Ships Nostalgia banner

Cutty Sark - the fire and aftermath

17K views 109 replies 59 participants last post by  Phill  
#1 ·
BREAKING NEWS,,,,,,,,,

THE `CUTTY SARK @ GREENWICH IS 100% ABLAZE according to london fire brigade, local residents evacuated,

AWFULL
 
#8 ·
Dreadful news! Looks pretty bad on the telly.

I watched them take away a lot of stuff when they started work so whether she can be restored or not will to a large extent depend on how much damage is down to the cast iron work. We can only hope for the best.

If this is a case of arson you can only wonder what on earth the perpetrator was thinking of - other than maybe a pathetic 5 minutes of fame!

Brian
 
#9 ·
A sad, sad day.
I can't bring myself to watch the news. Watching it burn seems somehow indecent.

If this is a case of arson you can only wonder what on earth the perpetrator was thinking of - other than maybe a pathetic 5 minutes of fame!

Brian
They'll get that alright if the police don't catch them first. Some very suitable lamp posts in that area or handy salvaged yardarms.(Cloud)
 
#16 ·
Why would anyone set fire to the Cutty Sark?!!
Unfortunately there are those in this world with no talent of their own, and their driving internal force is to destroy that which is good and wholesome, and that which is admired by the many. The plain fact is that they are morons and will ever remain so. It has been thus throughout history; but now, of course, there are wide interests in preserving our masterpieces, and it makes the destruction all the more poignant. The human spirit picks itself up and carries on, showing the morons the disdain they deserve.
 
#15 ·
Just wondering about the gas bottles on site that caused so much consternation and delay by the fire brigade, according to reports. Exactly how much gas was on site and how was it stored? In any case my understanding in such a situation is that there should be attempts to cool the bottles to prevent any explosion. By doing this the fire damage to the vessel's fabric may also have been reduced somewhat.
 
#17 ·
If this is arson, it proves that some people have no respect for our martitime heritage or indeed respect for fellow humans, if they can be called the latter. Morons who purposely do such terrible things are trying to get a bit of fame because they do not have the guts to do something great themselves. Most likely scrounging on the state taking money that the rest of us sweated our nuts off for. But as Treeve says, the human spirit picks itself up. This low life will never beat us. Hopefully, despite the terrible damage, the Cutty Sark will be returned to her former glory. David
 
#18 · (Edited)
I work with a small number of arsonists. Most are learning disabled (but sectioned under the MHA'83 part 3 - Criminal). Why did they do what they did? One set fire to a Burger King (burned it to the ground) because he wanted to see 'what happens'. One set fire to a cotage he'd burgled to 'cover his tracks' and the third is charged with 'arson with intent to endanger life' - he's on year 2 and believes he has now done his time. Intellectual impairment notwithstanding, they are all 'not bothered' - the term is 'no victim or situation empathy'. Of the four we have, three are considered to be high risk still.

One - believe it or not - got a job at a crematorium ( I kid you not) and has been there two years and is doing really well.

However, those with an IQ above 70 (all mine are below that) set fires for all the reasons given above and more - social standing, peer admiration - and should face the full weight of the law when they come to trial, if they ever do. As for 'they'll never beat us' -apologies David - they are doing a pretty good job of it nowadays due to the 'PC crowd' citing all manner of excuses to explain the behaviours. The law is not tough enough, I'm afraid. In my case, repeat offenders seldom get through the system as the CPS believe it is 'not in the public interest' and they end up back in medium or high secure units, a drain on resources and at no cost to themselves. Then they get out and someone takes pity on the poor lambs as they have been 'institutionalised' and therefore are not 'ready for society at large'. Trust me, I work with them.

Someone mentioned lampost?

A pity that she should end her days like this though. I wonder whether she will get Lottery Funding or something like that to make good the damage - or will they say no and we shall have to see one more piece of our maritime history consigned to the dump?

Jonty
 
#19 ·
I used to work in and around the Greenwich area and even 20 odd years ago it was crime-ridden and full of local yobs torching cars, probably for the fun of it and because they felt they could get away with it. Now they've probably gone up in the World because, exactly as Jonty says, the law isn't tough enough. Either that, or someone has a grudge, possibly against a contractor dealing with the restoration.

Whatever the reason though, it is very, very sad indeed and one hopes that she can still be restored to her full glory.

Phil
 
#23 ·
Here here Tony to many do gooders in this country zero tolerance is what is needed not a free holiday to Africa for the poor little darlings.

GOOD NEWS THOUGH

It looks like most of the damage is to the tempory wood work to protect the ship while repairs are on going and the team overseeing the repairs are confident that the phoenix will rise again.

Paul
 
#29 ·
Awful news, i got woken up at 7.30 this morning to "The cutty sarks on fire" ...i shot up like a rocket and put the news straight on!

Coulden't believe it.

If it is arson, i cant believe why anybody would set fire to the cutty sark either, i hope they get who done it.

I too had visited the cutty sark many times with my grandad as a kid and working on the river, i would sometimes get off the boat and run up the chinese shop opposite the cutty sark to get a take away... the ship always stunned me.

The CCTV inside the cutty sark somebody mentioned is interesting? Never knew they had it inside...should show the people who did it then hopefully?

Theres some aerial shots showing the damage here :http://uk.reuters.com/article/topNe...KL2145549020070521?src=052107_1439_TOPSTORY_cutty_sark_fire_may_have_been_arson

Chris Livett who i know well (Chairman of the Cutty Sark Trust & Owner of Livetts Launches) ,was on tv this morning also giving a speech along with police and fire brigade

Now all is left to do is wait and see what comes out of the investigation