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HMS Looe
by Captain Dan Berg
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.
Looe Key Reef History
by Bob “Frogfoot” Weller
Five miles seaward of Big Pine Key, and just a skip of the stone
from blue water, is a spit of land that 262 years ago was the scene
of a dramatic shipwreck and rescue. Like many Keys and reefs
scattered along the edge of the Bahama Channel, Looe Key bears the
name of a British Frigate that scattered her timbers and treasure
over the forward fingers of the reef. The HMS Looe was outfitted in
Longreach, England, with 190 crewmen and 42 cannon. Her first eight
years of service were in patrolling the English Channel as part of
the Dunkirk Squadron. Afterwards, she “cruized” the coast of Sallee
in the hunt for Barbary pirates. Her first real action took place as
a 44 gun frigate off the coast of Spain. She raided Vigo Bay and
captured four Spanish vessels in the harbor. As a result the Spanish
began attacking Fort Frederick in Georgia, as well as harassing the
British settlers along the east coast of the Carolinas. The governor
of South Carolina sent a petition to have a warship protect their
coastline. The final voyage of the HMS Looe was about to begin.
Captain Ashby Utting had assumed command of the Looe and was
directed to Charleston to provide the protection requested. His
orders read, “To cruize between Cape Florida and the northwest part
of the Grand Bahamas when the season of the year will not permit
the cruizing of the Carolinas. You are to look out for the enemy
ships passing through the gulph of Florida for Europe, and use your
utmost endeavor to take, sink, burn, or destroy them.” To Utting,
this meant he could “fish” for rich Spanish merchantmen.
While in Charleston harbor, a four-day storm with gale winds damaged
the Looe’s rigging and main mast. Only the shipyard in Kingston,
Jamaica could repair the damage. The Looe sailed south around the
southern tip of Cuba to Jamaica where on December 3, 1743 the ship
was ready for sea again. By Saturday, February 4, 1744, the Looe was
on station in the Bahama Channel.
About 8 a.m. a sail was sighted and by noon-time the Looe captured a
Spanish “Snow” or small merchantman. Crewmembers recognized the Snow
as the Bilander Betty, a British ship that had recently been
captured by the Spanish. Before the Snow could be dispatched to
Charleston, someone noticed an “Irish Gentlemen” on board throw a
large oilskin packet overboard. Utting recovered the packet and
discovered papers in French and Spanish. Considering this important
information, Utting decided to escort the Snow back to Charleston.
It was late in the day with the sun setting, so with a bearing on
the “Pan of Matnaza,” a flat top mountain on the coast of Cuba, he
ordered a course NE by E to clear the Double Headed Shot Key off
Salt Key Bank. Before retiring, he ordered the lead line thrown
every 30 minutes to sound for depth.
At 1:00 a.m. the following morning, the lead line was thrown and no
bottom found at 300 feet. Dramatically, 15 minutes later, the
officer of the watch was surprised to find white water with breakers
dead ahead. Just as the ship veered off, the sails caught a cross
wind and the stern struck the reef. Soon a large wave struck the
ship, shearing off her rudder, and the stern began to fill quickly
with water. Realizing the ship was lost, the Captain ordered his
Chief Gunner to save as much of the bread and gunpowder as possible.
In the meantime, the Snow was being pounded to pieces on a reef
nearby. Utting shouted to the prize crew to throw her cannon and
anchors overboard—which they did—but the ship was lost.
As daylight broke Utting and his men found themselves on a “small
sandy key about 1-1/2 cables long and 1/2 broad which lay on the
edge of the bank of the Matires” (a cable was 600 feet). Everyone
thought they were on Double Shot Key, when about 10 a.m. they
sighted a sloop offshore. Utting tried to signal the sloop, but
instead it stood out towards a low line of mangroves. The Captain
armed his small boats and sent them in pursuit; it was their only
hope of survival. If a wind came up, the small sandy key would have
been covered with water. There was jubilation when, the following
morning, the small boats were back with the sloop in tow. On
Wednesday, February 8,1744, the entire crew of the Looe and the
Snow, all 274 men, loaded into the long boats and sloop. Before
leaving, Utting set fire to the ship, and as flames raced over the
deck it blew up, scattering the ship in several pieces. The Captain
and crew arrived in Jamaica on February 13.
In 1951 Dr. and Mrs. Barney Crile, Art McKee and Mendel Peterson
dove the wreck site and managed to recover one of the Looe’s cannon,
along with a number of artifacts. The following year, after learning
that the Looe had a prize when it sank, the group returned and
located one of the Snow’s anchors. Also recovered were a number of
cannon balls, a pewter cup, a pewter tankard, 3 coins, brass
buttons, a brass basin, remains of a fine unguent jar, utensils, a
porcelain bowl, copper spun plates, a brass door knocker, pewter
teapot and several clay pipes.
Not far from the stepped iron ballast of the Looe, Ed Link recovered
a bronze bell inscribed “Soli Deo Gloria, AO 1751”. This date, 7
years after the Looe sank, is from another wreck, possibly Spanish.
In the early 1970s Art Hartman and Bobby Jordan worked the site of
the Looe and recovered silver candlestick holders, pewter mugs,
pewter jugs, cannonballs, buttons, forks and spoons, and the top of
a snuff box. Many of the artifacts were in conglomerates that had
badly burned wood and other shipwreck material. One day, while
searching the shoreward side of Looe Key, Art and Bobby discovered
another wreck site, 1/2 to 3/4 mile from the Key. From this site
they recovered two 5’ bronze cannon, each with a French Fleur de Lis
insignia, 67 muskets with bayonets attached, 2 tridents--one inlaid
with gold, the other with silver--and several swords. They
determined the ship probably sank between 1825-50, and was
undoubtedly a French warship. Bobby Jordan later recovered two more
bronze cannon from the site.
The Looe’s stair stepped iron casting ballast is located at mooring
buoy #15, about 700-800 feet west of marker #24 at the east end of
Looe Key. Artifacts are possibly scattered several hundred feet due
to the explosion when the ship burned. Looe Key is a sanctuary now,
a beautiful living reef that is a diving pleasure. Salvaging
artifacts is illegal, but sightseeing is encouraged.
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