Motor Yacht For Your Eyes Only

     23rd November 1987
Three Denison yachts sunk. The first to sink was the 32 m For Your Eyes Only, the yacht left Hillsboro Beach, FL for a short trip to the Bahamas. The seas were rough and while passing through the inlet into the Atlantic, the vessel hit a sandbar which cracked the housings for the waterjets causing water to flood the engine room. The yacht did take on water through the engine vents on her stern but it was determined that it was an insufficient amount to sink the vessel. For Your Eyes Only was raised, rebuilt and was for many years a successful charter yacht under the name Dynamo.

The second Denison to sink was the 30 m “Lady Anna”, a large sport-fisherman. Not sure on all the details but the yacht sank off the New Jersey coast and was never raised. There were strong rumors that it was a deliberate sinking so the owner could claim the insurance on the yacht.

The motor yacht “Miss Turnberry” sank on the 26th Dec 1995 off St Kitts. The crew noticed water in the engine room but despite their efforts, they could not discover the source of the flooding and the yacht sank about 2 hours after the water was discovered. There was a theory that the through-hull exhaust valve failed but we don’t know if the actual cause has ever been discovered. Because of the depth of the water where she sank, “Miss Turnberry” was never raised.

The claim that Denison yachts were poorly constructed was largely the result of a lawsuit brought by the owner of For Your Eyes Only after the sinking that never went to trial. The actual causes of the sinking cleared the builder but by that time, they had lost so many contracts due to the bad publicity that they were forced to file for bankruptcy.

5/5 (3 Reviews)