It was an unscheduled stop but nonetheless significant for that because Dowman recognised beneath her shabby exterior the unmistakable shape of a ship whose fame he’d known since he was a young cadet. So this begs the question why should a merchant ship be so highly regarded?īack in 1922 Captain Wilfred Dowman stood in Falmouth harbour watching a Portuguese brigantine called Maria do Amparo take refuge from a storm. Now I understand that there is a certain distiller of Scotch whisky who took her name back in the 1920’s and I cannot deny this spirit has played a part in keeping the ship’s name in the forefront of international conscience, but this in itself is a measure of the fame of the ship. There is a very compelling argument Cutty Sark’s name transcends national boundaries.Put simply Cutty Sark is known everywhere around the globe. Of course my tongue is planted firmly in my cheek but Cutty Sark is a ship which sailed to virtually every major port in the world. And as far as the majority of Britons are concerned, USS Constitution,the most famous ship in the USA (pictured in the bottom right hand corner) is part of the Star Trek fleet! Then of course there is Nelson’s flagship, well known in the UK but I suspect awareness falls off at a vast rate of knots the further you go from Portsmouth. I believe I’m correct in saying Kate Winslett and Leonardo DiCaprio brought it back to public attention again in 1997 – you might recall the name… There is a wreck, not a ship, but a wreck dissolving some two and a half miles below the Atlantic Ocean, somewhere off the Newfoundland Banks. In the week of the fire Cutty Sark received no less than six solid hours of mainstream television and radio coverage in the UK alone.But before I go any further I thought I should pause briefly and qualify my claim that Cutty Sark is the most famous ship in the world. I have always maintained Cutty Sark – the greyhound of the sea – is the best known historical vessel and for me that day proved it beyond the shadow of a doubt. If there was anything positive that came out that day, it was that this was not just a local story, not even a national story, but an international story.The four corners of the earth were shocked at what they saw and heard on worldwide broadcasts. Although she was built to have a working life of just thirty years, she is still with us 143 years on – nearly fivefold her original life expectancy.įamously Cutty Sark survived the fire in May 2007 which stretched from stem to stern, and reached temperatures in excess of 1000oc. So far he seems to have been proved right. Captain Moodie, her first captain, claimed she would ‘last forever’. One of the main advantages of talking about Cutty Sark is being able to say, without sparing anybody’s blushes, this is a ship which needs no introduction. Gresham College have invited me here today to address the question: My name is Richard Doughty, and I am the Chief Executive of The Cutty Sark Trust.
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