Editing Cutty Sark (section)

===Later tea seasons===
Moore remained captain only for one round trip to China, taking 117 days for the return trip. This was 14 days longer than ''Thermopylae'' and 27 days longer than achieved by the iron ship ''[[Hallowe'en (clipper)|Hallowe'en]]'' a few months later. Captain W. E. Tiptaft assumed command in 1873 achieving 118 days on his first return trip, but after the ship had to travel {{convert|600|nmi|km}} up the [[Yangtze River]] in search of a cargo. Steamships were now taking most of the tea. The following year the return journey took 122 days.{{citation needed|date=September 2021}} In November 1877 the ship was anchored off [[Deal, Kent|Deal]] in the [[English Channel]] along with sixty other vessels, waiting out a great storm. The anchor failed to hold and ''Cutty Sark'' was blown through the ships, damaging two others before grounding on a mud bank. Fortunately she was pulled clear by the tug ''Macgregor'' before too much damage was caused and she was towed to the [[Thames]] for repairs.

In December 1877 the ship sailed from London to Sydney, where she took on coal for Shanghai, arriving there in April. However, the ship was unable to find any cargo of tea for a return trip to London—the days of the tea race were over. The master, Captain Tiptaft, died in October while still in Shanghai and was replaced by the first mate, James Wallace. The ship now had to take different cargoes around the world, including coal, jute, castor oil and tea to Australia.

In 1880 yards were shortened and the [[stunsail|stun'sails]] removed.{{sfn|Carr|1964|p=5}} Also in 1880 an incident occurred on board during which the First Mate Sidney Smith killed seaman John Francis. Smith was allowed to leave the ship at [[Anjer]] by Captain Wallace, causing the crew to cease work in protest. Wallace continued the voyage with six apprentices and four tradesmen but became becalmed in the [[Java Sea]] for three days. In desperation as matters moved from bad to worse, he committed suicide by jumping overboard and disappeared. He was replaced as Master by William Bruce, who proved to be a drunken incompetent who claimed pay for non-existent crewmen and managed to set sail with inadequate provisions, resulting in the crew starving. An inquiry in New York in April 1882 resulted in the captain and mate being suspended and replaced by Captain Moore, previously of [[Blackadder (clipper)|''Blackadder'']].