News
Mark Milburn’s Cornish Wreck Ramblings, Part 4: HMS Anson, a tragedy & saver of lives
When the HMS Anson hit Loe Bar on Christmas eve in 1807, the conditions and the location made it a certain tragedy. Loe Bar is a shingle bar, that swallows up ships and turns then rapidly into wrecks. There is an unknown number of wrecks along the bar, many were not even witnessed, those that were nearly all ended as a very tragic outcome. The Anson broached to and the ship was to be lost forever, along with a large, but unknown, number of sailors. Two important changes came about because of this tragedy, one of these was the Burial of Drowned Persons Act 1808. The other was a life saving invention by a witness of the wreck, Henry Trengrouse.
Up until this wrecking, any sailors or persons that perished at sea, would be buried in unconsecrated grounds, usually close to the wreck. The HMS Anson was a British Frigate, yet the sailors who died on her, were still buried on the cliff tops and not within church grounds. A local solicitor drafted a new law, which was presented to parliament by John Tremayne. The law stated any unclaimed bodies of dead persons cast ashore from the sea, should be removed by the church wardens and interred in consecrated grounds. The law was passed in 1808.
The Anson was very close to the shore, yet too far to cast a rope. One of the witnesses to the tragedy, was Henry Trengrouse. He was so upset by the whole event, that he decided to improve the Bell mortar apparatus. His invention was the rocket apparatus, combined with a chair, rather than a cradle. The original design has been upgraded a few times since but it has saved many thousands of lives.
Since the Anson sank, there has been several salvage attempts. Many of the ship’s 24 pounder guns were removed, a few can be seen around the area. Two are at the entrance to Porthleven Harbour, another is outside the Helston Folk Museum and another at RNAS Culdrose. Many more of the guns were recovered but little is known of their whereabouts, if they still exist and have not been scrapped. There is also several artefacts from the Anson inside the Helston Folk Museum, as well as a lot of information about Henry Trengrouse.
Today, most of the Anson is buried under the forever shifting shingle of Loe Bar. I recently visited the Anson site, to see what was currently exposed. There is believed to be 13 guns left on the site. After freediving the site for 75 minutes, I found one gun, just showing itself. There was nothing else visible on the site, which is only about 30 metres from shore at low water. This is a very fluid location, one I shall visit on a regular basis, hopefully seeing a lot more of this important wreck one day.
Find out more about Mark and Atlantic Scuba at www.atlanticscuba.co.uk
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Jake Davies boards Ghazala Explorer for an unforgettable Red Sea diving experience…
Overnight, the wind picked up, making the planned morning dive a bit bumpy on the Zodiacs to the drop point on Thomas Reef. There, we would dive along the reef before descending through the canyon and then passing under the arch before ascending the wall with a gentle drift. The site provided great encounters with more pelagic species, including shoals of large barracuda, tuna, and bigeye trevally.
Once back on the boat, it was time to get everything tied down again as we would head back south. This time, with the wind behind us, heading to Ras Mohammed to dive Jackfish Alley for another great gentle drift wall dive before then heading up the coast towards the Gulf of Suez to moor up at the wreck of the Thistlegorm. This being the highlight wreck dive of the trip and for many onboard, including myself, it was the first time diving this iconic wreck. I had heard so much about the wreck from friends, and globally, this is a must on any diver’s list. Fortunately for us, there was only one other boat at the site, which was a rarity. A great briefing was delivered by Ahmed, who provided a detailed background about the wreck’s history along with all the required safety information as the currents and visibility at the site can be variable.
Kitting up, there was a lot of excitement on deck before entering the water and heading down the shoreline. Descending to the wreck, there was a light northerly current which reduced the visibility, making it feel more like the conditions that can be found off the Welsh coast. At 10m from the bottom, the outline of the wreck appeared as we reached the area of the wreck which had been bombed, as our mooring line was attached to part of the propeller shaft. Arriving on deck, instantly everywhere you looked there were many of the supplies which the ship was carrying, including Bren Carrier tanks and projectiles that instantly stood out.
We headed around the exterior, taking a look at the large propeller and guns mounted on deck before entering the wreck on the port side to take a look in the holds. It was incredible to see all the trucks, Norton 16H, and BSA motorcycles still perfectly stacked within, providing a real snapshot in time.
Overall, we had four dives on the Thistlegorm, where for all of the dives we were the only group in the water, and at times, there were just three of us on the whole wreck, which made it even more special, especially knowing that most days the wreck has hundreds of divers. Along with the history of the wreck, there was plenty of marine life on the wreck and around, from big green turtles to batfish, along with shoals of mackerel being hunted by trevally. Some unforgettable dives.
The final leg of the trip saw us cross back over the Suez Canal to the Gobal Islands where we planned to stay the night and do three dives at the Dolphin House for the potential of sharing the dive with dolphins. The site, which included a channel that was teeming with reef fish, especially large numbers of goatfish that swam in large shoals along the edge of the reef. These were nice relaxing dives to end the week. Unfortunately, the dolphins didn’t show up, which was okay as like all marine life they are difficult to predict and you can’t guarantee what’s going to be seen. With the last dive complete, we headed back to port for the final night where it was time to clean all the kit and pack before the departure flight the next day.
The whole week from start to finish on Ghazala Explorer was amazing; the boat had all the facilities you need for a comfortable week aboard. The crew were always there to help throughout the day and the chefs providing top quality food which was required after every dive. The itinerary providing some of the best diving with a nice mixture of wreck and reef dives. I would recommend the trip to anyone, whether it’s your first Red Sea liveaboard in the Red Sea or you’re revisiting. Hopefully, it’s not too long before I head back to explore more of the Red Sea onboard Ghazala Explorer.
To find out more about the Northern Red Sea reef and wrecks itineraries aboard Ghazala Explorer, or to book, contact Scuba Travel now:
Email: dive@scubatravel.com
Tel: +44 (0)1483 411590
Photos: Jake Davies / Avalon.Red
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