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The
list of victories that the HMS Anson enjoyed at the expense of
the French navy reads like a compendium of the escapades of a superhero.
In fact, the warship, which served in the British Royal Navy fleet from
the late 18th century to the early 19th century under several captains,
captured and/or held off several enemy vessels despite losing her mizzen
mast and main-lower and top-sail yards during one battle and going up
against a large enemy convoy of about 40 to 50 ships during another.
When
she wasn’t engaged in battle, the Anson occasionally attended
to the British royal family. According to one story, during a grand celebration
onboard in September 1799, the king couldn’t be found. Eventually
he was discovered on the lower deck, surrounded by the ship’s company,
talking to an old sailor.
The
battle victories and royal excursions came to an abrupt end when the Anson
was wrecked off Cornwall, England, during a storm in December 1807. After
trying and failing to clear the southeast tip of England, the captain
and crew tried to anchor, but the gear failed. They then headed the ship
toward the beach to save her and as many crew as possible, but the Anson
was pounded apart, beam-to in the surf. In a stroke of luck, her masts
were stretched toward the land, so many of the crew—but, sadly,
not her captain—were able to follow them to safety. Many of the
townspeople stood and watched Nature’s fury claim the Anson,
unable to assist.
Due
to the loss of the Anson, as well as the frustration of the townspeople,
many changes were made in ship construction, crew safety, and rescue techniques.
Nearly 200 years later that same desire to safeguard those who head to
sea—this time for pleasure—was embraced by the British Maritime
Safety Agency in enacting the MCA Code. It sets strict regulations for,
among other things, watertight compartments as well as fire containment
and prevention. But even those stringent rules weren’t enough for
one American.
An experienced
yacht owner who also has a maritime artifacts collection that includes—not
coincidentally—the ship’s bell from the Anson, he wanted
a higher level of safety aboard his latest project. In fact, he was so
inspired by the advances in safe shipbuilding and the bell itself that
he assembled a team to execute a carefully spelled-out mission: design
and construct the safest motoryacht ever built, and one built on American
soil that would rival the work of the top European yards.
Thus the 156-foot Palmer Johnson Anson Bell was born. Not only does
her hull meet the requirements of the highest level of Lloyd’s Register
classification, but the yacht also exceeds some of the requirements for
damage stability and fire resistance set by both Lloyd’s and the
MCA Code.
One
of the most impressive facts in this regard: Anson Bell can withstand
the flooding of any two compartments. MCA only requires one. According
to Bruce Johnson of Sparkman & Stephens, which oversaw her naval architecture,
this additional damage stability is difficult to execute and rarely found
on yachts. Another fact: While MCA stipulates the inclusion of five watertight
bulkheads, creating seven watertight compartments, Anson Bell has
six bulkheads, creating eight compartments.
The
yacht also meets MCA requirements for fire safety by including all-steel
stairs between decks and automatically deploying, all-steel fire doors
for closing off stairwells. Extra measures of safety include an additional
automatically deploying fire door in front of the twin stateroom below
decks and a Marioff hi-fog fire-suppression system throughout the yacht.
It all amounts to what Mark Obenberger, Palmer Johnson’s director
of project development, calls “Lloyd’s MCA+++.”
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