Cutty Sark

Cutty Sark, three-masted British clipper ship, launched 1869 from Dumbarton, Scotland. The last tea clipper to be built (and the only to survive), she set out on her maiden voyage from London to Shanghai in Feb., 1870. Later (1883–95) she plied the British-Australian wool trade. Sold (1895) to a Portuguese firm, she carried cargo until 1917, when she was re-rigged as a barquentine. In 1922 she was bought and restored to roughly her original appearance, and was used as a cadet training ship until 1938. Acquired by the Cutty Sark Society in 1953 and restored, the ship became (1957) a maritime museum at Greenwich, SE London. A new restoration begun in 2006 was set back by a fire (2007) that badly damaged the ship.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2024, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

See more Encyclopedia articles on: Naval and Nautical Affairs