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 Cutty Sark Clipper Ship |
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This is the last and most famous sailing clippers built in England, and the only remaining classic clipper. It was destined for the China tea trade, which, at the time, was a very lucrative trading route and a very competitive race amongst tea traders. The Cutty Sark became famous for one race against the Thermopylae, another English trading clipper. In that race, the Cutty Sark lost because she lost a rudder at sea. What made the Cutty Sark famous was the fact that she continued the race with a makeshift, improvised rudder, without going into port for a repair, and the fact that she only lost the race by a mere seven days. When clippers were replaced by steamships, the Cutty Sark was used for shipping wool to and from Australia. She set naval records for the fastest run of any ship of her size: 360 nautical miles in 24 hours. Her Australia to England times were as short as 67 days.
After being bought and sold many times to different trading companies, she was finally dry-docked at Greenwich in 1954. Today, she is a popular tourist attraction. Visitors can explore every part of the ship, from the Lower Hold, with its collection of figureheads, to the Tween Deck, to the cabins.
Address: King William Walk, Greenwich
Telephone: 020 8858 34 45
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