The frigate Anson was towed out of Falmouth
by her boats on Christmas Eve 1807. It was blowing
hard when the ship went down the Channel. Forty-eight
hours later the storm was so bad that the captain
turned and headed back for Falmouth. The weather drew
hazy and think and at 3PM on 28 December the captain
discovered they were well to leeward of the Lizard.
Efforts to clear the land failed. At dusk, off Loe
Bar, the anchor was let go; she sailed safely to 5 AM
on the 29th when her cables parted. A small bower was
dropped and held for two hours and, finally, those
cables parted. The captain ordered the ship to be run
ashore. The ship broached and the mainmast fell
making a bridge of escape for some. The captain and
120 crew were lost. The captain was swept away trying
to save a boy and was buried with honor in Falmouth.
This wreck inspired a Helston man, Henry Trengrouse,
son of a Helston cabinet maker, to begin experiments
with a rocket assisted line throwing device which
eventually saved many lives off the coast.
(Larn and
Carter, Cornish Shipwrecks,
pages 144-146.)
