Famous old ships.

[cornish girl, falmouth]

I often see old sailing ships at anchor or on courtesy calls in Falmouth, and I wondered how many poster's recall these ships either in their home ports or through reading up on them.

I recall being told by my grandfer about the magnificent tea clipper the Cutty Sark, she was anchored in the Carrick Roads in Falmouth from 1923-1936 , she was bought by a sailing enthusiast when her sailing days we over.

She was the fastest tea clipper at that time and her most famous master was Captain Woodget, a good captain and fearless commander.

In order to catch the Roaring Forties Trade winds encountering some of the most violent gales and seas, Woodget would travel further than any of her other masters.

Cutty Sark in 1889 was involved in a famous incident with the crack PO steamship Britannia.

Britannia was doing 14.5 to 16 knots and was overhauled by the Cutty Sark doing a good 17 knots, this was recorded in the Britannia's log 'sailing ship overhauled and passed us.!!

An apprentice (aged 15) wrote to his mother that 'Captain Woodget kept vicious collie dogs' and they ate such food as' Salt Tram Horse' 'Leu pies' and 'Junk and Spuds'.

She was taken to Greenhithe where she was a training ship before being taken over in 1954 by the Cutty Sark Society who restored her and she was transferred to Greenwich.

Unfortunately she was badly damaged by fire in 2007 , but has been fully restored, although there is still no access to the ship yet.
.
Here is an old photo I came across taken while she was in Falmouth, she certainly was a beauty. CG

[Brian, South Ockendon]

Too true Jim, HMS GANGES was HMS ST VINCENT's "Northern" equivalent. Its predecessor was a similar 3 masted "First Rate" sailing ship also. The stone frigate's claim to fame was that its mast was a couple of inches bigger than ours! It is still there although the establishment closed in 1976.

My father was in the R.N in the late 40,s-early 50,s and trained at H.M.S Ganges he went on to serve on H.M.S Hardy F54 I believe

[cornish girl, falmouth]

John, Maybe another day ,she really is sprigged up and looking glorious memories eh! CG

[granddaddy, worksop]

Hello Cornish Girl, I trust that you enjoyed your visit. Wife and I were in N.Y. last year, but I did not realise that it was there at the time much to my regret, not seeing a part of my boyhood again. John

[cornish girl, falmouth]

Hi Granddaddy, I visited the Peking in South port street, there was another man from our cruise ship who had been London pilot and he told us she used to be the 'Arethusa' before being restored b the Americans , there is also a nice bar just off there called the Paris, where we enjoy a good meal and chin wag with our American friends.CG

[granddaddy, worksop]

I can remember the Training Ship "Arethusa" at Upnor on the Medway. It was sold in 1974 and towed across the Atlantic where it was restored by the Americans and given back it's original name "Peking". It can be seen in Lower Manhatten New York in the South Street Port .

[the kaptain, winsford]

Kapitan,
Are you certain it was 1977? I remember seeing the ARK ROYAL (4th) in Mounts Bay dis-embarking its Squadrons to RNAS CULDROSE in Dec 1978 after her final deployment. On 04 December 1978 Ark Royal returned to Devonport to pay off. The third ARK ROYAL was sadly lost in 1941.

See Here: History

Regards,
PM

All the evidence seems to prove my memory is not as sharp as it once was. The only things I am certain of are that I drove past an aircraft carrier in a dismantlers yard as I found my way to a snowy Stranraer. And that ship was the Ark Royal. So, it must have been the early eighties. I was around Scotland a lot between the late seventies and mid eighties. Anyway, time for a lie down.

[PM, SW]

Dont know how many were broken up there,BUT HMS Centaur was the one broken up in 1972 ,so maybe that was the one I saw.

jim

Jim,
See here:
ARK ROYAL entered HMNB Devonport for the last time on 4 December 1978 and decommissioned on 14 February 1979 when the White Ensign was lowered for the last time. On 29 March 1980,the MOD announced that she would she sold for scrap ending plans to preserve her. She left Devonport on 22 September 1980 under tow to be scrapped at Cairnryan near Stranraer in Scotland, arriving on the 28th. Breaking up took until 1983. Various parts of the ship remain as souvenirs or memorials for instance, an anchor outside the Fleet Air Arm Museum at RNAS Yeovilton. D

Right place, different time. Most likely earlier carriers as you stated.

Regards
PM

[jimtheoldsalt, felixstowe]

Kapitan,
Are you certain it was 1977? I remember seeing the ARK ROYAL (4th) in Mounts Bay dis-embarking its Squadrons to RNAS CULDROSE in Dec 1978 after her final deployment. On 04 December 1978 Ark Royal returned to Devonport to pay off. The third ARK ROYAL was sadly lost in 1941.

See Here: History

Regards,
PM

Dont know how many were broken up there,BUT HMS Centaur was the one broken up in 1972 ,so maybe that was the one I saw.

jim

[PM, SW]

What a great site, thanks Bill. I remember driving down to Stranraer around 1977 and seeing the old Ark Royal sitting rather sadly in a dismantlers yard.

Kapitan,
Are you certain it was 1977? I remember seeing the ARK ROYAL (4th) in Mounts Bay dis-embarking its Squadrons to RNAS CULDROSE in Dec 1978 after her final deployment. On 04 December 1978 Ark Royal returned to Devonport to pay off. The third ARK ROYAL was sadly lost in 1941.

See Here: History

Regards,
PM

[jimtheoldsalt, felixstowe]

What a great site, thanks Bill. I remember driving down to Stranraer around 1977 and seeing the old Ark Royal sitting rather sadly in a dismantlers yard.

yes sad sight used to pass her as we sailed in and out of cairnryan.

jim

[the kaptain, winsford]

Some of you might like to look at this site of old ships, thumbnail size only but reasonably clear:
SS STEAMSHIPS MS MOTORSHIPS MV MOTOR VESSELS HMS WARSHIPS WW1 WW2

What a great site, thanks Bill. I remember driving down to Stranraer around 1977 and seeing the old Ark Royal sitting rather sadly in a dismantlers yard.

[cornish girl, falmouth]

Hi Bill A very good gallery OH was very interested in the ships.CG

[DarbyRN, Lee-on-the-Solent]

Brilliant Bill. The photo of HMS St. Vincent 1910 was the very one I was trying to download onto this page! The tugs are to tow it to Falmouth to be turned into fire wood.

[Bill Blyth, Dundee]

Some of you might like to look at this site of old ships, thumbnail size only but reasonably clear:
SS STEAMSHIPS MS MOTORSHIPS MV MOTOR VESSELS HMS WARSHIPS WW1 WW2