Cutty Sark in such a short undergarment caused Tam to cry out "Weel done, Cutty-sark", which subsequently became a well known catchphrase. Originally, carvings by Hellyer of the other scantily clad witches followed behind the figurehead along the bow, but these were removed by Willis in deference to 'good taste'. Tam o' Shanter riding "Meg" was to be seen along the ship's quarter. The motto, "Where there's a Willis away", was inscribed along the taffrail. "The Tweed", which acted as a model for much of the ship which followed her, had a figurehead depicting Tam o' Shanter. "Cutty Sark" was destined for
Great Tea Race of 1866 she was lost either in 1889 or 1893. "Taitsing" continued in the China trade, carrying her last cargo of tea in 1874/75 (101 days Foochow to New York). She was lost on the Quirimbas Islands in 1883, en route from Swansea to Zanzibar. "Cutty Sark", built in 1869, in the belief that the Suez Canal and steamships would not take over the tea trade, remains as virtually the sole physical reminder of the tea clipper era that was epitomised by the Great Tea Race of 1866. Great Tea Race of 1866 In the middle third of the 19th Century, the