The decision to raise the ship was crticised by some
What was your vision for the project? In 2004 the Cutty Sark was in an advanced state of decay and about to be closed to the public as a dan- gerous structure. The Trust had very limited funds, paying visitor num- bers had been in decline for years and the extent of the conservation work required to halt the decay was well beyond the resources available. The stark choice was to either scrap the ship or to come up with a scheme suffi ciently attractive to support a busi- ness case for the investment required to conserve the ship for 50 years. Our vision was to provide a mod-
ern, all-year visitor centre by exploiting the space beneath the ship in the dry berth and re-displaying the historic hull by elevating her to a new prominence. In other words, we proposed to lift the ship and allow visitors to view the hull in a unique and dramatic way. As far as we know, this is the fi rst time this has been done in this way.
ISSUE 3 2012 © cybertrek 2012
Do you have any maritime connections? Like many, I can trace the maritime connections in my family – my grand- father was a Thames sailing barge carpenter from Greenwich. I also hap- pen to be a keen sailor.
Raising the Cutty Sark within a dry berth was quite controversial. Why did you feel this was the right thing to do? Lifting the ship seemed initially like a radical thing to do, but the more we researched it the more practi- cal it was as a solution. The ship had been standing in the wet ‘dry berth’ decaying and distorting for more than 50 years on her keel and a randomly placed set of props. This is a tem- porary way of supporting a ship for maintenance, but in the long term is very unkind to a vessel designed to be evenly supported by the sea, and she was falling apart as a result. Our proposal halted the decay by
careful treatment of the original iron frame and hull planking, by inserting some new steel frames to relieve the corroded originals, and a new steel skeleton which supports the original keel. Lifting the ship on the new skele- ton supported the original structure in a way that simulates support by sea.
How did the fi re damage in 2007 affect your work? The project was delayed for about two years while the client and team regrouped, the project was re-exam- ined for its sustainability and new sources of funding were pursued.
What is your favourite part of the restored ship?
It is an amazing and beautiful experi- ence to walk beneath the ship's newly bright metal-clad hull; to reach up to touch the keel, realising that this beautiful form, weighing 960 tonnes, fl oats just above your head.
Read Leisure Management online
leisuremanagement.co.uk/digital 47
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