The waymark coordinates are for the entrance to the Cutty Sark.
The waymark itself is a plaque located in the new concrete exhibit space underneath Cutty Sark, where the GPS won't work.
The plaque reads as follows:
"Cutty Sark was opened to the public in Greenwich by
HM QUEEN ELIZABETH II
On 25th June 1957
Cutty Sark was re-opened by
HM QUEEN ELIZABETH II
Following the 2006-2012 Conservation Project
On 25th April 2012
DURING HER MAJESTY’S DIAMOND JUBILEE"
From the Royal Museums Greenwich website: (
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The Royal Opening of CUTTY SARK
18 November 2012
On 25 April, in the pouring rain and along with thousands of other well-wishers, I watched Her Majesty the Queen re-opening Cutty Sark and marvelled at the magnificent restoration project that has been completed on the ship.
As the public return to the Cutty Sark, June’s item of the month recalls the ship’s first royal opening in Greenwich, 55 years ago this month. This is the programme from that day (NMM ref: PBP2294/2).
On 25 June 1957, The Queen, accompanied by His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh, arrived at King William Walk to be received by the Mayor of Greenwich, Councillor Mrs M.L. Wentworth J.P., and other civic officials. They then proceeded to Cutty Sark to be received by the President of the Cutty Sark Society, Mr Walter Barrie; the Chairman, Mr Henry Barraclough; the Secretary, Lt Col H.L. Hollis; the Master, Commodore Sir Roy Gill K.B.E.; and the Chairman of the Greenwich Committee, Sir John Dean.
At approximately 3.30pm Her Majesty declared Cutty Sark open and heard a vote of thanks from the Chairman of the Cutty Sark Trust. The Queen was then conducted on a tour of the ship and her berth by members of the technical, engineering and exhibition staff who had worked on the restoration of the vessel and the construction of the berth.
At 4.00pm, the Royal Party left Cutty Sarkto take tea in the Royal Naval College’s Queen Elizabeth Ante Room.
Then, as now, the restoration and opening of Cutty Sark was a massive undertaking involving many dedicated individuals and organisations. Their involvement is acknowledged in the 1957 guide to the Cutty Sark, produced by the Society to document her journey to Greenwich: Cutty Sark: a brief description of the ship, her voyages, and how she came to Greenwich (Cutty Sark Society, London, 1957) (NMM Ref: PBP2294/1).
This pamphlet details Cutty Sark’sworking life, her time as a training ship, the formation of the Cutty Sark Trust, and the decision to build a permanent berth at Greenwich.
The Caird Library provides access to many of the books and pamphlets about Cutty Sark that have been printed over the years. One of the most frequently used is S.F. Bailey’s Crews of the Cutty Sark published in 1989. This gives a helpful overview of the crews who have served on board and provides details of individuals and lists of voyages. This is a particularly useful resource for family historians and those chasing up personal links to the history of Cutty Sark.
The Caird Library also holds original Cutty Sark crew lists and log books as part of our archive and manuscripts collection. These can be requested for viewing in our reading room and really help to put you in touch with the history of the vessel.
Finally, the Cutty Sark Trust has an archive of its own. This is the best place to contact if you have detailed enquiries about the famous clipper and her crews. More information can be found on our website: www.rmg.co.uk/cuttysark."
More on the Cutty Sark, a truly amazing fast tea clipper: (
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"History of the Cutty Sark
The Cutty Sark was once the most famous of the great clippers, the name ‘clipper’ referring to the fast sailing ships of the nineteenth century that traversed the world’s major trading routes. Commissioned by shipping magnate Jock ‘Whitehat’ Willis, she was built in a Scottish shipyard and launched at Dumbarton in 1869. The Cutty Sark’s unusual name derived from a poem by Robert Burns called ‘Tam O’Shanter.’ In this ode, a hero is chased by some witches, with the fastest one’s revealing shirt being known by the Scots as a cutty sark. The Cutty Sark was a masterpiece, the pinnacle of sailing ship design. Her composite hull of timber and iron was sleek and strong, while her three masts could hold a spread of canvas that propelled the ship at up to 17 knots. As a result, she spent the 1870s speeding across the high seas, establishing a reputation as one of the fastest ships afloat.
Not only did her speed translate into prestige, it also translated into profits: the Cutty Sark brought the new tea crop from China, which was incredibly fashionable amongst the tearooms and parlours of Victorian Britain. The first batch of the new tea harvest was highly coveted and thus the first tea cargo to arrive fetched the highest price. Indeed, the annual tea race was a Victorian sensation: the ships’ progress was reported by telegraph and could be followed in the papers. Huge bets were laid on the outcome. The Cutty Sark was never first to the finish line, but she was still one of the fastest. In 1872 she was involved in one of the most famous tea races of all time, against the Thermopylae. The two ships were neck and neck until the Cutty Sark lost her rudder in heavy seas in the Indian Ocean. The accident meant Thermopylae beat her back to London by 7 days, but the Cutty Sark’s performance was nevertheless remarkable.
When the ship was launched, it was already the Indian summer of the great sailing ships. The Suez Canal, which had opened the very same year, offered steamships a shorter route to the Far East, slashing approximately two months off their journey time. The winds of the Red Sea and the Mediterranean were not suited to the clippers though. Consequently, the increasing speed and cargo capacity of steamships soon rendered sailing ships unprofitable. By the late 1870s, the Cutty Sark had been pushed out of the tea trade.
The Cutty Sark’s future looked bleak: in 1880, she set off on a voyage to Japan to deliver coal for the American Pacific fleet. It was a voyage she never completed. A fight amongst the crew left one man dead, and when the man responsible was allowed to escape by the captain, the rest of the crew mutinied. The ship’s captain, realising his career was ruined, committed suicide by stepping off the ship’s stern into the sea. These dark events gave the Cutty Sark a new reputation amongst sailors, as a ‘hellship’ and a cursed vessel.
The ship’s owner, Jock Willis, was determined to turn her fortunes around and so, in 1885, he hired an excellent, albeit eccentric, clipper captain named Richard Woodget. Captain Woodget recognised that the Cutty Sark’s commercial edge now lay in the dangerous wool run to Australia. In this arena the Cutty Sark once again excelled, setting speed records between London and Melbourne and Sydney. For a decade she established her fame through her lightning voyages, but by 1895, she was approaching the end of her life expectancy and had ceased to be profitable.
After her heyday, the Cutty Sark was sold to a Portuguese company, who renamed her the Ferreira. The ship spent 25 years transporting cargoes between Portugal, Africa and the Americas, and managed to avoid German U-boats during World War I. In the 1920s, she was purchased by Captain Dowman, a former clipper who remembered the Cutty Sark from her glory days. Dowman renamed her the Cutty Sark and brought her to Falmouth, where she was restored and opened to the public.
Upon Dowman’s death in 1936, the ship passed to the navy Training College at Greenhithe to be used as a training ship by British naval cadets. Aboard her, a generation of Royal and Merchant Navy cadets were trained on how to work a sailing ship. Time finally ran out for the Cutty Sark after World War II, when the Training College got a new training ship.
Now facing the scrapyard, the Cutty Sark was once again rescued from obscurity. In 1951, the Cutty Sark Society had been established by her admirers. With the support of the public and the Society’s patron, the Duke of Edinburgh, funds were raised to rescue her. In 1954, she was placed in dry dock in Greenwich, London. There she served as a unique example of breathtaking ship design and as a symbol of Britain’s proud maritime heritage. She also became the memorial to the Merchant Navy and its losses in two world wars.
Over the decades, the same timbers that were once pounded by the storms of the Cape Horn came under new threat. Years of exposure to the elements took their toll. Her wooden hull was waterlogged and rotting and the iron frame that supports them was rusting. In 2007 comprehensive conservation of the ship was embarked upon. The Cutty Sark is to reopen in 2011."
And about the Queen herself: (
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"About Her Majesty The Queen
The Queen has ruled for longer than any other Monarch in British history, becoming a much loved and respected figure across the globe. Her extraordinary reign has seen her travel more widely than any other monarch, undertaking many historic overseas visits. Known for her sense of duty and her devotion to a life of service, she has been an important figurehead for the UK and the Commonwealth during times of enormous social change.
Her Majesty continues to carry out a full programme of engagements, from visits to charities and schools, to hosting visiting Heads of State, to leading the nation in Remembrance and celebratory events - all supported by other members of the Royal Family.
The Queen sees public and voluntary service as one of the most important elements of her work. The Queen has links - as Royal Patron or President - with over 600 charities, military associations, professional bodies and public service organisations. These vary from well-established international charities to smaller bodies working in a specialist area or on a local basis only.
Her patronages and charities cover a wide range of issues, from opportunities for young people, to the preservation of wildlife and the environment. Having Her Majesty as Royal patron or president provides vital publicity for the work of these organisations, and allows their enormous achievements and contributions to society to be recognised."