I was appalled yesterday (21/05/07) morning when I turned on Sky News to see the pictures of Cutty Sark ablaze in her dry dock at Greenwich, in London. I grew up in London and have been on board the ship several times, and she had been a regular part of my childhood as I crossed the River Thames between Woolwich and Greenwich. At that time Sir Francis Chichester's yacht Gypsy Moth IV was on display nearby. It is perhaps fortunate that it is no longer there, otherwise that might have burned as well.It is strange that with all the strife in the world that is broadcast on rolling news channels that the loss of Cutty Sark has hit me quite hard. Watching the ship burning on TV was quite an upsetting experience and it has left me feeling like a part of me has died. I hope the fire was an accident and not Arson as the police think it may have been. If somebody fired this piece of history I hope they are proud of what they have done. The picture on the front of today's TIMES (22/05/07) of the burned out hull shows just how devastating the fire was. It is fortunate that a large part of the ship's timbers, the masts and rigs, and parts of the superstructure including fixtures like the figurehead had been removed as part of the restoration project that had been started six months ago. At least these will survive to go back into the ship if it can be rebuilt.
The only other surviving example of a tea clipper like Cutty Sark is the City of Adelaide, which has been lef
t to rot on a slipway at the Scottish Maritime Museum, Irvine, Ayrshire, for the last 16 years. I have to say that it is very coincidental that a meeting is to take place next week in Edinburgh with regard to dismantling City of Adelaide due to failure to secure the necessary funding (10M Pounds) to restore the ship. The loss of both ships within a week would just be too much and herein lies a problem. The money in the restoration fund for Cutty Sark would restore City of Adelaide which is now probably a more viable proposition. City of Adelaide was still afloat up until 1990 when she sank at her moorings. The ship was salvaged and left on the slipway where she still stands today. The trouble is that City of Adelaide doesn't have the same heritage as Cutty Sark. The cost of repairing Cutty Sark is now going to increase by at least 5M Pounds, and that is assuming that the iron hull is salvageable from what is left in the dry dock at Greenwich.
t to rot on a slipway at the Scottish Maritime Museum, Irvine, Ayrshire, for the last 16 years. I have to say that it is very coincidental that a meeting is to take place next week in Edinburgh with regard to dismantling City of Adelaide due to failure to secure the necessary funding (10M Pounds) to restore the ship. The loss of both ships within a week would just be too much and herein lies a problem. The money in the restoration fund for Cutty Sark would restore City of Adelaide which is now probably a more viable proposition. City of Adelaide was still afloat up until 1990 when she sank at her moorings. The ship was salvaged and left on the slipway where she still stands today. The trouble is that City of Adelaide doesn't have the same heritage as Cutty Sark. The cost of repairing Cutty Sark is now going to increase by at least 5M Pounds, and that is assuming that the iron hull is salvageable from what is left in the dry dock at Greenwich. The vision for the future of Cutty Sark was a good one. I just hope that the ship still has a future and that it can be rebuilt for the enjoyment of future generations, just as I enjoyed it as a child. The icing on the cake would be for funding to become available to restore City of Adelaide as well. 10M Pounds is a drop in the proverbial ocean when you consider the amount of money that changes hands for football clubs and players. Someone out there has the money to save these two ships for the Nation. It would be even better to see City of Adelaide made seaworthy again and sailed in the Tall Ships Race that bears Cutty Sark's name.
Somebody make it happen.
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