Cutty Sark wind. The ship was named after Cutty-sark, the nickname of the witch Nannie Dee in Robert Burns's 1791 poem "Tam o' Shanter". The ship's figurehead, the original of which has been attributed to carver Fredrick Hellyer of Blackwall, is a stark white carving of a bare-breasted Nannie Dee with long black hair holding a grey horse's tail in her hand. In the poem she wore a linen (Scots: a short chemise or undergarment), that she had been given as a child, which explains why it was "cutty", or in other words far too short. The erotic sight of her dancing
Cutty Sark "The Tweed" for more than he paid for both. "The Tweed" was then lengthened and operated as a fast sailing vessel, but was considered too big for the tea runs. Willis also commissioned two all-iron clippers with designs based upon "The Tweed", "Hallowe'en" and "Blackadder". Linton was taken to view "The Tweed" in dry dock. Willis considered that "The Tweed"s bow shape was responsible for its notable performance, and this form seems to have been adopted for "Cutty Sark". Linton, however, felt that the stern was too barrel shaped and so gave "Cutty Sark" a squarer stern with less tumblehome.