History
of the Clipper Ship
Cutty
Sark
The clipper
ship Cutty Sark was launched on November 22, 1869 in Dumbarton,
Scotland. She weighed 963 tons, with 3 masts and 34 sails, fully
set. The main mast was 152 ft. tall. Her first Master was Capt.
George Moodie. Her last cargo run between England and China, transporting
tea, was in 1877.
She served the
wool trade from Australia between 1885 and 1895. In 1895, she was
sold to Portuguese owners and renamed "Ferreira." She
was used by them and other owners until merchant marine technology
and disrepair left her rotting at dockside.
Finally in 1951,
in deplorable condition, she was moored off Greenwich, England.
She was moved to a specially-constructed dry-dock where she was
completely restored and in 1957, opened to the public as a museum.
The term "cutty
sark" is a Scottish one, which means a short chemise or shirt.
The Cutty Sark's original figurehead was named "Nannie,"
based on a poem, "Tam O'Shanter," by Robert Burns. The
poem immortalizes the legend of Tam's escape from Nannie, a beautiful
witch, who could not catch Tam before he fled over a river (witches,
as legend reminds us, cannot cross bodies of water.) However she
did manage to grasp the tail of Tam's horse and wrench it from the
unfortunate animal. Nannie is depicted on the figurehead with her
hand outstretched as she reaches for the tail.
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