The Cutty Sark in Greenwich, London for her 150th anniversary

© Grant Rooney Premium/Alam

The Cutty Sark turns 150

We're featuring the Cutty Sark in today's image to mark the 150th anniversary of her launch on 22 November 1869. Built for speed, she began her short career as a tea clipper racing across oceans 'at a clip' to deliver the season's first tea harvest to England. While at times the Cutty Sark was considered one of the fastest ships in the world, her practical use as a cargo ship was ending almost as soon as she was launched. Steamships using the much shorter route through the newly opened Suez Canal were able to deliver the tea harvest faster and cheaper. In 1883, the Cutty Sark began hauling wool from Australia, but within 10 years steamships also disrupted this business.

By 1922, she was the last clipper ship still in use when she was sold to Wilfred Dowman, who had her restored and turned into a cadet training ship. In 1954, the Cutty Sark was docked at Greenwich, restored again and opened to the public. She was closed again for the Cutty Sark Conservation Project in 2006 but was devastated by fire the following year. Fortunately her original masts and many planks were in storage at the time and she was able to reopen, fully restored, in 2012, with most of her original features still intact. Today, visitors to the Royal Museums Greenwich can explore all facets of this former pinnacle of sailing technology, which is part of Maritime Greenwich, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.