Frank Cowper (18 January 18494 – 28 May 1930) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

yachtsman A yacht is a sailing or power vessel used for pleasure, cruising, or racing. There is no standard definition, though the term generally applies to vessels with a cabin intended for overnight use. To be termed a , as opposed to a , such a pleasu ...

, author and journalist who was influential in popularising single-handed cruising. He has been credited as "the forefather of modern cruising", and his books "laid the foundation" of the pilot guides used by yachtsmen today. As an author he also saw some commercial success with a number of published adventure and romance novels.

Early life

He was initially Frank Cooper, and was the second son of five children to Henry Cooper of London. He studied classical history at

The Queen's College, Oxford The Queen's College is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford, England. The college was founded in 1341 by Robert de Eglesfield in honour of Philippa of Hainault. It is distinguished by its pred ...

, where he matriculated in 1867, graduating B.A. in 1871, M.A. 1875.

Yachting

Cowper learned to sail on the Upper Thames, hiring

catboat A catboat (alternate spelling: cat boat) is a sailboat with a single sail on a single mast set well forward in the bow of a very beamy and (usually) shallow draft hull. Typically they are gaff rigged, though Bermuda rig is also used. Most are f ...

s with friends when he was an undergraduate at

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

. In 1870, in his final year at university, he spent his summer vacation in

Auray Auray (; br, An Alre, or simply ) is a commune in the Morbihan department, administrative region of Brittany, northwestern France. Inhabitants of Auray are called ''Alréens'' (French) and ''Alreiz'' (Breton). Geography The city is surrounde ...

, in Brittany in northern France, sailing a small

dinghy A dinghy is a type of small boat, often carried or towed by a larger vessel for use as a tender. Utility dinghies are usually rowboats or have an outboard motor. Some are rigged for sailing but they differ from sailing dinghies, which ...

in the

Gulf of Morbihan The Gulf of Morbihan is a natural harbour on the coast of the department of Morbihan in southern Brittany, France. Its English name is taken from the French version, ''le golfe du Morbihan'', though it would be more precisely called 'the Mo ...

and out into

Quiberon Bay Quiberon Bay (french: Baie de Quiberon) is an area of sheltered water on the south coast of Brittany. The bay is in the Morbihan département. Geography The bay is roughly triangular in shape, open to the south with the Gulf of Morbihan to t ...

. Between 1892 and 1895 Cowper circumnavigated the British Isles, exploring practically every river and creek round the coast. He also crossed the

English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...

to France and Belgium. Cowper's most well-known work, ''Sailing Tours'', describes these voyages and was published in five volumes between 1892 and 1896. Original copies are now quite collectable, and a full set can fetch as much as £500. In 1985 Ashford Press published a

facsimile A facsimile (from Latin ''fac simile'', "to make alike") is a copy or reproduction of an old book, manuscript, map, Old master print, art print, or other item of historical value that is as true to the original source as possible. It differs from ...

reprint of all 5 volumes. Cowper originally undertook the voyages documented in ''Sailing Tours'', mostly single-handed, in the

yawl A yawl is a type of boat. The term has several meanings. It can apply to the rig (or sailplan), to the hull type or to the use which the vessel is put. As a rig, a yawl is a two masted, fore and aft rigged sailing vessel with the mizzen mast p ...

''Lady Harvey'', a Dover fishing

lugger A lugger is a sailing vessel defined by its rig, using the lug sail on all of its one or several masts. They were widely used as working craft, particularly off the coasts of France, England, Ireland and Scotland. Luggers varied extensively i ...

built in 1867. In his 1921 book ''Single-Handed Cruising'', Francis B. Cooke claimed that no amateur yachtsman had ever single-handed a larger vessel. Cowper sold ''Lady Harvey'' in 1895, then building a

ketch A ketch is a two- masted sailboat whose mainmast is taller than the mizzen mast (or aft-mast), and whose mizzen mast is stepped forward of the rudder post. The mizzen mast stepped forward of the rudder post is what distinguishes the ketch fr ...

of his own design, ''Undine II'', which became his favourite but which he sold in 1899. He next owned a yawl named ''Zayda'', followed by a French fishing lugger, ''Idéal'', and a 14-ton cutter ''Little Windflower''. In 1921 Cowper purchased the cutter ''Ailsa'', which was to be the last boat he owned. ''Sailing Tours'' continued to be cited in sailing guides, Neville Featherstone describing Cowper's writing as "a rich blend of navigational facts laced with his own semi-libellous observations on the world around him".

Alan Titchmarsh Alan Fred Titchmarsh HonFSE (born 2 May 1949) is an English gardener, broadcaster, TV presenter, poet, and novelist. After working as a professional gardener and a gardening journalist, he established himself as a media personality through a ...

described it as a "rich source of inspiration" for his 1999 novel, ''The Last Lighthouse Keeper''.

Fiction

Cowper also wrote several adventure and romance novels. One of these, ''The Island of the English'' (1898), was described as having "a strong compelling note of verity" and a "vivid flexible style".

Family

On 28 December 1876, Cowper married fellow author Edith Cadogen, daughter of the Rector of Wicken. They made their home in the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island of England. Referred to as 'The Island' by residents, the Isle of ...

and Edith bore 10 children; 3 did not survive infancy but their eldest,

Frank Cadogan Cowper Frank Cadogan Cowper (16 October 1877 – 17 November 1958)"Obituary: Fran ...

, grew up to become a recognised

pre-raphaelite The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood (later known as the Pre-Raphaelites) was a group of English painters, poets, and art critics, founded in 1848 by William Holman Hunt, John Everett Millais, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, William Michael Rossetti, James ...

artist. The marriage was troubled, however - Edith accused Cowper of violence and frequent infidelity, and they divorced in 1890.

Books

Sailing

* ''Sailing Tours Part 1 - The Coasts of Essex and Suffolk'' (1892) * ''Sailing Tours Part 2 - The Nore to the Scilly Isles'' (1893) * ''Sailing Tours Part 3 - Falmouth to the Loire'' (1894) * ''Sailing Tours Part 4 - Lands End to the Mull of Galloway including the East Coast of Ireland'' (1895) * ''Sailing Tours Part 5 - The Clyde to the Thames Round North'' (1896) * ''Jack-All-Alone, His Cruises'' (1897) * ''Yachting and Cruising for Amateurs'' (1911) * ''Cruising Sails and Yachting Tales'' (1921) * ''Vagaries of Lady Harvey - The Meanderings of a Freak among the Orkneys'' (1930)

Fiction

* ''Caedwalla - The Saxons in the Isle of Wight'' (1888) * ''The Captain of the Wight - A Romance of Carisbrooke Castle in 1488'' (1889) * ''The Hunting of the Auk'' (1895) * ''The Island of the English'' (1898) * ''The Forgotten Door'' (1900)

Short fiction

* "Christmas Eve on a Haunted Hulk" (1889)

Nonfiction

* ''Ye Lay of ye Lady Harvey and ye Little Blue Dragon - Private publication of 50 Copies'' (1908)

Boats

* ''Aristide Marie'' * ''Undine I'' * ''Lady Harvey'' * ''Undine II'' * ''Zayda'' * ''Anonyma'' * ''Guardian Angel'' * ''Ruby'' * ''Ideal'' * ''Little Windflower'' * ''Ailsa''

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cowper, Frank 1849 births 1930 deaths English non-fiction outdoors writers English male sailors (sport) Single-handed sailors Sportspeople from the Isle of Wight Alumni of The Queen's College, Oxford