Results tagged “Cutty Sark”

The hoardings surrounding the Cutty Sark have come down revealing the refurbished ship for the first time in almost six years.

The project which has cost more than £50million has also raised the historic clipper 12 feet above its dry dock to create a museum space and cafe underneath and help extend the life of the ship.

The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh are coming to Greenwich on April 25.

The visit will celebrate the borough's new royal status and is part of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee tour.

The restoration of the Cutty Sark moved a step closer after the tea clipper's masts were raised for the first time in over four years.

The three masts were erected over the weekend on the Greenwich landmark, has been closed since November 2006, is due to be reopened by The Queen next spring after a £50million conservation project.

The Queen will reopen the restored Cutty Sark next year as part of the celebrations of her Diamond Jubilee.

Leader of Greenwich Council, Cllr Chris Roberts has revealed that The Queen will be in the town next spring to officially reopen the tea clipper, which has been undergoing a multi-million pound restoration for the last five years.

The Cutty Sark gallery below the restored ship will be named in memory of a major benefactor who died on Friday (June 3).

Billionaire shipping magnate Sammy Ofer who made multi million pound donations to Greenwich maritime, died weeks before the opening of the National Maritime Museum wing also named after him.

Iconic clipper the Cutty Sark has been hoisted almost 12 feet up into the air and become the first ship to receive such treatment.

The Greenwich landmark is currently undergoing extensive restoration work and this week the cradle holding the ship was jacked up 11' 6" above its dry dock.

A proposed extension to the planned tower providing access to the renovated Cutty Sark, doubling its length and increasing its height by almost two metres has resulted in backlash from English Heritage and action groups.

Organisations including Greenwich Conservation Group and Greenwich Foundation have criticised alterations to the 2005 plans, calling them "intrusive" and "a disappointing solution."

An awe-inspiring event only matching the arrival of the blue whale at the Natural History Museum for impact.

That is how Cutty Sark Trust Director Richard Doughty feels about the latest stage in the ship's restoration - the first time any historic vessel in the world has been permanently raised to preserve its structure.

Hanging out with Johnny Depp on the set of Pirates Of The Caribbean is not in the traditional job description of a boat rigger.

You will more likely find riggers hanging around in a harness at the top of a 40metre-high mast, swaying about in the much less glamorous wind and rain of the Docklands.

In 2007 it was widely reported that the future of the Cutty Sark was in doubt after a fire raged through the historic vessel.

The damage looked bad but was not as devastating as first feared - mostly because much of it was in storage at the time and the Cutty Sark Trust never lost faith that it could be returned to its former glory.

BLUNDERING security guards have been partly blamed for the fire that ripped through Greenwich's Cutty Sark last year.

A joint investigation into last May's blaze revealed an industrial vacuum cleaner is likely to have been responsible for the damage to the historic tea clipper.

But senior investigating officer Det Ch Insp David Garwood also pointed the finger at the two night security guards patrolling the site that evening.

CANARY Wharf businesses could be set to help fund the Cutty Sark's historic face-lift.

The world's last remaining tea clipper is just £3million away from meeting its £30million refurbishment target. And trustees are reportedly in discussions with two major Wharf businesses to support the re-birth of the Greenwich attraction, which was ravaged by fire in May last year.

Trust chief executive Richard Doughty confirmed negotiations into a possible deal were on-going during an event on Thursday (April 24), in which part of the stern was winched loose for conservation work.

He revealed talks were underway on a mutual benefit partnership, in which money would be donated in exchange for association with the ship and privileged use of the facilities.

He said: "It's very early yet in our discussions. But we're situated in the shadow of Canary Wharf and, once the restoration is complete, businesses are going to be able to see the Cutty Sark in a way they haven't before."