On another thread, the term wooden ships and iron men was bandied about. here is the poem in which i first heard the term...

http://www.constitutional.net/099.html

Clipper Ships and Captains
by Rosemary and Stephen Vincent Benet

There was a time before our time,
It will not come again,
When the best ships still were wooden ships
But the men were iron men.


From Stonington to Kennebunk
The Yankee hammers plied
To build the clippers of the wave
That were New England's pride.


The "Flying Cloud," the "Northern Light,"
The "Sovereign of the Seas"--
There was salt music in the blood
That thought of names like these.


"Sea Witch," "Red Jacket," "Golden Age,"
And "Chariot of Fame,"
The whole world gaped to look at them
Before the steamship came.


Their cargoes were of tea and gold,
Their bows a cutting blade;
And, on the bridge, the skippers walked,
Lords of the China trade.


The skippers with the little beards
And the New England drawl,
Who knew Hong Kong and Marblehead
And the Pole Star over all.


Stately as churches, swift as gulls,
They trod the oceans, then
No man had seen such ships before
And none will see again.

Not warfare related...unless you consider the clipper trade with china an economic war....

Not unless you sailed on the Cutty Sark where the hull was made of Iron

Originally Posted by LeEnfield

Not unless you sailed on the Cutty Sark where the hull was made of Iron

Not quite, Cutty Sark had an iron frame, but the hull was wood planked and plated with Muntz metal (brass 60% Zinc 40%).

Cutty Sark is a term, translated loosely,for a "short chemise'. Probably a good name considering the white billowing sails.

Unfortunately she burned in a fire May 2007 and is presently trying to be restored.

http://www.cuttysark.org.uk/index.cf...bkghkcdkkgoofb

On the morning of 21 May 2007 the Cutty Sark, which had been closed and partly dismantled for conservation work, caught fire, and burned for several hours before the London Fire Brigade could bring the fire under control. Initial reports indicated that the damage was extensive, with most of the wooden structure in the centre having been lost.

In an interview the next day, Richard Doughty, the chief executive of the Cutty Sark Trust revealed that at least half of the "fabric" (timbers, etc) of the ship had not been on site as it had been removed during the preservation work. Doughty expressed that the trust was most worried about the state of iron framework to which the fabric was attached. He did not know how much more the ship would cost to restore, but estimated it at an additional £5–10 million, bringing the total cost of the ship's restoration to £30–35 million.

Well...from what i under stand the cutty sark is the only surviving clipper type ship left. she's worth saving. The US didnt keep any of that type. And they were responsible for so much of american history too.!

reading that poem, I thought of the differences in the names of ships now from ships then. I think the old ships were alot more creative and interesting in their names. I see how it is good to honor the heroes and important men, battles, etc, but I just love the old names that involved some creativity and really made the ships just that more bad ass.

Originally Posted by istealfreefood

reading that poem, I thought of the differences in the names of ships now from ships then. I think the old ships were alot more creative and interesting in their names. I see how it is good to honor the heroes and important men, battles, etc, but I just love the old names that involved some creativity and really made the ships just that more bad ass.

One of the new Royal Navy aircraft carriers is to be named HMS Prince of Wales (unless the order is cancelled by the idiot British government). I don't know if thats a good choice or not, as the previous HMS Prince of Wales was sank by the Japanese off Malaya.

But I tend to agree, many of the old ships names were impressive, names that meant something. A lot of Royal Navy ships today are named after towns including HMS Sheffield which was sank during the Falklands. From what I understand, the people of Sheffield were gutted.

I actually remember reading in a book of useless facts that the RN has a list of "bad karma" names for ships, due to bad luck or some other mystic criteria - be great to get a look at it - if it's true.

Originally Posted by Partisan

I actually remember reading in a book of useless facts that the RN has a list of "bad karma" names for ships, due to bad luck or some other mystic criteria - be great to get a look at it - if it's true.

A buddy of mine was a dive master and has led quite a few dives on the wrecks around the coast near Cape Town.

He's one of those who firmly believes in the superstition of the sea.

One of his belief's is, that a ship should never be renamed while afloat, she has to be placed in dry dock, and only refloated after she has been renamed.

I mentioned to him one day that a number of people were killed when the gangway to the new Queen Mary 2 collapsed and a number of people fell to their death's while she was in dry dock, and that also during her sea trials lost a door to one of her bow thrusters. He fell silent and then said, “She's unlucky.”

Originally Posted by LeEnfield

Not unless you sailed on the Cutty Sark where the hull was made of Iron

I've sailed on the Cutty Sark a time or two. Usually didn't feel to good the next day.