Continuation of yesterday's comment: Putting a sailing vessel in the air converts her from a ship to a model. It shows off the "technical virtuosity" of the planners but does very little for the ship.

The vessel is shown at her worst and is structurally devalued from being a ship. Ships, especially sailing ships were meant to be seen from the side or aloft. There is no sadder sight that a vessel's bottom--it means she is helpless. She has been driven ashore or knocked down or, at best, is hove down so her bottom can be worked on.

In these situations, it is sort of like "poor old Uncle Henry who has to be kept out of the public view for his own protection." This takes no account of the needs and intentions of Uncle Henry or, in this case, Cutty Sark which should be out in the world attending to business.

There is a reason that the navies of the world used to sink their noblest vessels, saluting them as they went down. They were allowed to die with dignity rather than being broken up or being stuck in museums. They were respected rather than being fought over by bean counters.