching a horse’s tail in her hand. An extensive investigation by the London Fire Service and the Metropolitan Police could find no evidence of arson. The source of the fire was pinpointed to a single location close the industrial vacuum cleaner. In most cases of arson there are generally several seats of fire.

As an interesting footnote, the Portuguese crews who sailed on the ship under the names “Ferreira” and “Maria do Amparo” always referred to her as “Camisola Pequenina” which means in Portuguese “little shirt” or cutty-sark. The conclusion was that the fire was an unfortunate accident. It apparently cost a further £46,000,000 to complete the restoration with many donations from the public and support from public funds. The Cutty Sark was almost destroyed in 2007. A disastrous fire occurred while the ship was undergoing a £25,000,000 restoration. John M. Thomson MaritimeQuest - May 22, 2007 - Fire rips heart from star of the seas Fire rips heart from star of the seas By Jim Gilchrist May 22, 2007 In Robert Burns' epic poem Tam O' Shanter, Cutty Sark was the beautiful but vengeful witch in a saucy shift who pursued Tam but managed only to rip the tail off his hapless grey mare, Meg.

Now, the legendary tea clipper named after her has been overtaken by disaster and badly damaged by a fire, which may have been started deliberately. Arguably the world's most famous sailing ship, and regarded by many as the most beautiful vessel ever built, the Cutty Sark was undergoing a £25 million renovation project at its dry dock in Greenwich, south-east London. As much as 50 per cent of its fabric had been put in storage and escaped the flames. However, the fire, which ripped through the 138-year-old, Clyde-built clipper in the early hours of yesterday morning, gutted its hull and damaged the unique composite construction of wrought iron frame and timber cladding which shaped its elegant lines. The world's last surviving tea clipper, and a huge tourist draw, Cutty Sark was one of only three similarly built ships surviving today, two of them clippers. One is the Victorian naval sloop HMS Gannet, while of the two clippers, one is the Cutty Sark while the other is the ill-starred City of Adelaide,which has been mouldering away at the Scottish Maritime Museum in Irvine for the past 15 years and is now scheduled for demolition.

The Metropolitan Police believe that the fire, which ravaged almost 140 years of peerless and irreplaceable maritime craftsmanship, may have been started deliberately. "The fire is being treated as suspicious," said Superintendent Martin Mitchell. Police have been checking security camera footage from the area, which was evacuated after the fire broke out around 4:45am yesterday and flames and thick black smoke erupted above the Thames-side dry dock where the vessel has become a maritime heritage shrine. "When you lose the original fabric, you lose the touch of the craftsman, you lose history itself," was how a devastated Richard Doughty, chief executive of the Cutty Sark Trust, put it yesterday. " It will take us a significant amount of effort and funding to get the work back on track. £25 million was needed to preserve the ship; we had £18 million raised already and now we are appealing for help to close the funding gap and get us through the crisis and return the ship to its former glory." Now, in fact, it may take as much as £35 million to restore the vessel.

However, the Cutty Sark was a third of the way through a major restoration project and much vital material, including masts, the magnificent panelling of the master's saloon and its famous figurehead, was in storage and escaped damage. However, her decks are another matter, said Dr Eric Kentley, a curatorial consultant to the trust. "If you'd seen her ablaze at seven o'clock this morning, then seen what I'm seeing now, you'd think it's not as bad as it could have been... but she still looks disastrous. "The main deck seems to have been completely burned away and between decks is in a terrible state. There were a lot of tears round the office this morning, I can tell you." It may be a couple of weeks before inspectors can assess how badly the vessel's unique structure has been affected," added Dr Kentley. "We've got 200 planks to put back and if the frame is distorted it's going to be an absolute nightmare, but more importantly, we'll have lost the fundamentals of her. "She was of that last flowering of the sailing ship.

They never got any faster or better than the clipper ships, and the Cutty Sark is the last of that generation." Launched on 22 November, 1869, from Scott and Linton's shipyard at Dumbarton, the Cutty Sark (Scots for "short shirt", the nickname given to Nannie, Burns's scantily clad witch) represented the peak of clipper design but had her fair share of bad luck right from the start. At 250ft long and carrying 11 miles of rigging and a billowing 32,000 sq ft of sail, she was commissioned by Captain Jock "White Hat" Willis, who wanted to challenge the fastest clippers on the China tea run; but the Dumbarton yard went bankrupt and the vessel had to be completed by another local yard, Denny's. The opening of the Suez canal, which was closed to sailing ships, and the introduction of fast, economical steamships meant that Cutty Sark's tea-carrying days were numbered and she made her last tea run in 1877.

Her heyday came, however, with the expansion of the Australian wool trade, and she soon became the fastest ship on the route, clocking up her best time of 72 days from Sydney to London, via Cape Horn, in 1885. Described yesterday by Paddy Pugh, of English Heritage, as "the Ferrari of the open seas", even the Cutty Sark could not outsail changing times, and in 1895 she was sold to the Portuguese shipping company Ferreira, whose crews nicknamed her Pequena Camisola - a direct translation of Cutty Sark. After being de-masted in a storm and re-rigged as a barquentine, she seemed destined for obscurity until 1922, when she was restored and used as a stationary training ship at Falmouth, Cornwall. After a spell with the Royal Navy, she was brought to Greenwich by the Cutty Sark Preservation Society and in 1954 installed in a concrete dry dock. Since then she has been visited by more than 16 million people. The fire at Greenwich means only one other clipper of the same period and construction survives in its original state.

The City of Adelaide, which for many years served as the RNVR club, HMS Carrick, at Glasgow, but which for the past 15 years has been decaying at Irvine, while the Scottish Maritime Museum tried, unsuccessfully, to raise £15 million required to restore it. Like the Cutty Sark, the City of Adelaide, built in 1864, combines a cast iron frame with a wooden hull and is the only vessel in Scotland designated an "A" listed building by Historic Scotland. However, it is scheduled for "recorded deconstruction". Despite speculation to the contrary, the Cutty Sark fire is unlikely to prompt any 11th-hour rescue. "I'm pretty certain the fire doesn't change the situation at all," says Jim Tildesley, a consultant to the museum. "Cutty Sark will be restored, whatever, even though the frames won't be original. There is no funding for the City of Adelaide in Scotland, and obviously there won't be any in England, because that will all be going to the Cutty Sark. "We have very few historical vessels of national and international importance. Cutty Sark is in the top ten; so is the City of Adelaide.

We've now got one damaged today, so it is no longer original, and the other about to be dismantled. So little is left." . Additional reporting by Frank Urquhart LIFETIME VOYAGE OF THE CUTTY SARK 22 November, 1869: Tea clipper the Cutty Sark is launched from Scott and Linton's yard at Dumbarton, one of the last vessels of her kind. 1871: She makes her fastest tea run from China to London, in 107 days. 1877: She carries her last cargo of tea from China. 1885: Now the fastest ship on the Australian wool run, she sails from Sydney to London in an astonishing 72 days, via Cape Horn. 1895: Cutty Sark is sold to the Portuguese shipping company Ferreira, with whom she spends the next 27 years, sailing between Europe, the Americas and Africa. 1916: The clipper is de-masted in a storm and converted to a barquentine.

1922: She is bought by Captain Wilfred Dowman and, moored at Falmouth, Cornwall, becomes the first vessel since Sir Francis Drake's ship, Golden Hind, to be displayed as a museum. She is also used as a cadet training ship. 1938: Following Captain Dowman's death, the Cutty Sark is transferred to the Thames Nautical Training College and used as an auxiliary to the training ship HMS Worcester. 1951: The clipper goes on display at the Festival of Britain, then in 1953 is taken by the Cutty Sark Preservation Society to Greenwich. 1954: She is floated into a purpose-built dry dock at Greenwich. 1957: Following two and half years of restoration, the Cutty Sark is finally opened to the public with a ceremony attended by the Queen. Since then, she has become a major heritage attraction, visited by more than 16 million people. S.O.S. Cutty Sark - The Daily Reckoning May 23, 2007 S.O.S.

Cutty Sark On Monday, May 21, 2007, a fire caused heavy damage to the clipper ship Cutty Sark, leaving one of London’s proudest maritime relics a blackened hulk. According to news reports, firefighters responded to an alarm at 4:45 a.m. local time at the 19th-century ship’s dry dock, where it has been undergoing a £25 million renovation since last year. The fire was rapidly contained, and extinguished after about two hours of firefighting effort. The cause of the fire is under investigation. London Police Inspector Bruce Middlemiss stated, “We are treating this as a suspicious incident,” adding that a number of individuals were known to be in the area at the time the early morning fire started. Chris Levett, the chairman of Cutty Sark Enterprises, said half of the ship’s planking and many historic artifacts had been removed and stored during the restoration work. He stated that he was confident that the famous vessel could be restored. “It will be the old ship.

The ship has been through many things in its lifetime,” Levett told BBC radio, adding, “This is going to make us even more determined to get this ship back up and running and keep her as original as possible.” The Dancing Witch The ship is named after the fictional character “Cutty Sark,” an erotic dancing witch in the poem Tam o’ Shanter, written in 1790 by the iconic Scottish poet Robert Burns. In the poem by Burns, a young lad named Tam sees a number of witches dancing in the woods, one of whom is wearing a very revealing “cutty sark,” which is a kind of short shift or chemise. It is not at all uncommon in the history of sailing for builders and owners to attach womanly, if not suggestive, names to ships. Iron, Elm, and Teak Cutty Sark was designed by the well-known Scottish shipbuilder Hercules Linton (1836-1900), and constructed in 1869 by the firm of Scott & Linton at Dumbarton, Scotland. The contract price for Cutty Sark was “£17 per ton,” but if the tonnage exceeded 950 tons, there would be no extra payment.

Thus, the total cost under the contract was £16,150, but the exacting specifications and labor involved in constructing Cutty Sark bankrupted the Scott & Linton yard. Cutty Sark was completed by the Dennys shipyard. When Cutty Sark was launched on Nov. 23, 1869, the ship was expected to have a service life of around 30 years. Ships of this type commonly suffered damage to spars, rigging, sails, and topside fittings because of hard sailing in open seas. Thus, they were expensive to maintain, but many clipper ships lasted well past their designed lifetimes. Cutty Sark has survived to the present day, her 138-year history being one of continual repairs, refits, maintenance, and now a major restoration. Until she burned on May 21, Cutty Sark retained in excess of 90% of the original hull fabric that served her during her seagoing career. Cutty Sark is what is called a “composite-built vessel.” That is, her skeleton is formed by a wrought iron frame to which teak and rock elm planking, called “strakes,” were fastened during construction.

The components of the ship are held together with bolts made out of a copper-zinc alloy called “Muntz metal.” To inhibit worms, barnacles, and other marine growth on the wooden strakes, the hull was sheathed below the waterline with Muntz metal plates, giving her hull a copper-colored appearance. The plates were laid over an impermeable layer of felt and bitumen, and fastened down with copper nails driven into the strakes. This was a state-of-the-art technology in 1869. Sleek, Fast, High Value Cutty Sark is an advanced version of the clipper ship, measuring 280 feet long, weighing 979 tons, and with her main mast soaring 152 feet above the main deck. The forebears of Cutty Sark, in the same class of clipper ship vessel, were a type of very fast, 19th-century sailing bark with multiple masts, developed and perfected over many decades in the shipyards of the United States and Great Britain (and, to a lesser extent, in Holland and France).

The introduction of clipper ships was associated primarily with the need for rapid transit across vast seas, at a time when steam engines were primitive at best and unreliable for use in oceangoing vessels. Clipper ships were a high point in the development of the art and science of building sailing vessels. Their bows were distinctively narrow and heavily raked forward, which allowed them to rapidly cut, or “clip,” through the waves. The ships were sleek and generally thin for their length. They possessed limited capacity to carry bulk freight. Still, by incorporating a large relative sail area, the ships created value by capturing and harnessing wind power, and using it rapidly to carry passengers and high value goods over long distances. In this respect, clipper ships filled a transportation niche similar to that of long-range airliners and air-freight transport in the international commerce of today. Clipper ships were, in short, a pinnacle of technological development in the days before the use of fossil fuels gained widespread acceptance, and in particular before the Oil Age commenced. The China Trade, Driving Change Even Then Trade with China began to grow in the 1840s, after the first Opium War, which lasted from 1839-1842.

Previously, trade with China had been restricted to transactions that were rigidly managed by Chinese merchants, in strict accord with rather exclusionary Chinese laws and customs. But the Opium War temporarily broke the back of traditional Chinese custom and power, and led Chinese trade to conform more closely to a “Western” style. Increasing levels of trade with China created demand for ships that could make the trip between China, and Europe, and the U.S. in faster time than was previously the case. One key export from China was tea, a seasonal product. These types of Chinese tea became a big hit in the West, which in turn placed an emphasis on speed of transport to ensure that teas reached consumers before their flavors faded. So the earliest clipper ships were built to fulfill the need for extremely fast ships catering to the China tea trade. Ships such as the well-regarded Rainbow and the Sea Witch were indeed able to perform this function, breaking many speed records in the process. And although the first designs were developed in U.S. yards, the clipper ship technology spread and was adopted in Britain as well.

Serving the Gold Rush Within a few years, clipper ships began to be used for domestic transportation in the U.S., after a fashion, as the lure of gold drew many hopeful speculators and prospectors to California. Clipper ships became the preferred means of rapid movement for passengers traveling from the East Coast of the U.S. to California during the gold rush of 1849 and thereafter. Due to the scarcity of locally manufactured goods in California, prices at first soared for many of the goods, tools, and other implements needed to work the gold pits. So the clipper ships were also used to transfer goods and supplies to California ports, at least until local sources developed and prices came down. Time and Tide But time and tide wait for no one. The use of clipper ships began to decline during the economic slump following the Panic of 1857, and continued with the gradual evolution of the steam-powered ship as a reliable means of oceanic commerce. With favorable winds, clipper ships could normally travel much faster than the early steamships, but as sailing vessels, they were ultimately dependent on the vagaries of the wind, while steamers offered more reliability in keeping to a schedule.

The growing and widespread use of steamships reduced freight rates, such that only ships capable of carrying large cargoes could be operated profitably. The beginning of the end for the clipper ship came on Nov. 17, 1869 (six days before Cutty Sark was launched), when the Suez Canal opened and thereby offered a significant shortcut for steamships traveling between Europe and Asia. However, the canal was difficult for wind-powered sailing ships to transit. Generally, sailing ships on routes to China had to work the trade winds, sailing out of Europe and home by way of the Cape of Good Hope. A Historic Race Like so many others of her kind, Cutty Sark was destined for the tea trade, in particular the highly competitive annual race across the Pacific, Indian, and Atlantic oceans from China to London with significant profits going to the ship that arrived with the first loads of tea of the year. Cutty Sark left London on its first voyage on Feb. 16, 1870, proceeding around Cape Hope to Shanghai and arriving 3 1/2 months later.

The ship made only eight voyages to China in the tea trade, because steamships began to replace sail on the high seas in the 1870s. Cutty Sark failed to win her most famous race, against the sailing ship Thermopylae, an extreme composite clipper ship built in 1868 in Scotland. On June 18, 1872, both Thermopylae and Cutty Sark left Shanghai, bound for London. Two weeks later, Cutty Sark lost her rudder in bad weather, after passing through the Sunda Strait. On Oct. 18, 1872, Cutty Sark arrived in London, remarkably only seven days behind Thermopylae and after making total passage in 122 days. Although losing the tea race to Thermopylae,Cutty Sark earned a reputation as a strong competitor when her captain chose to continue the race with an improvised rudder instead of putting into port for a replacement. Cutty Sark eventually sailed the Australia wool trade between 1883-1895, achieving a record-breaking wind-powered voyage from Australia to England in 1885, lasting 72 days, and sailing via Cape Horn.

Sail, Steam, Technology, and S.O.S. Cutty Sark was, in her day, a complex mixture of iron and wood, sails, masts, and rope, all made to work by sailors who had to know their stuff in the face of a cruel and mostly unforgiving sea. In her heyday, the ship carried some 11 miles of rigging, and 32,000 square feet of canvas sails (equivalent to the area of 11 tennis courts). But although she was a top-notch example of sail-powered technology, the need for a ship such as Cutty Sark was vanishing while she was still on the builder’s ways. Before her bow had first cut water, Cutty Sark was being overtaken by steam power, which was an entirely different way of doing things. Cutty Sark, and her eventual economic demise, is an example of an older form of technology being rendered obsolete by an entirely new kind of technology that simply leaps ahead of the existing state of the art. More specifically, the transition from sail to steam was a reflection of the revolution that took place in the mid-1800s in the technology of harnessing energy.

Instead of capturing energy from the day-to-day winds, as sailors and sailing ships had done for millennia, steamships propelled themselves using energy in the form of coal, a relic of ancient energy and mass storage, concentrated by geologic forces over geologic time frames, and mined from the geologic column. Steamships are powered, in a sense, by ancient sunshine, and are divorced from many of the vagaries of the present climate. So the builders of Cutty Sark were not simply competing against other ship designers and other shipyards in a race to build fast and pretty vessels. They were competing against people who worked in other fields of science and engineering, and who were making key advances in the fundamental understanding of thermodynamics, metallurgy, and mechanical engineering. Whether the builders comprehended it or not, their skills as constructors were a vanishing art even as they fabricated their greatest creations. There is, of course, a lesson in all of this for our own time, as the world reaches the point of Peak Oil. And we discuss that lesson often in Whiskey & Gunpowder. But for now, the good ship Cutty Sark is in distress.

Like all good captains and able mariners, we turn our attention to what needs to be done, and set a course toward her SOS. Cutty Sark Today Until the recent fire, Cutty Sark has been preserved as a museum ship, and is a popular tourist attraction. She is located near the center of Greenwich town in Southeast London, near the National Maritime Museum, the former Greenwich Hospital, and Greenwich Park. Cutty Sark is a prominent landmark. Today, Cutty Sark is the world’s only surviving example of an extreme clipper, regarded as the ultimate development of a merchant sail vessel. Cutty Sark has been closed to visitors since November 2006 for a £25 million renovation. The need for a renovation was because a series of inspections of the Cutty Sark hull and other structures revealed that the wrought iron has been corroding. In places, the iron has corroded away completely and in others it has become very thin, especially around the sides of the Muntz metal bolts, due to bi-metal corrosion. Some of the planking has also rotted.

Corrosion and rot was advancing to a point at which the safety of visitors could have been compromised, and there was a risk that certain elements of the ship would disintegrate. Losing this ship would be a great loss to both British and American culture, as well as to maritime history in general. Now the scope of the work on Cutty Sark has greatly expanded. Instead of the originally planned restoration, the ship will need extensive reconstruction due to the fire damage. So if you wish help, you might consider joining The Friends of The Cutty Sark Trust. Cutty Sark friends and supporters belong to an organization with a newsletter and special members’ events. Click here to learn more. Thank you for reading Whiskey & Gunpowder. Until we meet again…

Question: Which sailing ship, named after the witch in Burns' poem 'Tam O'Shanter', is preserved in dry dock at Greenwich?
Answer: CUTTY SARK