The reputation of such a spirited and renowned vessel as Cutty Sark is widespread. Her working life, excluding her time as a Portuguese vessel, saw her visit 11 countries in total; her crew over her 26 years under the red ensign hailed from 35 different countries. This was a ship that sailed the globe, saw the most exotic locations known to mankind, and returned home full not just of cargo, but of stories. When tragedy struck Cutty Sark on 21 May 2007 due to a now-infamous fire, messages of support and financial contributions flooded in from around the world. Such is Cutty Sark’s lasting fame: despite not venturing to sea for more than 60 years, she continues to stir the excitement of people worldwide.
As with so many ships of the Victorian age, Cutty Sark can be considered a lucky ship. While most other ships would consider their luck in terms of surviving the elements – and Cutty Sark is no different in that regard – she can also consider her arrival in Greenwich and final homing there as one of her greatest trials. The site now occupied by Cutty Sark and her outstanding dry dock had been earmarked in 1948 for preserving an entirely different vessel, HMS Implacable, at the time one of only two ships surviving from the Battle of Trafalgar of 1805 (the other being HMS Victory, at Portsmouth).
With post-war austerity making the conservation of HMS Implacable too expensive to justify, the site in Greenwich was left vacant as Implacable was scuttled off the coast of the Isle of Wight in December 1949. The outrage stirred by this act was channelled into the formation of the Cutty Sark Preservation Society, which was founded in 1952. With the patronage of HRH The Duke of Edinburgh and the support of Frank Carr, the director of the National Maritime Museum, Cutty Sark was brought to Greenwich for conservation on a tide of public support in 1954. Without the scuttling of Implacable, the future of Cutty Sark would have been clouded; no permanent home besides Greenwich had presented itself, and without the support of the British public – hot on the heels of the national disappointment over the Implacable’s demise – Cutty Sark may not have had the extraordinary new lease of life she enjoys today.
Cutty Sark has inspired many people during her 147-year lifespan. In 1967, the renowned sailor Sir Francis Chichester’s ambition to surpass the fastest passages set by ships such as Cutty Sark saw him become the first person to circumnavigate the globe single-handed via the clipper route, aboard Gipsy Moth IV. Following Chichester’s death in 1971 the yacht was displayed in a dry dock next to Cutty Sark in Greenwich, providing a fitting resting place before her subsequent restoration and return to the water more than 30 years later.
The famous ship designer Stephen Payne, who designed the Cunard ocean liner RMS Queen Mary 2, was inspired to take up his career by a visit to Cutty Sark as a child. The name Cutty Sark also appears more frequently elsewhere than one would imagine: as the name of a transport station on London’s Docklands Light Railway; on a world-famous whisky brand; on several public houses around the world; as the name for several race horses over the two centuries; on an aircraft; and also as the name of a music band. Synonymous as it is with speed, adventure and fame, it is hardly surprising that the name Cutty Sark is popular to this day.
Nearly 150 years since her keel plank was laid, Cutty Sark continues to set records and inspire those who see her. Since the 1950s, when she became permanently housed in a dry dock in Greenwich, more than 16 million visitors have stepped on board Cutty Sark, with countless millions more posing for photographs alongside her.
Since the start of the London Marathon in 1981, she has been one of the first major landmarks encountered by runners on the route.
Today Cutty Sark stands as a beacon of endurance, one of the truly great survivors from a bygone era. Her contemporaries have long since vanished, scuttled overseas, shipwrecked, or simply broken up. Cutty Sark survived two world wars, a hurricane while serving under the Portuguese flag, and innumerable storms as she traversed through the Roaring Forties of a severity unimaginable today. She has survived mutiny, lack of maintenance and loss of purpose; yet in Greenwich she stands resolute and ready to tell her story to visitors from around the world.
Cutty Sark today
National Maritime Museum, London (S1655-032)