Cutty Sark

[pdlethbridge]

I heard it had a fire today. I hope the damage is not as bad as they expect. I mention this as this beautiful vessel is a one of a kind, last surviving example of a tea clipper, And the fastest. When we here about a steam locomotive being scrapped it affects us the same way.

[CJCrescent]

When I was 11 yrs old, my parents bought me the Cutty Sark 1:96 model from Revell. I fell in love with the ship and it took me only 6 months to build.
During that time I actually had 2 hobbies, trains and Revell's ships.

I built most of the series over the years and even built some "for order", and still own the Thermopylae, (Cutty Sark's chief rival), and the Constitution.

The latest news reports I've seen and read has said the ship's hull is "a smoking hulk, but will be rebuilt". (from Good Morning America, ABC News)

I really hope so as this was the only survivor of tea clippers that were the fastest sailing vessels built, even faster than the American clippers.

[modlerbob]

Actually Donald McCay's clippers Flying Cloud and Sovereign of the Seas were the fastest clipper ships.

I too built the Revell Cutty Sark several times and I agree she was one of the best looking clippers.  The news today says they are planning to continue with the restoration.

[pdlethbridge]

I too have built the big Cutty Sark as well as the Constitution. I finished the connie about 3 months ago and gave it to a close friend for his office. Both are beautiful models when completed. Hellers Soliel Royale and Victory, both 1/100 kits are phenomenal models as well. I lived near Boston so I have visited the Connie several times. When I was in the navy, I was sent to school in Boston and was stationed in the same barracks as the crew for the Connie. I also have seen the Victory as our ship docked right next to its drydock.

[pdlethbridge]

If you look at what is burning, it's mostly the timber cover that protected the deck and workers from that God awful English weather

[SteamGene]

According to reports I heard on NPR almost all of the most valuable stuff on board, all the masts, spars, and rigging were off for the reconstruction.  The damage looks awful, but not as bad as it looks.
I believe that Modelerbob is coorect about both Flying Cloud and Soverign of the Seas
Gene

[John C]

I've been on the Cutty Sark a number of times (former in-laws live in London) so I got down to Greenwich once a year or so.  Aside from the ship itself - which is a beautiful example of a tea clipper, she had an extensive collection of figure heads aboard, as well as a nicely stocked gift shop.  As a museum, she was in pristine condition and it is extremely saddening to see the picture showing what looks like the whole ship ablaze.  I hope all that stuff inside was saved, and that most of the hull and decking weren't too badly damaged.  No doubt there's a considerable amount of work ahead in the restoration.

[pdlethbridge]

On a repair of that nature, they would have removed all masts and rigging. The deck would have nothing on it while they reconditioned the vessel. In 1997 they restored the USS constellation and had her stripped bare, even her hull timbers were removed as they worked to restore the skeleton of the ship. Some of the pictures on the web of the Cutty Sark show many of her hull timbers removed so that her iron frame could get fixed

[modlerbob]

Upon further checking Donald McCay's "Lightening" was probably the fastest Clipper.  It would depend on how you calculate "fastest".  I think the determination was made based on best 24 hour run logged.

[pdlethbridge]

and this from the web:  http://www.cuttysark.org.uk/index.cfm
On 16th February 1870, the Cutty Sark left London bound for Shanghai, via the Cape of Good Hope, on her first voyage.  Commanded by Captain George Moodie, she carried "large amounts of wine, spirits and beer” (Captain’s abstract log).  The arrival of the ship at Shanghai, with “manufactured goods”, is listed in The North China Herald of 2nd June 1870.  Departing with around 1,450 tons of tea on 25th June, she arrived back in London on 13th October 1870.

This is the first of 8 voyages the ship successfully made to China in pursuit of tea.  However, the Cutty Sark never became the fastest ship on the tea trade.  Dogged by bad winds and misfortune, she never lived up to the high expectations of her owner during these years.  The closest the ship came to winning the tea race was in 1872, when she had the opportunity to race the Thermopylae head-to-head for the first time. 

After arriving at Shanghai in late May 1872, she met the Thermopylae when loading her tea cargo.  With both sailing from Woosung on 17th June 1872, the two ships closely matched each other through the China Sea and into the Indian Ocean.  By 7th August, and with a good tail wind, the Cutty Sark found herself a good 400 miles ahead of the Thermopylae.  On 15th August, disaster struck when the Cutty Sark’s rudder gives way.  After reconstructing the rudder twice in heavy seas, the ship arrived back at London on 19th October, around 7 days after her rival.  The courage and determination of Captain Moodie and his crew won the Cutty Sark great credit, but Moodie retired from his command of the ship due to stress and the ship was never to get this close to winning the tea race again.
Why Cutty Sark Matters
•She is the most famous ship in the world

•She is the epitome of the great age of sail

•She is the only surviving extreme clipper, and the only tea clipper still in existence.

•Most of her hull fabric survives from her original construction and she is the best example of a merchant composite construction vessel.

•She has captured the imagination of millions of people, 15 million of whom have come on board to learn the stories she has to tell.

•She was preserved in Greenwich partly as a memorial to the men of the merchant navy, particularly those who lost their lives in the world wars.

•She is one of the great sights of London.

[John C]

PDLETHBRIDGE -  Thanks for the info on the Cutty Sark.  Although it is tragic news, I think that the preservation volunteers will be successful in their efforts to repair her.  I've been on her a number of times as she holds some family history.  It would be a shame if she could not be visited again.  I remember remarking that even after all this time, you could still smell tea in her holds.  I suppose now it would be wood smoke!  How extremely sad.

[SteamGene]

Is there some possibility that the ship is famous because some Scots distillery didn't decide to name his new blend "Soverign of the the Seas"? 
P.S. - I'm not sure Cutty Sark is the most famous ship in the world.  How about Titanic?
Gene

[pdlethbridge]

another good link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cutty_Sark

[Atlantic Central]

Most Famous Ship?

What about:

Mayflower, Santa Maria, Arizona, Bismark, Monitor, Merrimack, Charles W Morgan, Titanic? just to name a few.

Fastest, lets not go there, That will end up like the fastest steam loco thread.

Let's just hope they can fix this great piece of history.

Sheldon

[Terry Toenges]

Don't forget Noah's Ark.