Country needs the Cutty Sark

In order to maintain this income the Cutty Sark needs a rather large sum of cash in order to re-establish her place in the heritage of Britain, so why not incorporate this cost into the billions that will be spent on the 2012 Olympic Games?

I feel sure £50 million to rebuild the Cutty Sark would only be a thimbleful of the cash that will be spent and wasted during the build-up to the games. Look what was wasted on the Dome, as well as the money spent after the fire at Windsor Castle. The Cutty Sark rebuild costs would be peanuts in comparison.

If such a project could be got under way very soon, a new Cutty Sark could be built utilising the materials that have been saved along with new materials that will be needed for such a project.

I feel sure the refurbished Cutty Sark could be made seaworthy once again instead of her being just a static display. There would be hundreds of British sailors who could man such a vessel and be proud to do so. We could then have a sea-going museum for the whole country and not just London.

While at it, why not make her maiden voyage (following her relaunch by the Queen, of course), down to the Mediterranean and Athens to collect the Olympic flame and return to London to sail up the Thames for the opening ceremony of the games, which no doubt would be a fantastic sight, especially if she was in full sail.

She could even do a re-run to China and Australia following her old trade routes and fly the Red Duster once again on the high seas, and show that we in Britain haven't lost our flare and can still do what we have done over the centuries.

Can I suggest that any of your readers who would like to see such a project get under way should contact their MP or anyone in authority they can think of to press for something of this nature, because with only four years or so left before the Olympics, time is of the essence and a whole lot of planning will have to be done in that short space of time.

B Williams, Southfield Road, Wednesfield.