On the afternoon of Monday, 22nd November, 1869, a beautiful little clipper ship of 963 tons was launched from Scott and Linton's shipyard at Dumbarton, on the Clyde.
She bore a name that was to become famous throughout the world and was destined to win a place in the hearts of British seamen second only to Nelson's immortal Victory herself. Her name was the Cutty Sark.
The name Cutty Sark derives from the Robert Burns poem ‘Tam O’Shanter’, where a beautiful witch called ‘Nannie’, chases Tam while riding his grey mare home one night.
She wore only a Cutty Sark, which was a short shirt made from Paisley linen. In the poem she reaches out and grabs the horse’s tail, which is why her image on the ship's figurehead shows her left arm out-stretched.
She was recorded to have reached speeds of 17 and a half knots, her best day's run is recorded at 363 miles, averaging 15 knots, and on one occasion she sailed 2,164 miles in six days and on another 3457 in eleven days.
