A History Day and Commemorative Dinner to celebrate the 150th Anniversary of the Great Tea Race between Thermopylae & Cutty Sark.
2022 sees the 150th Anniversary of a great Tea Clipper Race between the Aberdeen built and owned Thermopylae and her rival Cutty Sark. Both ships left Shanghai on June 18, 1872 with Thermopylae arriving in London on October 11, 1872, a full seven days ahead of its rival Cutty Sark.
The Clipper ships heralded an era of unprecedented speed and innovation in maritime engineering, halving the journey time from London to Australia over traditional Sailing Barques. The composite ship design acted as a catalyst for the growth of the shipyards in Aberdeen and Thermopylæ was commissioned in 1868 by George Thomson Jnr & Co., proprietors of the Aberdeen Line.
That spirt of innovation and entrepreneurship in Aberdeen laid the foundations for the growth of the oil, renewable energy and cruise ship activity in the City today.
To learn more, you are invited to a “Clipper Ship History Day” at the Aberdeen Maritime Museum between 10am – 4pm on October 15. This will be followed by a Black-Tie Dinner at the Aberdeen Douglas Hotel to celebrate this important race and discuss the relevance of the Clipper ships today.
The itinerary and further information is as follows:
History Day - Aberdeen Maritime Museum:
- 10am – Coffee/Tea and introductions on the upper level of the Aberdeen Maritime Museum.
- 10:30am -12:30pm – Museum visit and talks by:
- Captain Peter King - Fellow of the Society for Nautical Research and author of a definitive history of Geo. Thompson Jnr.’s shipping enterprise, ‘The Aberdeen Line’ and the History of the Thomson and Henderson family.
- Museum Curator on the Maritime Museum, the history of the marine, oil and renewables sector, and the progression from the Clipper ship era to Aberdeen’s international reputation for innovation.
- 12:30pm – 1:30pm – Buffet lunch
- 1.30 pm – 3:30pm – Guided tour of Port of Aberdeen. Minibus and walking tour of relevant historical sites around Aberdeen.
- 3:30pm – Tea and concluding address
The clipper history day activities are being organised by the Clipper 150 Committee and the Maritime Museum with transportation kindly provided by the Port of Aberdeen.
Tickets are £20 each (plus Eventbrite fees) which includes all refreshments and lunch.
Further information on Thermopylae can be found at:
https://doriccolumns.wordpress.com/industry/shipbuilding/walter-hood-yard/clipper-thermopylae/
- 6:30pm - Reception Drinks
- 7pm - Welcome Address
- 7:30pm - Dinner
- The three-course meal will be interspersed with four six-minute short, illustrated talks by experts on:
- The Clipper Ship era and how it has led innovation today;
- The inns and coffee houses of the 1850s and the part they played in the development of the international maritime trade which we know today;
- Aberdeen and its role in renewable energy innovation; and
- The Clipper 150 Anniversary Legacy – supporting the Sea Cadets and young people’s navigation and future skills.
- 10:30pm – Commemorative Speech
Tickets are £75 each for adults over 25 and £50 for young people under 25 (plus Eventbrite fees), including welcome cocktail, three-course dinner and half a bottle of wine.
**Please note that some timings are subject to change slightly**