Tuesday, May 22, 2007



Cutty Sark fire

Fire broke out on the historic clipper ship Cutty Sark at 4.45 AM GMT (12:45 AM EST) Monday morning. By 6:28 AM GMT (2:28 AM EST) the fire had been put out by the London Fire Brigade. Nonetheless, the ship was all but destroyed. Arson is suspected.

The Cutty Sark was the centerpiece of harbor redevelopment in Greenwich, England. Fortunately, much of the rigging, flooring, and hardware from the ship had been removed as part of an ongoing restoration projected to cost 25 million pounds. Now an additional 10 million or more will have to be raised to begin building her from the ground up in dry dock.

In a moving memoir, journalist Ceri Radford fondly recalls how the Cutty Sark attracted her to make Greenwich her home. Over 120 readers have left comments bemoaning her fate on the Cutty Sark website. We should all join them if we treasure objects of maritime history.

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7 Comments:

At 4:24 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

This is terribly sad. I love Clipper Ships. There is a replica here that sails out of SF Bay. It is an awe-inspiring site to see with its 152ft masts accepting love from the ocean winds.
Catherine, the redhead

 
At 4:35 PM , Blogger Don Thieme said...

Love from the ocean winds. A nice thought.

 
At 11:01 PM , Blogger george.w said...

What an awful sight, the burning ship. But if it's rebuilt from the ground up, is it the same ship?

Or what made it the same ship it was before? There are temples in Japan whose beams and planks have been individually replaced over the centuries. For that matter, the cells of my body have mostly been replaced over the years. In what does continuity reside?

 
At 5:35 AM , Blogger Don Thieme said...

Are you asking Aristotle or asking Plato?

 
At 11:00 AM , Blogger george.w said...

Am I asking design, production, or marketing?

 
At 11:08 AM , Blogger Don Thieme said...

I guess Plato does design, and Aristotle the production. Who does the marketing, Hegel?

 
At 12:00 PM , Blogger george.w said...

LOL! Sure, if I get to run the sandwich truck.

 

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