Tea Party Diva - Life & Craft

The Cutty Sark is perhaps the most famous of all the tall ships or tea clippers plying the tea trade.

Built in 1869, it was one of the last of the original tall ships to be built, and is the only tea clipper still able to be viewed today.

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The Cutty Sark’s sleek lines and large sails made it a fast ship. It is The 32,000 square feet of canvas sails are equivalent to the area of 11 tennis courts.

The Cutty Sark & The Tea Trade
In its heyday, The Cutty Sark was just one of hundreds of tall ships or tea clippers from many countries plying the trade routes.

It was built for the then lucrative Chinese tea trade. With the law of supply and demand, the first tea back commanded a ready market and high prices. There was also a good deal of prestige attached to the first tea of the season.

The Tea Races - China to London

With the stakes high, the tea clippers literally raced each other to bring back the first tea of the season from China to London.

While refined Londoners sipped tea, and entertained at afternoon tea in their country houses, the tea clippers were undertaking a dangerous and difficult voyage. Sailors worked a 12 hour day, 7 days a week.

The tea races became a major sporting event on the London social calendar. The Great Tea Race of 1866 was a particularly exciting event, with an amazingly close finish.

Cape Horn, was, as it is today, a treacherous leg of the voyage. The ship would often heel to 40 degrees with huge waves breaking on the deck. Sailors often had to climb the rigging to secure and adjust the tall sails in these perilous conditions… all for the sake of a cup of tea.

The Opening of The Suez Canal

The opening of the Suez Canal, signalled the death knell for the big tall ships which could not fit through the canal. This heralded a new era of steam ships, which while not so fast, were safer. They were also more consistently reliable with schedules and maintenance.

The Cutty Sark’s Last Tea Cargo

The Cutty Sark carried her last tea cargo in 1877. She later plied the wool trade between England and Australia. This journey took approximately 67 days. The ship was renowned for its speed, and is reputed to have once recorded 360 nautical miles in 24 hours, an outstanding speed for her size.

The Tall Ships Today

There is mystique and nostalgia about the tall ships era, even today. In 1956 a tall ships race was organised from Torquay in Cornwall, England to Lisbon, Portugal. It was designed to be a salute and final farewell to the tall ships era and their legendary tea clipper races. However, the race was so popular, that it has become an annual event.

The Cutty Sark Today

The Cutty Sark can still be seen today. It is the only remaining original tall ship still in existence. It is now a tourist attraction, and can be visited in dry dock in Greenwich, London. The Cutty Sark name also lives on as the name of a whisky, and on the nameplate of numerous British pubs.

Times Past