Posted on 05/20/2007 10:04:21 PM PDT by FreedomCalls
The preserved 19th-century ship the Cutty Sark is on fire, London Fire Brigade has confirmed. It is said to be 100% alight and eight fire engines are at the scene in Greenwich, south-east London.
Greenwich town centre is closed to traffic and the Docklands Light Railway will also close because of a police cordon, Scotland Yard said.
Local residents were also expected to be evacuated shortly.
The ship, one of the capital's best-loved tourist attractions, is currently closed to the public for extensive renovation work. It was due to reopen in 2009.
There are fears that gas cylinders that may be on board the ship because of the renovation work may explode.
London Fire Brigade said the Metropolitan Police received a call at 04:55am reporting an extensive fire on the 19th-century clipper.
The Clyde-built Cutty Sark was, in 1869, one of the last sailing clippers to be built.
She was destined for the tea trade, then an intensely competitive race across the globe from China to London, with immense profits to the ship to arrive with the first tea of the year.
I feel the same way about this as I do when a classic plane is destroyed in a crash but the pilot gets out OK. Kind of sick to know there will never be another one.
A few days after seeing the Cutty Sark, I got to see the Bicentennial parade of tall ships on July 4, 1976 in New York harbor from about an altitude of 15,000 feet in a red Branniff 727.
A few days after seeing the Cutty Sark, I got to see the Bicentennial parade of tall ships on July 4, 1976 in New York harbor from about an altitude of 15,000 feet in a red Branniff 727.
*ping*
oh
I guess the one good thing is that the masts and spars had already been removed and could possibly be restored.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/kent/6180614.stm
When I was stationed in Sasebo, Japan the base HQ building (dating from pre-WWII Japanese Navy) was gutted by a fire during renovations. The irony was they were installing a modern sprinkler system.
Back on topic, it will be a real shame if the Cutty Sark is lost.
But go to Mayfair and see all the muslims you can handle!
I believe it was Samuel Clemens who called America and Britain “two nations separated by a common language.”
Yes, very sad. The first ship model I built was of the Cutty Sark (means "Petticoat". Proably referred to the bow wave she threw up as she sliced through the water. She was one fast vessel.)
At least I know what I will be drinking if she is destroyed.
When I saw the title the first image that popped into my mind was John Belushi after they took the bar in Animal House.
“...the whole gawddamned bar! Even the stuff we didn’t steal!”
LOL!
Bush’s fault!
The techniques and materials to build a ship like that correctly have been lost to history and stupidity. This is a tragic loss of an irreplaceable artifact.
It looks like somebody owes you a cookie.
ping
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