Living from the sea
The bustling harbour is the hub of the town and home to over 60 commercial fishing vessels as well as an armada of pleasure and tripping boats.
Looe seems to be built on water and indeed many of the jumble of cottages in the ‘back streets’ of Looe have been built on the sandy estuary of the Looe River.
From the Middle Ages Looe has been a thriving port, providing ships for the Royal Service and trading tin, wine and fish. Almost daily it is possible to watch the fish being landed on the fish market (strictly for the early risers) and buy freshly landed fish from the shop on the quay.
However, not everything from the river ends its life on the fishmongers slab. A special attraction in the river mouth is a bronze memorial to ‘Nelson’, a eyed grey seal who frequented the harbour for over 25 years to be fed by both fishermen and visitors alike.
Enjoy a cruise along the coast or experience the exhilaration of deep sea fishing for shark (released and tagged for scientific purposes), or conger eel. Looe Bay, from Rame Head in the East to The Hore Stone in the West contains some of the best coastal scenery in Cornwall. Looe is also an important venue for national and international sailing championships being the traditional home of the Redwing, designed in the 1930’s specifically for Looe Bay. Enterprise, Laser, Mirror and Redwings are raced weekly during the summer months.
The traditional rowing sport of Gig racing also takes place in Looe with two gigs, Ryder and Samphire, both built locally, keeping alive traditional boat building skills. Looe also hosts a bi-ennial lugger regatta where the traditional craft of Cornish fishermen are raced and displayed in Looe Bay. Luggers built in Looe in the early 1900’s, including the Our Daddy, Our Boys, Guide Me and I.R.I.S., sporting their distinctive ‘lug rig’ are a magnificent spectacle in Looe Bay. Tide clocks are located on the wall of the Harbour Office.