THE CUTTY SARK

Gisborne Times, Volume LXXXIV, Issue 12869, 23 May 1936, Page 11

THE CUTTY SARK

FAMOUS TEA AND WOOL. CUPPER. ... /( tyj-j. y-.:' ; ■' Tf • i, LIT 5, WAS SHE THE.FASTEST SHIP ON THE S-EA# GISBORNE RESIDENT WAS APPRENTICE ON BOAf*D. i- .rHf, 555 ‘ .... ... ; : CL Gw. ! r - - “QTJTTY SAUK!” These magical words will raise a controversy among- old shellbacks in any ]mrt of tile globe from Limelioiiso to Sluing-hai, from ’-.Frisco. to Sydney, fbr e veil in America they” know the fame of. the Gutty' Sark, often claimed to be the fastest clipper that ever sailed the seas. Nothing- built,--either in wood'or iron, It;was held by her supporters, could approach this- little vessel whose fame has spread over the whole world, and now tier performances have g-rown up. almost in the nature of a leg-end.

The world is a small place after all, and strange to sav, there is living in Gisborne to-day a typical old limejuicer, Mr Ben Boyle, of Lowe street. Eighty-seven years on this earth.— or perhaps terra finna and tare sea would bo nearer the marl:—have loll; little effect oil him. .jovial, happy, sn foil possession of nil bis faculties and with an unlimited sense of good humor, Air Boyle told y. “'limes” reporter of the days he spent as an apprentice on the Cutty Sark. Those were the days of the tea clippers, tearing home with all sail set to smash their way back to tho London market, with the unfailing lure of tho ship’s reputation to

keep up. In those days the arrival or the favorite i doner always saw a

cheering crowd at tho dockside, ami another long journey Horn the East was over. Mention the name- of the Cutty Sark and the old mariner’s eves light up and he thinks of the days when speed depended on the wind a■ icon seamanship, not as now on oil or steam.

Air Boyle .started on the Cutty Sark as an apprentice under Captain Colbert and before lie left, he had risen to the nrisition of bi.atsw.'Tiibs mate. Then lie transit -itch to the Dover Castle, which sailed lor A’i elbourne. Then off to China went the bai-qno and back to Belfast, where a

A l-amcue fc/Saster

Undoubtedly a lot depended on the

shipload of emigrants were taken to Melbourne, ioe vessel then came on to Auckland, and Air Boyle, liking the lonic of the country.--signed off, and has been in the Dominion ever since. Nevertheless ho still retains his interest in tho Catty Sark, and can talk for hours on end of the famous little ship. Afnny of the stories associated with the- famous shin arc- not true, but the fact remains that 10 the nubhe with an interest in sea faring the- Cutty Sark is one name known above all others. Siio was a wooden rather than a composite vessel of 921 tons, and was built in J8(59 of the best greenheart and teak, and in the course of over fifty years suffered little deterioration. She- was constructed for speed and that was the primary consideration, tor the first s lipment o: tea from China each season was naturally keenly competed lor by traders. Time after time the Cutty Sark romped home almost to schedule time. It should, el course, be mentioned that the majority of her competitor.-, were uiT.r ships and therefore past their prime when the Cutty Sark competed with them. As to those buiit laier. which also failed to catch her on Ihe sc ay, it should ntrnaps oa said that a wooden ship, especially one built - of greenheart and teak, never deteriorates with time as an iron and stee-l vessel does.

Thrilling Race

At that t.iivid the pritlo t iiO 1 -^ clipper fleet, was tlu; r J hermopylao. and naturally of course the prospects of a race between the two famous ships were a favonie topic of discussion. Tins occurred on only one occasion, for as soon as a ship loaded she left. Shanghai for London. On Juno 21. 1872, however, both dinners left Shanghai within an hour or two of each other. Two days out the Gutty Sark's foretopgallant sail was split by a gale. Going down the .China Sea. the two ships were constantly in sight of each other; first- one and then the oilier having a. slight advantage. A fortnight later the Cutty Sark nad established a good lead over her- [,. latitude 31 S.. however, a howling westerly gale wluen had rriior.fi' split several' of the Cutty Park’s sails, ear-

tied away hc-r rudder oral her ehanc-o of winning the race vanished. Whether tliri Cutty Sark would have* won i i sliil argued i:i T.-.-k f.Ms and dives from Linn !;oiis< to Sydney, out til r fact remain.; that the ear- - was never decided. IN THE AUSTRALIAN WOOL 'TRADE Then came ihe advent of steam and the shorter route borne via the Suez Canal, and out went the tea. clippers. It common with many others the Cutty Sark enter--:! the Australian wool trade and for six year:;, from 1874 to 1880. she held the best average. 731davs, thong:! she neve;- bon; t he Thor mopyjuo’s first two runs to the colonies in 1868 and '>Bo9. 1 lie Cutty Sark made some astonishing daily runs in the. “roaring forties,” one being 363 knots for the twenty-four hours, an average oi over 15 knots, faster by far than many steamers of the present day. She v. as a wonderful little ship.

master of the ship, and in this connection the most famous, so far as the wool trade- was concerned, was Caplain Woodgct, who died in 1328. The London woo! sales were hold in tho first throe months of the year and lists closed as soon as a sufficient number of c: rgoos arrived or had beer, reported in the Channel. Delays meant expense, as the cargo of a ship ai riving late- had to he placed in stores for perhaps some months, thus increasing the cost to the grower, with tho possibility of n fall in the price of wool in the meantime. Captains of late-starting ships were invariably promised a substantial subsidv if they reached Ji.'.rn:; in time ter the silc-s. Then again there was the- matter of storage of cargo, and it- is recorded that Captain V, eodgot was so expert in this line that he could get ICO more bales of wool into the Cutty Sark then his predecessor. Captain W oodgfct spent all the day in the hold '•'Taring loading operations, and not an inch of space- was wasted. Kail Steamer Easily Beaten. The Cutty Sark had hc-r masts and yard; eve. clown considerably more than once, hut her speed did not seem to suffer. That she was a marvellous vc-ss. 1 admits of no doubt. Tit a sailor in tho steamship inevitably looks down upon the- old-time wooden pioneer, but one at least was frank enough to admit his surprise at the clippers - performance; Tlie Cutty Sark met the P. and O. mail ■ steamer , Britannia, from Cape Gario to Sydney. A fresh breeze sprang up and away she romped, getting into part- several hours ahead -of the mail-boat. A squall split her maiaroyal to ribbons and another had tn be hen*.. ah-hough she was at that time within an hour or two o! renohir.h; port-. The skipper of the mail boat- said Liter that, when the chief officer came to him and reported a sailing ship coming up astern. lie answered,: --Nonsense, man! 1 \ oil must be dreaming!” i no officer persisted. however and it was not until tho skipper came up on deck that he could believe it. After the wool trade ended, so far ns sailors were- concerned, the -ml ship had, a chequered -c-aree*-. She braved German cruisers and submarines, carrying mealies ter the Allies. On one or-east n she was dismasted by a cyclone in the Indian-Ocean, but limped into Delaghn Bay and them e to Capetown lor repairs.