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The ship Cutty Sark now open

The tea clipper ship Cutty Sark docked at Greenwich, London, now most famous of of all clippers has re opened to the public.

I have a long association with  Cutty Sark, the painting illustrated here was displayed on board Cutty Sark for several years.Last_Departure_d.JPG

This painting shows Cutty Sark in old age under Portuguese ownership making her last ever departure (the keen eyed will notice the scene is Falmouth Bay) with a cargo.

This beautiful  Gordon Frickers original measured 762 x 1015mm (30″ x 40″) was painted in oils and was sold to a descendant of the renowned Portuguese explorer & navigator Vasco de Gama. Last_Departure_detail_1.JPG

You can read more on page

http://frickers.co.uk/marine-art/ferriera_departure.html

This oil painting was one of 3 I have produced showing this fine old tea clipper.

The Cutty Sark, last fully restored at Falmouth docks, I have photographs of Cutty Sark in Falmouth docks,  has made an impressive comeback following a careless and disastrous fire.

Her Majesty the Queen officially reopened this 1869 this tea clipper ship, ‘Cutty Sark‘, on 25 April after a massive restoration project spanning six years and costing £25m.

The ship has been lovingly restored allegedly with much of her original fabric  maintained – most of Cutty Sark‘s timber was in storage at the time of the catastrophic fire in 2007, which threatened to finish the ship the entire renovation project.

In a brilliant feat of engineering, Cutty Sark has been raised 11ft into the air to relieve the keel from the weight of the ship – 900 tonnes, and preserving Cutty Sark‘s  lines and better to display her elegant beauty.

For the first time visitors can walk underneath the hull.

Her decks and rigging have been painstakingly restored piece by piece.

The metal frame of the hull is largely original

The new plating on the hull of this composite ship is true to the original.

The timber planks that form the hull – each measuring around 30ft – are still the original elm below the waterline and teak above.

It is reckoned that over 90% of the ship is ‘original’ – if a ship is ever truly that after undergoing repairs throughout the course of its working life.

“There were two major problems to address during the project – corrosion of the iron frame and rotting of the timbers,” said Jim Soloman, head of conservation from Buro Happold, the engineering company that worked on this project.

I first visited Cutty Sark as a child aged about 6 and have had the pleasure of taking my own 6 year old son onboard Cutty Sark.

If you visit Cutty Sark, kindly let me know what you think of her present condition, thanks, enjoy