In May 2007 The Cutty Sark, a 19th century tea clipper caught fire. It was apparently caused by an industrial vacuum cleaner being left on for 2 days. Fortunately many parts of the ship had been removed as it was being renovated at the time but the fire caused £10m worth of damage.The boat is kept in a dry dock at Greenwich and it has been greatly missed.
The 3 tall masts were an iconic image of Greenwich and were greatly missed by residents and tourists alike. I'm glad to say that they are back and it is great to see them towering above Greenwich Village again.
The ship was originally built as a tea clipper but when steamers took over this trade it was used to transport wool from Australia. It achieved the fastest ever wind powered voyage from Australia to England via Cape Hope in 72 days in 1885.
Seems like there's a lot to visit in Greenwich! I'm definitely telling my sister we're going there next time I visit her! :o)
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