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Cutty Sark

The world’s last intact tea clipper trading ship, the Cutty

Sark epitomised the tailend of the age of sail, built to

negotiate cross-continent trading routes with great speed

T

he Cutt y Sark was an English clipper-class ship that

was used predominantly to transport tea from

China to England. It was built for speed, w ith a

narrow hull, a w ide, for ward-raked bow and a square rig

on a three-mast setup.

These factors enabled the ship to cut through rough

waves w ith greater effi ciency than pre-existing trading

vessels, allowing produce such as tea, cocoa, coal and

wool to be rapidly transported cross continent for

expedited deliver y (for the time). In fact, the high speeds

attainable by clipper-class ships led to the formation of

the ‘Race of the Tea Clippers’, an annual event where

various crews battled it out to bring in the fi rst tea

shipment of the year.

The Cutt y Sark was – and still is today, albeit as a tourist

attraction – a prime example of the tea clipper. With

planking, deadwoods, stem and sternpost made from

A merican rock elm, a bespoke iron frame, a deck made

from teak and solid brass bolting throughout, the ship was

one of the most expensive and advanced clippers at sea.

This build qualit y was ensured by its shipbuilder’s

determination to outsail the other great clipper of the age

the Thermopylae, something that it would proceed to do

no less than fi ve times during its career. Luckily, despite

the ship falling into poor condition, numerous refi ts and

restorations mean that today its condition remains

unchallenged worldwide.

Unfortunately, as with many tools and technologies, the

age of the Cutt y Sark/clipper was not to last. The invention

of the steam engine had led to increasing mechanisation

throughout the Industrial Revolution and by the late-19th

Centur y steam-powered ships were becoming fi nancially

viable to the mass-market. This, in partnership with the

opening of the Suez Canal – which created a shortcut

bet ween Europe and A sia not traversable by sail-powered

ships – caused clippers to be slowly phased out. As such

the Cutt y Sark was sold in 1895 and re-rigged in Cape

Tow n, South A frica, returning to England in the Twenties

to ser ve as a training ship.

Today the Cutt y Sark is preser ved in a dr y dock in

Greenwich, London, where it is viewable to the public as a

maritime museum piece.

Hull

The Sark’s hull was

made from wood

on a metal frame.

The ship’s deck

and brims were

made from teak.

© DK Images

The Cutt y Sark

moored in Sydney

Harbour, Australia

The Cutt y Sark

was very

advanced

for its era

HISTORIC