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The Cutty Sark

Cutty Sark

The finest in a clipper ship the Cutty Sark was built in 1869 and was to serve as a merchant vessel. The very last clipper to be built as a merchant vessel and was later used as a training vessel. It is still possible to see her today preserved and in dry dock in Greenwich, London. She is the last remaining original Clipper Ship preserved from the 1800s.

Cutty Sark the ships name has quite a story to go with such a beautiful sailing vessel. What a cutty sark of the day was suppose to be was a short chemise or undergarment. In the day there was also a fictional character Nannie Dee from a Robert Burns’ 1791 comic Tam O’ Shanter. The Nannie Dee Character became the Cutty Sark’s figurehead. In the comic she wore a cutty sark from childhood that was way too small. This sight of her dancing in the small undergarment caused Tam to cry out “Weel done, Cutty-Sark”.

The Cutty Sark designed by Hercules Linton in Dumbarton Scotland by the Scott & Linton Company. The ship was built for Captain John “Jock” “White Hat” Willis. The Company Scott & Linton was liquidated and the Cutty Sark was completed by William Denny and Brothers for John Willis and Son.

The beautiful clipper ships quickly lost out to the newer steamships of the day. It was found they could deliver goods more reliably, but not as quickly. The Cutty Sark was faster than steamships and was said to be the fastest ship of her size. She once sailed 360 nautical miles in 24 hours with an average speed of 15 knots per hour.

John Willis sold her to a Portuguese firm Ferreira. They renamed her Ferreira after the Company, the crew referred to her as Pequena Camisola meaning “little shirt” which was a translation of the Scots “cutty sark”. Dismasted off the Cape of Good Hope she was re-rigged in Cape Town as barquentine and renamed The Maria Do Amparo. Captain Wilfred Dowman bought her in 1922 and restored her to her original beauty. From then on she was used as a stationary training ship in Greenhithe, Kent. They built her a custom dry dock in Greenwich, London and moved her there in 1954 which she remains today.

The Cutty Sark has quite a colorful history and being such a beautiful sailing ship under full sail. She would make a wonderful addition to anyone’s collection. We have located a few of these beauty’s for your pleasure.