Cutty Sark

Cutty Sark was built exclusively for the Chinese tea trade. Tea had been enjoyed in Asia for centuries, but it did not reach Britain until the 1650s. Tea was initially hailed for its medicinal qualities and was mainly enjoyed by the wealthy. But thanks, in part, to an extensive smuggling network, its popularity exploded. Tea taxes were slashed to end the smuggling, and by the early 19th century, working families were consuming it twice daily. It was also a huge business, with over 28 million kilogrammes imported in 1869 alone.

This spurred the ‘great tea races’ and a spirit of intense competition: get home first, and you could command huge prices. That's why, as a clipper ship, Cutty Sark was designed to be fast.

Built in Dumbarton, Scotland, in 1869, the ship was owned by John ‘Jock’ Willis and designed by Hercules Linton.

On its maiden voyage, the ship departed London on February 15, 1870, bound for Shanghai.

On this outward voyage, the ship carried a general cargo, including wine, spirits, beer, and manufactured goods. After successfully reaching China on May 31, the ship was loaded with 1,305,812 lbs. of tea. After only 25 days in port in Shanghai, the ship sped back to London, arriving on October 13 of the same year.

The East India Company was established in 1600 and given a monopoly on all trade in the East. They bought Chinese goods such as silk, porcelain, and tea for silver.

But the Chinese were largely uninterested in British goods. This caused an ‘imbalance" that the Company felt could not be sustained. They had to find a way to recoup the silver. The Company decided to grow opium in India for merchants to illegally sell on to Chinese smugglers for silver.

In 1839, Chinese authorities attempted to control the growing addiction problem by seizing and destroying shipments of opium in Canton (Guandong).

Taken as an affront to free trade and viewed as an opportunity to extend influence in China, Britain declared war. The resulting Opium Wars inflicted a humiliating defeat on China and forced the opening of formerly closed Chinese ports to trade.

Without this and the end of the Company’s monopoly, ships like Cutty Sark could not have traded in tea.

But Cutty Sark’s tea career was cut short by the Suez Canal.

Opened in the same week as Cutty Sark was launched, the canal cut the voyage out to China by over 3,000 miles. Instead of sailing all the way around the continent of Africa, ships could now simply sail through the Mediterranean Sea and the canal to reach the Indian Ocean.

But it was not a practical option for sailing ships like Cutty Sark. There were challenging wind conditions in the Mediterranean and Canal, and there were expensive tolls to contend with.

Instead, steamships could now take advantage of this ‘short cut’ to load greater amounts of tea and return to London at least ten days earlier than Cutty Sark could hope for. After just eight voyages, Cutty Sark was forced out of the trade for which it had been built.

After abandoning the tea trade, Cutty Sark entered the Australian wool trade in 1883. The ship made it back to London at least 25 days before any of its competitors, marking the beginning of its most successful period.

Two years later, Richard Woodget became the captain of the ship. In his ten-year service, he mastered getting the most from his ship and men. In 1886, he brought the ship back from Sydney to London in a record-breaking 73 days.

In order to catch the 'Roaring Forties' trade winds around Cape Horn, Captain Woodget pushed further south than previous commanders. This meant the ship encountered icebergs and violent gales and seas. But it also meant winds, which could propel the ship home.

Woodget took up photography in these years, leaving us with an invaluable record of life on board Cutty Sark. In the 1890s, Cutty Sark began to make less money as more steam ships moved into the wool trade. Eventually, the ship was sold to a Portuguese firm and renamed Ferreira. It was used as a general cargo ship, transporting goods between Portugal and its empire.

When Portugal declared war on Germany, the ship had to contend with unrestricted submarine warfare. Despite surviving this unscathed, by the 1920s, the ship was in poor condition and unlikely to survive much longer.

In Falmouth for repairs, Cutty Sark was spotted and recognised by local retired sea captain Wilfred Dowman. Determined to save the ship and restore it to its former glory, he offered to buy it for £3,500—more than what the ship was worth even in 1895. The old name was restored, and Cutty Sark returned to British ownership.

Source:

https://www.rmg.co.uk