Experts brought in to carry out a feasibility study to
restore the historic A-list clipper SV Carrick to its former glory has been
ruled “impractical”.
Instead, the Scottish Maritime Museum said the rotting hull
of the former River Clyde landmark would be “deconstructed” where
it now lies in Irvine.
The Carrick, originally named the City of Adelaide, was
built in 1864 and its record of 65 days for sailing 12,000 miles from Britain
to Adelaide, Australia, still stands.
The vessel, which was later permanently based at Custom
House Quay, Glasgow, for 50 years, sank in 1991 and was towed to Irvine.
But it has been rotting away on the slipway of the Scottish
Maritime Museum for the last 14 years.
It was hoped the Carrick – the oldest clipper in the
world – could be restored and, after years of funding problems, a
feasibility study was launched in 2003 by businessman and enthusiast Mike
Edwards.
Mr. Edwards said he would buy the Carrick, but wanted to
know first if it could again become a seaworthy passenger vessel.
But the study by Clydebank firm Tritech
Marine Consultants showed the clipper would be "little more than a
reproduction" even if a multi million-pound restoration was carried out.
Tweet