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Capt.
Dan Berg's Wreck Valley Collection |
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H.M.S. LOOE Big Pine Key
The 5th Rate 46 gun British Frigate H.M.S. Looe was built on the
Thames by Lime house Ship Builders. She was launched on December 29,
1741, and was completed at Deftford. Her dimensions are as follows:
length of gun deck 124'4", length of keel 101'4", beam 35'8", depth
of hold 14'6" and 685 tons.
The Looe was originally commissioned in January of 1742, under the
command of Lord Northesk. Her command was later given to Captain
Ashby Utting in 1743, while Great Britain and Spain were at war.
Captain Ashby Utting was commanded by his majesty to sail to North
America to guard the coast of Carolina, Georgia and Florida from an
impending invasion from Spain. On February 4, 1744, the Looe
captured a ship flying the French flag. Captain Utting determined
that the ship was under the command of Spain when his men discovered
documents during their search. He decided to tow her back to
Charleston. At about 1:30 AM, on February 5, 1744, the crew of the
Looe spotted a reef about 100 feet in front of them. Although great
efforts were made to change course, they were unsuccessful, and the
Looe smashed rudder first into the coral. Fortunately, the lives of
the crew were spared. Some sources claim that the Looe was towing
the disguised French Ship Snow at the time of her demise.
The wreck of the Looe was discovered in 1950. Early treasure hunters
recovered quite an assortment of artifacts from her, but to the best
of our knowledge, no one has ever located the ship she was towing.
When the wreck was first discovered, Mendel Peterson was called in
to examine the artifacts that had been found. He determined that the
wreck was an English warship and while checking his records for the
area he found a notation about the Looe. According to THE TREASURE
DIVER'S GUIDE by John Potter, "the name of the reef, like so many
others, had been taken from the ship which it sent to the bottom."
Today remnants of the Looe can be seen on the eastern edge of Looe
reef. She sits in 25 feet of water.
Basic shipwreck
information and images for this section of this site was taken with
permission from the book Florida Shipwrecks by Daniel Berg. You are
invited to submit your shipwreck related articles, images and
information. As long as the text, photographs, sketches etc are of
professional quality we will showcase them. Full credit will be
provided and a same page link to your web site can be arranged.
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All
photographs, sketches, images and text |
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Copyright
Capt. Dan Berg / Aqua Explorers Inc |
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2745
Cheshire Dr
Baldwin NY 11510
E-Mail Wreckvalle@aol.com |
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