By 1869, when Cutty Sark was built, tea had become part of the staple diet of the poor, but it was among the rich that tea-drinking had evolved into an elaborate social occasion. Tradition has it that afternoon tea was 'invented' by Anna Maria, the wife of the seventh Duke of Bedford, who in 1841 started drinking tea and having a bite to eat in the mid-afternoon, to tide her over during the long gap between lunch (eaten at about 1 o'clock) and dinner (eaten at around 7 o'clock). This swiftly developed into a social occasion, and soon the Duchess was inviting guests to join her for afternoon tea at 5 o'clock. It did not become instantly popular elsewhere though, partly because in fashionable circles dinner was eaten earlier, leaving less of a gap to be filled by afternoon tea. But by the 1860s the fashion for afternoon tea had become widespread. Such teas were elegant affairs, with tea drunk from the best china and small amounts of food presented perfectly on little china plates. On offer might be bread and butter, scones and cakes, and sandwiches with the crusts cut off.

Contemporary manuals on etiquette and good housekeeping are full of advice on how to conduct a correct afternoon tea. The idea of needing an instruction book in order to enjoy a cup of tea and a biscuit with some friends seems rather alarming these days, but although nineteenth century afternoon teas were elaborate affairs from our point of view, in those days they were considered relatively informal occasions. Invitations were issued verbally or by note, and rather than attending for the entire duration guests were free to pop in when it suited them and likewise leave when they wanted to. The hostess would pour the tea, but it was the responsibility of the men to hand the cups round. If there were no men present, this job fell to the daughters of the hostess or other young women present (goodness know what happened if there were no men and no daughters available!). There was a fashion for women to wear tea gowns, but these were softer and less restrictive than evening gowns, and it was not always deemed necessary for women to wear gloves. Nonetheless many did, and the author of The Etiquette of Modern Society points out that a thoughtful hostess should always provide biscuits with tea, since these can be eaten more easily than sandwiches without removing one's gloves.

To read this article in it’s original location and for a wealth of information on tea, including interesting stories about tea,  visit the UK Tea Council website www.tea.co.uk

The entire compliment of the ship was, at most, 28 men, including the Master and the First Officer or Mate.

Nationalities were mixed, Danes, Germans, Greeks, Italians, Australians, and West Indians all served on Cutty Sark. Most of the time, however, the majority of the crew were registered as British subjects.

The crew lists for Cutty Sark, one for each voyage, required under Act of Parliament and the later Merchant Shipping Act of 1835, still exist.

This act stated that the master of any vessel belonging to a British subject bound on a foreign voyage, or any British registered vessel of eighty tons or more had to carry a written agreement made before the voyage with every man on board.

This agreement was to specify the wages, the nature of the voyage and the capacity under which he was to serve. The list would also help inform the list of victuals to which the seaman was entitled.

The food was basic and monotonous. There was no way to freeze items for long voyages, unlike on ships today. Items such as fresh fruit or coffee were simply unavailable to a merchant seaman back in the late 19^th century. Several methods of preserving were available to mariners, particularly smoking and salting. Such methods did not however provide ships' crews with a healthy diet.

A cask of beef and a cask of pork would be opened every two weeks. Bread and ‘hard tack’ (ship’s biscuits) were served on alternate days. Rations for all foodstuffs were generally less than what would be expected today.

Some effort went into provisioning Cutty Sark with fresh food, but on longer voyages this was not possible. Livestock was carried on board; usually chickens or pigs. In calm weather the pigs were allowed to roam around the deck.

Fresh water was a valuable commodity: it had to be rationed and the freshwater pump was kept locked. Each man was allowed a gallon a day, but five pints of this went to the cook, leaving only three pints for drinking and washing.

If you are interested in more detailed information about each person listed as serving on board between the years 1870 – 1895 a book is available from our online shop ‘The Crews Of The Cutty Sark’.

Ships Biscuit

It was reported in the news this week that modern container ships are taking longer to cross the oceans than the Cutty Sark. Travel times between Australia and Europe, are today comparable to those of the great age of sail in the 19th century.

This is due to modern shipping lines adopting 'super-slow steaming' to cut back on fuel consumption. A combination of the recession and a growing awareness about climate change emissions has lowered speeds, with many major companies operating their ships at 12 knots (under 14mph) down from 25 knots in 2007.

It’s also reported that shipping companies are adopting different ways to reduce fuel use and cut carbon emissions. Fitting ships with kite-like "skysails” or systems that force compressed air out of hulls to allow them to "ride" on a cushion of bubbles have all been tried.

Also many modern commercial ships including the Queen Mary 2 have had their hulls coated with special anti-fouling paint. This has been shown to cut around 9% from CO₂ emissions by keeping their bottoms free from barnacles and other sea life. In the mid 19^th century to prevent this happening to Cutty Sark’s hull it was sheathed with sheets of Muntz metal. Obviously in Cutty Sark’s case this wasn’t an effort to prevent CO₂ emissions but to help improve her passage through the water by decreasing the pull.

130 years ago Cutty Sark would regularly travel at speeds in excess of 17 knots. It’s not the first time that Cutty Sark has been in the news for beating fuel powered ships. In 1889, Cutty Sark was involved in a famous incident with the ultra-modern P&O steam ship Britannia. On the night of the 25th July, Britannia, doing between 14.5 and 16 knots, was overhauled by Cutty Sark doing a good 17 knots.

Robert Olivey, Second Officer on Britannia, watched the lights of the sailing ship overhauling his vessel with amazement and called Captain Hector. Neither could have known it was Cutty Sark, and Britannia’s log read with great amazement, “Sailing ship overhauled and passed us!” 

So it seems that not only was Cutty Sark fastest in her day, she may well have been fastest in our day too!