- HMS Loo
HMS Loo was a British 44-gun
frigate that grounded on a reef off the coast ofFlorida onFebruary 5 ,1744 , during theWar of Jenkins' Ear .Named after the town of
Looe ,Cornwall (the spelling in the 1700s used both "Loo" and "Looe"), the vessel was captained by Captain Ashby Utting. The Loo had a capturedmerchant ship commanded by a Spanish crew in tow when, just after midnight, it struck the reef, followed shortly by the merchant ship. With a priority to escape to avoid capture by the Spanish, the three small boats carried by the frigate were inadequate to carry the 274 survivors, however a Spanishsloop was sighted nearby, which was captured after being chased by some of the crew in the frigate's boats. After the grounded ships had been salvaged for provisions, they were set alight and the survivors departed in the sloop and smaller boats.The sloop managed to reach
Port Royal, South Carolina . One of the smaller boats reachedNew Providence in theBahamas , and one was rescued nearCuba . Captain Utting wascourt-martialled , but acquitted.The wreckage of the ship and its remaining cargo remains today, and forms part of the Looe Key National Marine Sanctuary (named after the ship) in the
Florida Keys .References
*cite web | url = http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/general/lib/cedar97.pdf | title = Resource Survey of Looe Key National Marine Sanctuary | year = 1983 | publisher =
NOAA | accessdate = 2008-09-19 | format = PDF
*cite book | url = http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=smjanoaVdsIC&pg=PA27&lpg=PA27&dq=looe+key+%22HMS+Loo%22&source=web&ots=DRYW8hXo6V&sig=WWyELra3sTiyOiyDGW-f22-NGpM&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=4&ct=result | page = 27-31
title = The Florida Keys | first = John | last = Viele | publisher = Pineapple Press | isbn = 9781561641796
*cite web | url = http://members.aol.com/JGBraddockSr/utting.html | accessdate = 2008-09-19 | title = A letter from captain Ashby Utting to the Admiralty reporting the loss of the HMS Loo| date = February 15, 1744
*cite book | url = http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=siAWuzbn27EC&pg=PA238&lpg=PA238&dq=looe+key+%22HMS+Loo%22&source=web&ots=fJtuYkZPmq&sig=UVgaZ0dVCzvpnpoxfSh3qjEzUHc&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=8&ct=result | page = 238-239
title = Lighthouses of the Florida Keys | first = Love | last = Dean | publisher = Pineapple Press | isbn = 9781561641659
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