Lady Ana >- Boat Sinking off NJ 12-14 years ago
#1
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Hi all, awesome forums here. I've spent hours browsing. Been on the water since 2 weeks old (now 25) and plan on posting a lot more around here.
I remember one of the larger sportfisherman sinking off NJ about 12-14 years ago. I think it was the Lady Ana. I want to say this was a boat belonging to the developer Hovnanian; but don't recall for sure. Does anyone have details on the story at all?
I remember one of the larger sportfisherman sinking off NJ about 12-14 years ago. I think it was the Lady Ana. I want to say this was a boat belonging to the developer Hovnanian; but don't recall for sure. Does anyone have details on the story at all?

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10-12-2020, 12:02 AM
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Hi Guys Flashman here again,
yes I was the engineer on board at the time. A wave dumped into the cockpit of Lady Anna filling it up, the engine room door entrance which was in the cockpit had 3 ft of water against it and impossible to open, the emergency entrance/exit to the engine room had a cupboard built over it, not accessible, looking through the porthole the engine room was now in 4 ft of water from the common bilge set up. genny still going, the pumps could have easily handled the water but there was no pipe work connected to them!! Instead there was this little $20 plastic bilge pump that was not good for much. All waterproof bulk heads had 5” holes in them where pipes should have been and sealed. Hovnanian had his housing workers finish off the boat, consequently the plumbing was not good enough.
if the bilge pumps were connected and the bulkheads were watertight she would not have sunk, it would have been salvageable at worst. Personally I think Hov was out of his league and did not realise how much these larger boats cost to build and maintain and paid the price.
but here is the twist, the boat had been inspected and passed by Americans Bureau of Shipping Standards, the equivalent to Loyds of London, the ultimate insurers. There were so many things wrong with this boat it was unseaworthy yet ABSS had passed it, so now a year after the sinking and court cases and such, the blame starts heading in my direction, so I pointed out flaws and where they were in the boat making it unseaworthy, a remote controlled camera is sent down, my points are verified, sooo how did it get insured?? Suddenly everything went quiet, Hov got paid out, about half of what he paid, crew lost stuff but were not compensated, although Hov gave me a grand, I was the only guy that got along with him.
Another thing, the epirb was alarmed, the US coast guard did not respond initially, the press somehow got the distress signal, looking on the crews list they noticed an Australian was on board and thought this may be newsworthy and rang my parents in Australia to say their son was lost at sea, then rang my wife in Jersey City and said the same thing and then the press contacted the Canadian coast guard who later contacted the UScoast guard. A C130 spotted us the next day, sent out an army helicopter but had to return because it did not have enough fuel. 2 helicopters later I was rescued, but the trip back to land sent me into deep hyperthermia and permanent ear damage.
Lady Anna was truly a magnificent looking craft, inside and out, but lying in my bunk at the bow, boat doing 25 knots sleep was impossible. Hitting a partially submerged object would’ve made my life unpleasant.
yes I was the engineer on board at the time. A wave dumped into the cockpit of Lady Anna filling it up, the engine room door entrance which was in the cockpit had 3 ft of water against it and impossible to open, the emergency entrance/exit to the engine room had a cupboard built over it, not accessible, looking through the porthole the engine room was now in 4 ft of water from the common bilge set up. genny still going, the pumps could have easily handled the water but there was no pipe work connected to them!! Instead there was this little $20 plastic bilge pump that was not good for much. All waterproof bulk heads had 5” holes in them where pipes should have been and sealed. Hovnanian had his housing workers finish off the boat, consequently the plumbing was not good enough.
if the bilge pumps were connected and the bulkheads were watertight she would not have sunk, it would have been salvageable at worst. Personally I think Hov was out of his league and did not realise how much these larger boats cost to build and maintain and paid the price.
but here is the twist, the boat had been inspected and passed by Americans Bureau of Shipping Standards, the equivalent to Loyds of London, the ultimate insurers. There were so many things wrong with this boat it was unseaworthy yet ABSS had passed it, so now a year after the sinking and court cases and such, the blame starts heading in my direction, so I pointed out flaws and where they were in the boat making it unseaworthy, a remote controlled camera is sent down, my points are verified, sooo how did it get insured?? Suddenly everything went quiet, Hov got paid out, about half of what he paid, crew lost stuff but were not compensated, although Hov gave me a grand, I was the only guy that got along with him.
Another thing, the epirb was alarmed, the US coast guard did not respond initially, the press somehow got the distress signal, looking on the crews list they noticed an Australian was on board and thought this may be newsworthy and rang my parents in Australia to say their son was lost at sea, then rang my wife in Jersey City and said the same thing and then the press contacted the Canadian coast guard who later contacted the UScoast guard. A C130 spotted us the next day, sent out an army helicopter but had to return because it did not have enough fuel. 2 helicopters later I was rescued, but the trip back to land sent me into deep hyperthermia and permanent ear damage.
Lady Anna was truly a magnificent looking craft, inside and out, but lying in my bunk at the bow, boat doing 25 knots sleep was impossible. Hitting a partially submerged object would’ve made my life unpleasant.
#2
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The only thing that I turned up was this, found on Yachtspotter.com:
"In the early 90's, the world's then largest sportfish yacht, 121' Lady Anna (Denison Yachts) sank off New Jersey coast. The insurers regarded the sinking with such suspicion that they sent a robotic explorer to survey the wreck. They then threatened to raise the wreck to confirm their suspicions. Can any of our yachtspotters finish the tale for me?"
Would love to know the rest of the story!
"In the early 90's, the world's then largest sportfish yacht, 121' Lady Anna (Denison Yachts) sank off New Jersey coast. The insurers regarded the sinking with such suspicion that they sent a robotic explorer to survey the wreck. They then threatened to raise the wreck to confirm their suspicions. Can any of our yachtspotters finish the tale for me?"
Would love to know the rest of the story!
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IIRC, they actually did try to raise the wreck but pieces broke up while being raised. It is believed that the vessel was about 80 miles off of Atlantic City and the seacocks were opened up to sink her. Even if that is true, I don't care how well prepared you are, that's got to be a stomach twisting sight to watch.
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There is waay more to it than that as I recall. She was in fact on her maiden voyage, or very recently completed. The boat actually wasn't completely finished. One of the reasons I recall reading it sunk was the watertight bulkheads weren't installed yet or completely. The sinking was very suspect...
#6
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Ramifications - 9/24/2006 8:00 PM
...i went to school with one of the hovnanians.
...i went to school with one of the hovnanians.

#7
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The Hovnanians have bad luck on the water. Didn't their son die while jet skiing at night on the Navesink River a couple years ago?
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TurboDan - 9/25/2006 2:40 AM
The Hovnanians have bad luck on the water. Didn't their son die while jet skiing at night on the Navesink River a couple years ago?
The Hovnanians have bad luck on the water. Didn't their son die while jet skiing at night on the Navesink River a couple years ago?
#9

I actually spoke to the captain of the boat, he still runs boats. According to him the boat had problems and sank. They said he scuttled it, he was far from anything and was floating in the life raft for seven hours. His words were something like, "If I were to sink it I would have done it where some other boats were around to pick me up."
Dennisons have the habit of sinking.
My 2 cents.
nas
Dennisons have the habit of sinking.
My 2 cents.
nas
#10
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lostmyedge - 9/25/2006 2:29 PM
I believe he ran into the side of a moored sailboat, he and some friends were camping on one of the islands and he went home to get something. He left the house but never made it back to the island with his friends. Very sad!
TurboDan - 9/25/2006 2:40 AM
The Hovnanians have bad luck on the water. Didn't their son die while jet skiing at night on the Navesink River a couple years ago?
The Hovnanians have bad luck on the water. Didn't their son die while jet skiing at night on the Navesink River a couple years ago?
#11
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OK here is what I know about the "Lady Anna" I still have the Asbury Park Press from the day after she sunk.
First off She was complete, and was ""NOT"" on her Maiden Voyage. She was 127 feet long, and cost $10,000,000.00 (1992 Dollars) to Build. All of her fittings Hinges, Screws, Faucets, ETC. were 24K Gold Plated.
She was built in Florida, and was in New Jersey for the summer, along with a similar, but shorter sister ship "Avante".
She was docked all summer long at the Channel Club Tower & Marina in Monmouth Beach, NJ. where my father lived at the time.
Mr. Hovnannian took my father & I out fishing the day before it sank. He knew I was in love with his boat.
She sank 90 ESE off of Cape May, NJ while on a practice run for a Sport Fishing event.
My theory has always been that a wave washed over the back of the boat (which was only 2 feet above the water line, and flooded the engine room. (Someone must have left the hatch open.)
There were five people on board (Including Mr. Hovnannian) at the time of the sinking. All survived.
First off She was complete, and was ""NOT"" on her Maiden Voyage. She was 127 feet long, and cost $10,000,000.00 (1992 Dollars) to Build. All of her fittings Hinges, Screws, Faucets, ETC. were 24K Gold Plated.
She was built in Florida, and was in New Jersey for the summer, along with a similar, but shorter sister ship "Avante".
She was docked all summer long at the Channel Club Tower & Marina in Monmouth Beach, NJ. where my father lived at the time.
Mr. Hovnannian took my father & I out fishing the day before it sank. He knew I was in love with his boat.
She sank 90 ESE off of Cape May, NJ while on a practice run for a Sport Fishing event.
My theory has always been that a wave washed over the back of the boat (which was only 2 feet above the water line, and flooded the engine room. (Someone must have left the hatch open.)
There were five people on board (Including Mr. Hovnannian) at the time of the sinking. All survived.
#12
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I remember being at harbor town marina in dania beach and seeing her there and being mesmerized! What a beautiful boat! Two sets of teak twisting stairs to the 25' wide cockpit! Amazing!
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Hey subman, can u scan and post the picture of the lady anna from the front page of the a p press ? I had that article and the 3 page follow up a year later from the app and i lent it to someone from a bbq i had and forgot all about it and who i lent it to.They tried to raise the yacht from the 400ft wd and a line broke while raising it and it was presumed ruined when it hit bottom the second time . the second app article had pictures of it sitting on the bottom in great shape before they tried to raise it.... thanks dp 17 borden st monbch nj
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Thanks Obayer but i was looking for a picture of the lady anna , the APP 8-15-92 showed a picture of it docked at the Chanel Club marina in Monmouth Beach the ship was so tall it dwarfed the 60-80' yachts next to it. I will go to the Monmouth County Libuary the next time I am in NJ and see if I can find the article....dp
#20
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Been around the dock here for a while and never heard those kinds of claims levied by the insurance company towards the owners least of all criminal charges. Very unfortunate her sinking the Hovnanians are billionaires and his fishing buddies were very well off as well. I can't imagine them conspiring to scuttle the boat like that it just doesn't make sense and those allegations were never substantiated.