Cutty Sark

Designed by Hercules Linton and built by Scott & Linton at Dumbarton in 1869 as a composite built extreme clipper ship for "Old White Hat" Jock Willis of London at a cost of £ 21/ton. Her dimensions are 212'5"×36'0"×21'0" and tonnage 963 GRT, 921 NRT, and 892 tons under deck.

Sailed on the China Tea Trade for a couple of seasons without distinguishing herself. Was moved over to the Australian wool trade when the tea trade was taken over by the steam ships. Here she proved to be a regularly fast sailer.

1869 November 23: Launched at Dumbarton, for John Willis, London. Assigned the official British Reg. No. 63557 and signal JKWS.
1869-1872: Captain George Moodie.
1870 June 25 - October 13: Sailed from Shanghai to London in 110 days.
1870 November 10 - February 16: Sailed from the Downs to the North Saddle in 98 days, or 101 days from London to Shanghai.
1871 September - December 27: Sailed from Shanghai to London in 110 days.
1872 June 18 - October 18: Sailed from Shanghai to London in 122 days.
1872 August 15: Lost her rudder off the Cape of Good Hope when racing Thermopylae to London with the first tea.
1872-1873: Captain F.W. Moore.
1873-1878: Captain W.E. Tiptaft.
1873 July 9 - November 3: Sailed from Shanghai to London in 117 days.
1874 June 24 - October 21: Sailed from Woosung to London in 119 days.
1874 November 14 — February 2: Sailed from London to Sydney in 73 days.
1875 June 21 - October 22: Sailed from Shanghai to London in 123 days.
1876 June 9 - September 26: Sailed from Woosung to London in 109 days.
1877 June 6 - October 24: Sailed from Woosung to London in 127 days.
1878-1880: Captain J.S. Wallace.
1879 September 23 - January 12: Sailed from Manilla to New York in 111 days.
1880 March: The lower masts were shortened 9 feet 6 inches, 7 feet off her lower yards and the rest of the spars were shortened in proportion. The skysail yard was removed.
1880 June 7 — August 16: Sailed with coal to from Lundy Island to Anjer for orders in 69 days.
1880 September 5: Captain Wallace committed suicide on voyage Anjer to Yokohama.
1880-1882: Captain Bruce.
1882-1885: Captain E. Moore.
1883 December 28 — March 20: Sailed from Newcastle, NSW, to London in 82 days.
1884 June 15 — September 5: Sailed from London to Newcastle, NSW, in 79 days from Lizard.
1884 December 9 — February 27: Sailed from Newcastle, NSW, to London in 80 days.
1885-1895: Captain Richard Woodget.
1885 October 16: Sailed from Sydney to the English Channel in 67 days [Lubbock has 68 days].
1887 March 26: Sailed from Sydney to London in 72 days [Lubbock has 70 days to the English Channel].
1887 August 17 — November 17: Sailed from London to Newcastle, NSW, in 89 days.
1887 December 28 — March 7: Sailed from Newcastle, NSW, to London in 69 days.
1888: Sailed from Newcastle, NSW, to Dungeness in 71 days.
1888 October — January 20: Sailed from Sydney to London in 86 days.
1890 May 14 — August 2: Sailed from London to Port Jackson in 75 days.
1890: Sailed from Sydney to Start in 74 days.
1890 December 15 (17) — March 17: Sailed from Sydney to London in 93 days.
1891 April 23 — July 13: Sailed from London to Port Jackson in 79 days.
1891 November 5 — January 29: Sailed from Sydney with 4638 bales of wool to London in 85 days.
1892-1893: Laid up for six months in London and Antwerp.
1894 December 9 — March 26: Sailed from Brisbane to London in 84 days.
1895 July: Sold Ferreira & Co., Lisbon, for £ 2100 and was renamed Fereirra.
1914-1918: Captain Frederico di Sousa.
1916 May: Dismasted in a gale off the Cape of Good Hope and was sold. The new owners had rerigged her as a barquentine and renamed Mario do Ambaro.
1922: Purchased by Capt. Wilfred Dowman 1922 for £ 3750 and restored for use as a stationary training ship, first at Falmouth later in 1938 moved to The Thames where she remained until 1949 when she was permantly dry-docked at Greenwich as a museum ship.

References:

Clipper ships, general references.
anon.: The Queen Opens the Cutty Sark.
Sea Breezes Vol. 24, Liverpool, 1957. pp 78-82, ill.
Baker, William F.: Running her Easting Down. The Story of the Cutty Sark and other Great China Clippers.
The Caxton Printers, Caldwell, Idaho, 1974. 4to, xiv, 170 pp, ill.
Brettle, Robert E.: The Cutty Sark: Her Designer and Builder.
Heffer & Sons, Cambridge, 1969. 8vo, vi, 45 pp, ill., 3 pl.
Carr, Frank G.G.: The Cutty Sark and the days of sail.
Cutty Sark Society, London, ?. 8vo, (2), 24 pp, ill.
Crosse, John: Thermopylae v. Cutty Sark: The 1872 Official Logs.
The Mariner's Mirror Vol. 60, London, 1974. pp 63-72, 1 pl.
Dressel, Don: The Cutty Sark.
The Ship Modelers Association.
Grönstrand, Lars: Seglande skepps farter.
Longitude 3, Stockholm, 1968. pp 30-37, ill.
Hume, Cyril L. & Armstrong, Malcolm C.: The Cutty Sark and Thermopylae Era of Sail.
Brown, Son & Ferguson, Glasgow, 1987. 8vo, (4), x, 182 pp, ill, 16 plates.
Kure, Bernt: Skibsrestaureringsprojekter i England.
Marinehistorisk Tidsskrift 17. årg, København, 1984. pp 26-30.
Linton, Ann: Hercules Linton, 1836-1900. Designer of the Cutty Sark.
The Mariner's Mirror Vol. 64, London, 1978. pp 3-8, 1 pl.
Longridge, Nepean C.: The Cutty Sark. The Ship and the Model.
Argus Books, Kings Langley, 1975/1933. 8vo, xxix, 208 pp, ill, 11 pl, xi, 232 pp, ill.
Lubbock, Basil: The Log of the Cutty Sark.
Brown, Son & Ferguson, Glasgow, 1960 (Repr. of 2nd ed. 1945); 8vo, xii, 332 pp, 51 pl.
Pritchard, L.A.: The Cutty Sark.
The Mariner's Mirror Vol. 2, London, 1923. pp 380.
Shewan, Andrew: The Great Days of Sail. Some reminiscences of a Tea-clipper Captain.
Conway Maritime Press, Greenwich, 1973. 8vo, 240 pp, 17 pl.
Stammers, Michael: Sail on the Mersey.
Countyvise, Birkenhead, 1984. 4to, 36 pp, ill.
Villiers, Alan: The Cutty Sark, last of a glorius era.
Hodder & Stoughton, London, 1971. 8vo, 96 pp, 8 pl.
Waite, Simon: Cutty Sark: Restoration of the Mizzen Lower Mast.
The Mariner's Mirror Vol. 86, London, 2000. pp 206-212, ill.

Updated 2000-05-17 by Lars Bruzelius.

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