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--- lesson 25 The Cutty Sark “ |
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--- Listen to the tape then answer the question below. |
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--- What piece of bad luck prevented the Cutty Sark from winning the race? |
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One of the most famous sailing ships of the nineteenth century, the Cutty Sark, can still be seen at Greenwich. |
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She stands on dry land and is visited by thousands of people each year. |
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She serves as an impressive reminder of the great ships of the past. |
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Before they were replaced by steamships, sailing vessels like the Cutty Sark were used to carry tea from China and wool from Australia. |
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The Cutty Sark was one of the fastest sailing ships that has ever been built.^“ |
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The only other ship to match her was the Thermopylae. |
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Both these ships set out from Shanghai on June 18th, 1872 on an exciting race to England. |
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This race, which went on for exactly four months, was the last of its kind. |
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It marked the end of the great tradition of ships with sails and the beginning of a new era. |
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The first of the two ships to reach Java after the race had begun was the Thermopylae, but on the Indian Ocean, the Cutty Sark took the lead. |
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It seemed certain that she would be the first ship home, but during the race she had a lot of bad luck. |
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In August, she was struck by a very heavy storm during which her rudder was torn away. |
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The Cutty Sark rolled from side to side and it became impossible to steer her. |
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A temporary rudder was made on board from spare planks and it was fitted with great difficulty. |
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This greatly reduced the speed of the ship, |
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for there was a danger that if she travelled too quickly, this rudder would be torn away as well. |
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Because of this, the Cutty Sark lost her lead. |
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After crossing the Equator, the captain called in at a port to have a new rudder fitted, |
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but by now the Thermopylae was over five hundred miles ahead |
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Though the new rudder was fitted at tremendous speed, it was impossible for the Cutty Sark to win. |
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She arrived in England a week after the Thermopylae. |
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Even this was remarkable, considering that she had had so many delays. |
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There is no doubt that if she had not lost her rudder she would have won the race easily. |
