In 1869, a beautiful clipper ship of 963 gross tons was launched from Scott and Linton's shipyard at Dumbarton on the River Clyde, Scotland. Christened Cutty Sark, she was destined to out sail all China Clippers in the China Tea and Australian Wool trade, thus becoming famous and admired by seaman throughout the world.

This remarkable sailing ship operated from 1869 until 1938, when she was presented by the owner's wife, Mrs Wilfred Dowman, to the Thames Nautical Training College for training cadets for the Royal and Merchant Navies. She is now in dry dock at Greenwich, London, under the care of Cutty Sark Preservation Society.

The schooner Cutty Sark, a name sake of the famous Clipper ship, was launched in 1919 in St. John, New Brunswick. The Cutty Sark, a four-masted schooner of 609 net tons was a beautiful ship with spacious accommodations. She was a fast sailer and the pride and joy of all captains who sailed this fine seaworthy craft.

In 1926, she came under command of Captain Archibald Geldert of Lunenburg, her last skipper. He was so proud of her he often called her his "home away from home".

In June 1929, when leaving Turk's Island with a load of salt for Lunenburg, he had the misfortune to strike a coral reef and ripped 30 feet of keel off the bottom of the ship. With no facilities for repairs at or near Turk's Island, Captain Geldert decided to take the chance of getting her home safely, and continued his voyage with the 300 feet of her keel on deck.

About a week later, after taking a terrific beating for three days in a hurricane 500 miles off Cape Hatteras, he realize his ship, which was leaking badly, could not survive and ordered his crew to abandon ship. On June 12, he and his crew took to the lifeboat after setting fire to the ship, which the Captain considered a menace to navigation.

Fortunately, for the skipper and crew, a freighter of the Leland Line out of New York arrived on the scene and rescued all hands. The Captain and crew were carried to Amsterdam, Holland, and returned home a month later by passenger steamship.

Thus ended the sailing career of one of the finest four-masted schooners ever built and operated in the Maritimes.