The Cutty Sark Clipper Ship

after a fire ravaged the ship, which was undergoing restoration. I can’t wait for it to re-open and to see it in its former glory.

Another piece of history lost, and all of a sudden i feel special.. :)
If you didn’t ever get the chance, they were restoring it..
Poured £25M into the restoration, and then this..

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/6675381.stm :(

We should have some new pictures really.. :)

Before the steam engine became ubiquitous, cargoes where transported across the world by sail. Some cargoes like tea from China and India or wool from Australia could reach high prices in London. Every year, ships would sail out for a round the world voyage to arrive on the other side of the world in time for the harvests and would sail back home. The highest price would go to the cargo of the ship that would arrive first. This started a technological race between shipping companies and shipyards to create the fastest sailing ships. Those ships were known as clippers, built specifically to follow the trade winds around the world. They carried a staggering surface of sail, had a hull built for performance and able to withstand the worst weather the ocean could throw at them. Only the most experienced crews would man them.

The Cutty Sark was the fastest of them all. She is a masterpiece, the result of years of work by shipwrights who were masters of their craft.

Unfortunately, she is currently undergoing major conservation work and will not be open to the public until late 2008. But hopefully those works will enable her to be kept in good shape for many more years.