lesson 25

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  One of the most famous sailing ships of
the nineteenth century, the Cutty Sark,
can still be seen at Greenwich. She
stands on dry land and is visited by
thousands of people each year. She serves
as an impressive reminder of the great
ships of the past.Before they were re-
placed by steam-ships, sailing vessels
like the Cutty Sark were used to carry
tea from China and wool from Australia.
The Cutty Sark was one of the fastest
sailing ships that has ever been built. The
only other ship to match her was the
Thermopylae. Both these ships set out
from Shanghai on June 18th, 1872 on an
exciting race to England. This race,
which went on for exactly four months, was the last of its kind. It marked the
end of the great tradition of ships with sails and the beginning of a new era.
The first of the two ships to reach Java after the race had begun was the
Thermopylae, but on the Indian Ocean, the Cutty Sark took the lead. It seemed
certain that she would be the first ship home, but during the race she had a lot of
bad luck. In August, she was struck by a very heavy storm during which her
rudder was torn away. The Cutty Sark rolled from side to side and it became
impossible to steer her. A temporary rudder was made on board from spare
planks and it was fitted with great difficulty. This greatly reduced the speed of
the ship, for there was danger that if she travelled too quickly, this rudder
would be torn away as well. Because of this, the Cutty Sark lost her lead. After
crossing the equator, the captain called in at a port to have a new rudder fitted,
but by now the Thermopylae was over five hundred miles ahead. Though the
new rudder was fitted at tremendous speed, it was impossible for the Cutty Sark
to win. She arrived in England a week after the Thermopylae. Even this was
remarkable, considering that she had had so many delays. There is no doubt that
if she had not lost her rudder she would have won the race easily.