A FAMOUS WRECK.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XXVII, Issue 7504, 6 July 1903, Page 4

A FAMOUS WRECK.

Salvage Operations at Cornwall.

Some interesting salvage operations are being undertaken in Mount's Bay, Cornwall, where the stout old frigate Anson has lain for close on a century beneath the wave, Amongst other relics recovered from the wreck is an old cannon, thick with the encrustations of 96, years of salt water. It is reported that the hull, built of good English oak, lies on the sea-bottom practically intact, but in view of the length of time the wreck has been submerged it is problematical whether she could be raised successfully. Wreck-raising has become a trade, and many harbor boards round the English Coast, according to tho Daily Express, have their own apparatus, and their staff of divers for the purpose. The method of raising a vessel from the sea bottom is a simple one. " Lighters are brought above her, submerged as far as possible, and then attached to the wreck by stout wire cables, Then the water is pumped out of tho lighters, and they rise, drawing the wreck out of its bed in the sea-ooze. As many as 10 or 15 cables are sometimes passed under the hull of the wreck, and the strain they will unitedly stand is enormous." Of course the water requires to be fairly shallow to render the operation successful. H.M.S. Sultan, sunk off Malta, was recovered by this method, and the Anchor liner Utopia, which sank in a collision at Gibraltar, with a loss of 570 lives, is appther notable instance. ' The Anson was one of the most famous of the frigates of Nelson's day, She saw much service in many parts of the world, only to meet her fate in English waters in 1807, when a great storm drove her on the rocks in Mount's Bay. It was supposed that the vessel went to pieces, but the divers who had been salving copper worjc from the wreck report that the ancient hull shows few signs of damage.