20 Jan 2016

Clipper Ship Cutty Sark is widely admired for her beauty and her stories have ignited the imaginations of millions. 

The ship has provided inspiration to numerous esteemed marine artists including John Everett, Montague Dawson, Geoff Hunt – even James McBey, the famous Scottish artist who designed the label for Cutty Sark whisky in 1923.

Everett painting inspired by Cutty Sark

As a source of inspiration, it does not stop there – thousands of models of this famous ship have been lovingly handmade over the years, her image has appeared on travel posters, postage stamps, decorated teapots, comics, handkerchiefs and more.

The Maggie Law Museum in Gourdon, Scotland, were inspired to write a series of songs about clipper ship Cutty Sark in partnership with local P4 pupils from Bervie School. The museum in Gourdon is just one and half miles away from Inverbervie, the birthplace of Cutty Sark’s designer, Hercules Linton and Linton and his most famous ship, Cutty Sark, are the subject of three songs which can be heard on the museum’s website.

Bervie School pupils were also inspired to write poems about Cutty Sark including the following poem about the ship and her most famous master, Captain Woodget:

Poem - Bervie School project

Captain Woodget sailed the Cutty Sark

When it was morning and when it was dark

He sailed it all through the night

But he never got a fright

 

It just had sails

But it never did fail

There was a lot of sea

And on the ship there was lots of tea

 

It took a long [time] to make

So they stopped to have a break

They had some cake

And for tea they had some steak

 

In the fast ship

They put their hand on their hip

There was a lot to see

But there wasn’t any bees

 

More Cutty Sark-inspired poems next week!