Even the first impression is spectacular. The world's most famous tea clipper appears to float partially in a strikingly illuminated glass house. And this is a classic in London's Greenwich district near the National Maritime Museum on the River Thames.
The second impression on board is much more sober; there is actually very little to see. The curators had to push the visitor experience with a video game in which you virtually sail around the world on the ship. Actors were also hired to play numerous roles on board.
The "Cutty Sark" is now part of the National Maritime Museum in London
However, the most controversial aspect of the entire restoration seems to be the decision to raise the entire ship a good three metres off the ground and reinforce the hull with tubular steel supports. This certainly works, but is not species-appropriate. Critics suspect that the trustees favoured the lucrative spectacle over structural integrity. And indeed, the website of the museum, whose collection includes the "Cutty Sark", currently offers this place as an "awe-inspiring event location". It can hold up to 450 people for a reception and 270 for a banquet. Events that regularly take place below the ship's hull include "live music, groundbreaking operas, late-night theatre performances, discos and more" - a sacrilege in the eyes of experts.
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However, visitors with a more nautical interest will be more than rewarded when they descend the steps to the area under the hull. There, subtle minds experience a mind-altering journey through time. An experience that is sure to send one or even several shivers down the spine.
The steps are under a ship weighing over 2000 tonnes. A classic that has sailed around the world at least 20 times. A construction that stood for grandiose design during its lifetime, a cargo ship with 150 years of history. It is almost as if everything above the waterline in the real world is condemned to insignificance by the sheer power of the underwater hull and its pure charisma. And it is not just an illusion that the shape of this underwater ship made the classic "Cutty Sark" a marvel of the sailing world. This is virtually the scene of the action during her record-breaking voyages. It doesn't take much imagination to picture the sea rushing under this long keel, dolphins leaping off the bow and icebergs reflected in the bright copper-red panelling.
The classic has a multifaceted history
There is no doubt that the classic "Cutty Sark" occupies a special place in the collective memory of lovers of nautical history. Also or because her story is characterised by more misfortune, death and murder than is generally assumed.
Built for the Jock Willis shipping company in Dumbarton, Scotland, by Scott & Linton (who went bankrupt before completion), the "Cutty Sark" was the culmination of thirty years of clipper development, the construction of fast ships for the flourishing tea trade. The faster the new season's tea reached London, the higher the profit. Tea clippers were designed to be comparatively narrow for their length. The classic "Cutty Sark", for example, is only eleven metres wide with a hull length of just under 65 metres. It was also intended to be able to cut through the waves with its sharp bow and run at maximum speed with a large sail area on three fully rigged masts. The "Cutty Sark" was built in such a way that 3000 square metres of cloth could be spread over 32 sails.
The "Cutty Sark" was designed by the Scottish designer Hercules Linton, who modelled it on another ship. The Tweed also belonged to Willis and was considered to be exceptionally fast, although it was actually too heavy for the tea trade. Linton took the sharp bow of "The Tweed", but gave the new design a more square stern with less attack surface and more buoyancy. This was done to minimise the risk of wash over in a stern sea. The rig of the ship also imitated the design of "The Tweed" with inclined masts and a foremast that was positioned further aft than usual. The ship's name comes from the poem "Tam O'Shanter" by the Scottish writer Robert Burns. In it, a witch wears a nightgown that is too short and is labelled "Cutty sark".
The "Cutty Sark" sails the world's oceans with cargo
After being christened in November 1869, the "Cutty Sark" set off on her first voyage to Shanghai on 16 February 1870 under the command of George Moodie. Wine, spirits and other merchandise were stowed in the cargo holds. After loading 590 tonnes of tea in China, she returned to London, where she arrived on 13 October after 109 days - the ship had thus only taken three days longer than the legendary "Thermopylae". Over the next eight years, she would take between 107 and 122 days to complete her voyages. This made her one of the fastest ships in the fleet, even if she never achieved a top result. The record-breaking voyages of the "Cutty Sark" only followed later and with different cargo.
At this time, the days of the tea clipper were already numbered. The launch of the "Cutty Sark" coincided with the opening of the Suez Canal, which shortened the original route via the Cape of Good Hope by 3,300 miles. The new route was unsuitable for sailing ships, so steamships were increasingly used for the lucrative tea trade. The clippers therefore had to find new cargo to make their voyages worthwhile.
1877 marks the end of tea on the "Cutty Sark"
Today's classic "Cutty Sark" transported her last cargo of tea to Europe in 1877. Over the next few years, she transported a variety of goods. Coal from Japan to Shanghai, jute from Manila to New York and the first ever shipment of tea to Australia. These were difficult times for the ship, which began with the death of its second captain, William Tiptaft. He fell ill and died in Shanghai in October 1878.
Two years later, "Cutty Sark" sailed under Captain James Wallace. During this time, first mate Smith killed a rebellious crew member and was imprisoned. When the ship reached land again, however, the accused man was not brought to justice; instead, Wallace allegedly disposed of the murder weapon and helped him to escape. A few weeks later, apparently wracked with guilt, the 27-year-old captain committed suicide by jumping off the stern of the ship. Smith was later arrested and sentenced to seven years hard labour for manslaughter.
Difficult conditions often prevail on board the cargo ship
The next captain of the "Cutty Sark" fared only marginally better than his predecessors. According to legend, William Bruce was an incompetent, cowardly loudmouth who spent most of his time on board getting drunk with his first mate and was incapable of leading the ship. Before the last leg of the voyage from Cebu in the Philippines to New York, he had failed to procure sufficient provisions, so that the crew had to beg for leftovers from other crews. When the ship arrived in New York in April 1882, the crew complained to the owners; the captain and his first mate were subsequently dismissed and later suspended by an American court. However, this came too late for some crew members: seven men had died in the previous two years and seven more had left the ship on their own.
By this time, the rig of the "Cutty Sark" had already been reduced. The main mast, initially 43 metres long, had been shortened and all the sky and lee sails, which provided more propulsion in light and rough winds, had been disposed of. This was primarily a cost-cutting measure, allowing the ship to be sailed with 21 men instead of the original 31.
Changes to the design provide a boost
Despite her smaller rig, fate now led the "Cutty Sark" into the most successful time of her life. This time she was carrying Australian wool. In 1883/84, she completed her first two voyages with new cargo and travelled the distance from Australia to Great Britain in 82 and 80 days, making her at least three weeks faster than any other ship. In 1885, Richard Woodget became captain and, through a combination of skilful seamanship and daring navigation, made the "Cutty Sark" the fastest cargo ship in the wool trade.
Woodget's tactics were basically as simple as they were brutal. The captain, who liked to move around on roller skates on board, commanded the ship deep into the Southern Ocean in order to utilise stronger winds and sail a shorter course, despite the high risk of collision with icebergs and growlers. In order to avoid such actions, world regattas such as The Ocean Race The ship was also prohibited from travelling in restricted areas due to the risk of ice collisions. Under Woodget's command, the ship regularly reached speeds of over 17 knots; its fastest journey from Sydney to London took just 73 days.
The classic is converted at the beginning of the 20th century
Eventually, however, steamships also took over the wool trade, and the "Cutty Sark" was sold to the Portuguese company Ferreira & Co for 2100 British pounds in 1895. For the next 28 years, the ship transported cargo under the name "Ferreira". It travelled between Portugal, Rio de Janeiro, New Orleans, Mozambique and London. It survived the First World War almost unscathed, but was dismasted in a storm off South Africa in 1916. Instead of replacing the rigging true to the original, the owners decided to convert the "Cutty Sark" from a full-rigged ship to a barquentine. Although this made her easier to sail for a smaller crew, this change also put an end to her record-breaking times once and for all.
Former captain Wilfred Dowman saw the ship in this new livery while seeking shelter from a storm in Falmouth in January 1922. Dowman recognised it immediately and was determined to buy back the "Cutty Sark" "for the nation" and refit her with her original rigging. His mission was ultimately successful, albeit at a high price of £3,750.
The classic "Cutty Sark" becomes a museum ship
After the rig had been restored to its original condition, Dowman used the ship for 13 years for sail training off Falmouth. When he died in 1936, his widow Catharine donated it (plus 5000 pounds for maintenance) to the Thames Nautical Training College. The "Cutty Sark" was towed across the English Channel to Greenhithe near the Thames estuary; it was to be her last sea voyage. For the next twelve years, she was berthed at a mooring and used by the Royal Navy for cadet training. By the early fifties, she had fallen into disrepair and was close to decay.
In Greenwich, a few miles upriver, Frank Carr, director of the National Maritime Museum, founded a society for the preservation of the historic ship and won Prince Philip as patron. Since then it has belonged to the Cutty Sark Society. Thanks to Carr's drive, a dry dock was built just a short walk from the museum, where the ship found its final berth in December 1954.
The museum classic requires extensive maintenance
Museum ships that are no longer in the water are always problematic, and the "Cutty Sark" was no exception. As she was leaning on her keel, the hull was warped in 2004 and the steel frames were badly corroded. A restoration programme was launched, but this came to a dramatic end when a fire struck the ship in May 2007. It turned out that most of the structure had already been removed for the restoration work and it was primarily the decks that were not original that had fallen victim to the fire; only five per cent of the original structure had been damaged. By this time, however, the images of the fire had already been publicised around the world and had resulted in a flood of donations.
Driven by this increased income, the restoration programme was resumed in 2009. Twelve steel frames were used to support the hull and some frames were replaced. The ship was finally lifted and placed on 24 piers, which support its entire weight. The keel hangs freely above the floor of the former dry dock. The cost of the restoration was around £46 million.
Divided opinions on the project on the Thames
The plan presented by London architect Grimshaw caused despair among sailors and London's cultural elite. However, the Trust continued with the project undeterred and the ship was duly handed back to the public by Queen Elizabeth II in April 2012.
"Grimshaw's disastrous restoration of the Cutty Sark has instead mutilated the object that should have been saved," wrote Building Design Magazine in September 2012. Seven years later, however, these complaints now seem pessimistic. The icon of British maritime history is more popular than ever and has already attracted two million visitors since its reopening. According to curator Hannah Stockton, she is in very good condition. "The ship is regularly inspected and checked by our conservation team. I'm not aware of any negative changes," she says. "The Cutty Sark still has more than 90 per cent of its original planking."
The designers and constructors, who for their part had also achieved something extraordinary for the time, would certainly have been immensely proud to see their workmanship displayed in such a spectacular way, despite any criticism.
- All about the "Cutty Sark" at the Royal Museum Greenwich
