Greenwich, U.K.
The 19th–century clipper ship Cutty Sark went up in flames this week, and historians say it will take millions of dollars to salvage it. The ship was undergoing restoration in a Greenwich dry dock when the fire broke out. Police said they had no indications of arson. Fortunately, most of the ship’s teak siding did not burn; it had been removed so restorers could reach the iron frame. “With my naked eye, as far as I have been able to see, the structure of the ship seems to be intact,” said Richard Doughty, the chief executive of the Cutty Sark Trust. The ship, the fastest of its day, hauled tea from China to Britain. It is the last surviving example of an extreme tea clipper, once regarded as the ultimate merchant sailing vessel.
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