Nannie Dee

Sitting at the prow of the Cutty Sark sits Nannie Dee, the ships figurehead. These wooden figures were said to protect the crew from harsh seas and safely guide them on their journeys.

The name of the Cutty Sark figurehead comes from a poem by Robert Burns, 'Tam O'Shanter'. The poem reads at 228 lines, one of the writers longer poems. It tells the story of a farmer called Tam who rides off drunk on his horse and meets a coven of dancing witches and wizards.

Warlocks and witches in a dance;

Nae cotillion brent-new frae France,

But hornpipes, jigs strathspeys, and reels,

Put life and mettle in their heels.

One particularly beautiful witch named Nannie wears a revealing short dress, called a 'cutty sark'. This is an old Scottish term for a short nightdress.

...Her cutty-sark, o'Paisley harn

That while a lassie she had worn,

In longitude tho' sorely scanty,

It was her best, and she was vauntie,-

Ah! little ken'd they reverend grannie,

That sark she coir for her wee Nannie,

Wi, tw pund Scots, ('twas a' her riches)

Was ever graced a dance of witches!

Tam, whilst watching the witches, can't contain himself and shouts out, "Weel done, Cutty-sark".  The witches notice him and give chase. Tam heads for the river as according to folklore, witches can't cross running water. Just before he escapes, Nannie rips the tail off his horse. This is why the Cutty Sark figurehead holds a tuft of hair in her outstretched hand.

The Cutty Sark has been through a few replacement figureheads after the original was storm damaged in the 19th century. In 2019 a new figurehead was commissioned and in June 2021 she was lifted into position to regain her place at the head of the ship.