Lesson25TheCuttySarkCuttySark

indock,Greenwich-January2005The

CuttySark

isa

clipper

ship高速帆船.Builtin1869,sheservedasa

merchantvessel

商船,andthenasatrainingship教練船untilbeingputonpublicdisplayin1954.CuttySark

wasdestinedforthe

tea

trade,thenanintenselycompetitiveraceacrosstheglobefrom

China

to

London,withasubstantialbonustotheshiptoarrivewiththefirstteaoftheyear.

Inthemostfamousraceagainst

Thermopylae

[θ?'m?p?li:]in1872,bothshipsleft

Shanghai

togetheron18June,buttwoweekslater

CuttySark

losther

rudder

船舵afterpassingthroughthe

SundaStrait,andarrivedinLondonon18October,aweekafterThermopylae,atotalpassageof122days.Sheispreservedin

drydock

in

Greenwich,

London.CuttySark

isoneofonlythreeshipsinLondononthe

CoreCollectionoftheNationalHistoricShipsRegister

核心收藏的國家歷史船舶登記

-----alongside

HMS

Belfast

and

SS

Robin.Badlydamagedbyfireon21May2007,thevesselisbeingrestoredandisexpectedtoreopenin2012.WhatpieceofbadluckpreventedtheCuttySarkfromwinningtherace?Oneofthemostfamoussailingshipsofthenineteenthcentury,theCuttySark,canstillbeseenatGreenwich.Shestandsondrylandandisvisitedbythousandsofpeopleeachyear.Sheservesasanimpressivereminderofthegreatshipsofthepast.Beforetheywerereplacedbysteamships,sailingvesselsliketheCuttySarkwereusedtocarryteafromChinaandwoolfromAustralia.TheCuttySarkwasoneofthefastestsailingshipsthathaseverbeenbuilt.TheonlyothershiptomatchherwastheThermopylae.BoththeseshipssetoutfromShanghaionJune18th,1872onanexcitingracetoEngland.Thisrace,whichwentonforexactlyfourmonths,wasthelastofitskind.Itmarkedtheendofthegreattraditionofshipswithsailsandthebeginningofanewera.ThefirstofthetwoshipstoreachJavaaftertheracehadbegunwastheThermopylae,butontheIndianOcean,theCuttySarktookthelead.Itseemedcertainthatshewouldbethefirstshiphome,butduringtheraceshehadalotofbadluck.InAugust,shewasstruckbyaveryheavystormduringwhichherrudderwastornaway.TheCuttySarkrolledfromsidetosideanditbecameimpossibletosteerher.Atemporaryrudderwasmadeonboardfromspareplanksanditwasfittedwithgreatdifficulty.Thisgreatlyreducedthespeedoftheship,fortherewasadangerthatifshetravelledtooquickly,thisrudderwouldbetornawayaswell.Becauseofthis,theCuttySarklostherlead.AftercrossingtheEquator,thecaptaincalledinataporttohaveanewrudderfitted,butbynowtheThermopylaewasoverfivehundredmilesahead.Thoughthenewrudderwasfittedattremendousspeed,itwasimpossiblefortheCuttySarktowin.Shearrivedin20EnglandaweekaftertheThermopylae.Eventhiswasremarkable,consideringthatshehadhadsomanydelays.Thereisnodoubtthatifshehadnotlostherruddershewouldhavewontheraceeasily.

Topicsfordiscussion1Tellusaboutanygreatsailingorshippingadventureordisasteryouknowabout.2Haveyoueverbeenonavoyageorcruiseonalargeship?Tellusaboutit.----Orwouldyouliketogoona