The tea clipper Cutty Sark, built in Scotland in 1869, now sits in dry dock at Greenwich. Her name and figurehead come from the witch in Robert Burns's poem Tam O'Shanter. Spooky Isles writer David Turnbull says the ship is claimed to have been cursed after a dispute that arose during her construction, though he gives no detail of the dispute.
The better known story concerns her departure on a Friday in 1880. An old sailmaker named Alex Jansen is said to have predicted that setting off on a Friday, the day of the crucifixion and traditionally unlucky for sailors, would bring disaster. By the end of the two year voyage seven of the crew were dead according to the article: one murdered, one a suicide, one fallen overboard, one dying in suspicious circumstances and three from cholera.
Visitors, the article says, have reported a phantom crewman pacing the decks, mysterious footsteps and shadowy figures that swiftly vanish. The prophecy and the crew deaths come from one retelling and are not checked against voyage records here. The ship is open to visitors.
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