The Cutty Sark is a clipper ship. Built in 1869, she served as a merchant vessel (the last clipper to be built for that purpose), and then as a training ship until being put on public display in 1954. She is preserved in dry dock in Greenwich, London. However, the ship was badly damaged in a fire on 21 May 2007 while undergoing extensive restoration. The Cutty Sark is the only remaining original Clipper ship from the 1800s.

Name: Cutty Sark (1869-95) Ferreira (1895-1916) Maria do Amparo (1916-22) Cutty Sark (1922-date) Namesake: "Scottish witch Cutty Sark" Ordered: 1868 Laid down: 1869 Scott & Linton shipyard, Dumbarton Launched: 22 November 1869 Christened: 22 November 1869 by Mrs. Moodie Acquired: British Merchant Navy Commissioned: 16 February 1870 In service: February 1870 Out of service: December 1954 Homeport: London (1870-1895) Lisbon (1895-1911) Lisbon (1911-23) Falmouth (1923-38) London (1938-date) Identification: UK Official Number 63557[1] Motto: Where there's a Willis a way Nickname: Pequena Camisola (port. 'little shirt') Fate: Museum ship since 1954 Notes: designed by Hercules Linton General characteristics Class and type: Tea Clipper Tonnage: 975 GRT[1] Displacement: 2,100 tons (2,133.7 tonnes) at 20 ft (6.1 m) draught Length: Hull: 212 ft 5 in (64.74 m) LOA: 280 feet (85.34 m) Beam: 36 ft (10.97 m) Draught: 21 ft (6.40 m) loaded Propulsion: Sails Speed: 17.15 knots (31.76 km/h) Capacity: 1,700 tons (1542 tonnes) Complement: 28-35		Etymology The ship is named after the cutty sark (Scots: a short chemise or undergarment[2]). This was the nickname of the fictional character Nannie Dee (which is also the name of the ship's figurehead) in Robert Burns' 1791 comic poem Tam o' Shanter. She was wearing a linen cutty sark that she had been given as a child, therefore it was far too small for her. The erotic sight of her dancing in such a short undergarment caused Tam to cry out "Weel done, Cutty-sark", which subsequently became a well known idiom.
		Cutty Sark on display in Greenwich, London. Pictured before the disasterous fire.

Cutty Sark in drydock.

See also

Cutty Sark (short story)

• City of Adelaide
• Falls of Clyde
• Star of India
• List of tall ships
• List of large sailing vessels

Cutty Sark's compass.

External links

Cutty Sark homepage

• A family connection to her
• Cutty Sark, Virtual Reality image Quicktime image of the tea clipper
• Aerial view of Cutty Sark at Google Maps
• Images of England - details from listed building text
• Buildings at Risk Register: Cutty+Sark
• MaritimeQuest Cutty Sark Pages
• HNSA Web Page: Cutty Sark
• Cutty Sark Guide

• 

  Cutty Sark's ratlines.

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