Cutty Sark’s narrow hull and tall rigging were designed to move tea quickly from China to Britain. Yet the Suez Canal favored steamships, shortening the clipper’s tea-trading career; the ship’s later success in the Australian wool trade shows how vessels adapted when commerce changed.
Guide preview
The tall masts and streamlined hull of Cutty Sark show a ship built around speed. Launched in 1869, it was commissioned for the China tea trade, where the first cargoes of each season could command high prices in London.
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Quick facts
- Cutty Sark was built in 1869 for the China tea trade.
- Its hull combined teak and rock elm with an iron frame.
- It completed eight tea voyages before moving to other trades.
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