David Scott Cowper
Encyclopedia
David Scott Cowper is a British
yachtsman, and was the first man to sail solo round the world in both directions and was also the first to successfully sail around the world via the Northwest Passage
single-handed
.
and lives and works in Newcastle upon Tyne
. Although he is a Chartered Surveyor
and a Fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors
, sailing was his passion from an early age.
In 1974, Cowper participated and successfully completed The Observer
Around Britain Race in his Wanderer-class sailboat, Airedale, designed by John Laurent Giles
. In 1976, he successfully completed The Observer Single-Handed Trans-Atlantic Race
, again in his boat Airedale.
In 1980, Cowper completed the fastest solo circumnavigation of the globe solo via Cape Horn
, Cape of Good Hope
and Cape Leeuwin
in Ocean Bound, a Sparkman & Stevens 41' sloop
, beating Francis Chichester
's record of 226 days by one day.
Two years later, he repeated the feat, sailing against the prevailing westerly winds and rounding all five capes in 237 days, beating Chay Blyth
's record by 71 days and becoming the first person to circumnavigate the world in both directions single-handed.
In 1980, the city of Newcastle, celebrating its 900th anniversary, recognised his feats and awarded him honorary Freedom of the City
.
Cowper then switched to motorboat
s, and in 1984-1985 he sailed westwards round the globe in a converted ex-Royal National Lifeboat Institution Watson 42 foot wooden lifeboat, the Mabel E. Holland, via the Panama Canal
, becoming the first person to circumnavigate solo in a motor boat.
These feats served as a prelude to the first solo circumnavigation via the Northwest Passage, which consumed four and a half years and ended in 1990. On 14 July 1986, he departed from Newcastle to make his way across the North Atlantic up the west coast of Greenland
to enter Lancaster Sound
, eventually reaching Fort Ross
at the east end of Bellot Strait
. Due to heavy pack ice and the start of an early winter, Mabel E. Holland remained in the ice for two full years at this location. When Cowper returned the next summer, he found the boat waterlogged, and spent the short summer pulling her ashore and repairing her. In 1988, he managed to reach Alaska
and left the boat at Inuvik, Northwest Territories (east of Alaska) on the Mackenzie River
, before one of the coldest winters in recorded Arctic
history.
On the tenth of August 1989, he sailed into the Bering Strait
, becoming the first person to have completed the passage single-handed as part of a circumnavigation of the world. Continuing via Midway
and Papua New Guinea
, he reached Darwin
, Northern Territory
on the Australia
n coast just before the start of the hurricane season where he laid up his boat. Returning in April 1990, he continued via the Cape of Good Hope, arriving back in Newcastle on 24 September.
Subsequently, Cowper attempted to complete the Northern Sea Route
(North East Passage) over the top of Russia
. He had an aluminium boat, Polar Bound, built and took it round Cape Horn and up the west coast of the Americas
in 2002, but was refused permission by the Russian authorities. He turned east and completed the Northwest Passage again, in two summers, from west to east, becoming the first person to have completed an east to west and west to east single-handed transit. He then prepared Polar Bound for another attempt, should permission be given by Russia.
in Cumbria
, England, the intended route is to sail to Greenland and then through the Northwest Passage and the Bering Strait. On 6 September 2009, he was docked in Cambridge Bay, half-way through the Northwest Passage, and on the 24th he sailed into Dutch Harbor in the Aleutians, after completing the passage single-handed for the third time. David Cowper is the only person to have done the Northwest Passage three times. He is also the only person to have done it solo in a single season (in 2009). In 1979-82, Kenichi Horie
in Mermaid, was the first person to do it solo, but took two over-wintering. Two other individuals, Arved Fuchs
and Oliver Pitras, have done it twice as part of a crew.
Cowper left Dutch Harbor on 29 September 2009 and sailed into the St. Francis Yacht Club in San Francisco on 14 October. He left the Sausalito Yacht Club
on 28 October, heading south for Chile
and Antarctica. He would then make his way to the Falkland Islands
, South Georgia Island (where he was sighted on 21 April 2010), Tristan da Cunha
and Cape Town
. From there the intended route is to South Australia
, then across the Pacific Ocean
to Fiji
, Hawaii
, Dutch Harbor and then through the Northwest Passage back to England. According to The Daily Telegraph, this "will be the first circumnavigation involving a double-transit of the Passage."
5 October 2011, 0900UTC. MV Polar Bound arrives Whitehaven
UK completing his sixth circumnavigation and fourth Northwest Passage transit.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
yachtsman, and was the first man to sail solo round the world in both directions and was also the first to successfully sail around the world via the Northwest Passage
Northwest Passage
The Northwest Passage is a sea route through the Arctic Ocean, along the northern coast of North America via waterways amidst the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans...
single-handed
Single-handed sailing
The sport of single-handed sailing or solo sailing is sailing with only one crewmember . The term is usually used with reference to ocean and long-distance sailing, and particularly competitive sailing....
.
Biography
Born in 1942, David Cowper was educated at Stowe SchoolStowe School
Stowe School is an independent school in Stowe, Buckinghamshire. It was founded on 11 May 1923 by J. F. Roxburgh, initially with 99 male pupils. It is a member of the Rugby Group and Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference. The school is also a member of the G20 Schools Group...
and lives and works in Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...
. Although he is a Chartered Surveyor
Chartered Surveyor
Chartered Surveyor is the description ofProfessional Members and Fellows of the RICS entitled to use the designation in Commonwealth countries and Ireland...
and a Fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors
Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors is an independent, representative professional body which regulates property professionals and surveyors in the United Kingdom and other sovereign nations....
, sailing was his passion from an early age.
In 1974, Cowper participated and successfully completed The Observer
The Observer
The Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...
Around Britain Race in his Wanderer-class sailboat, Airedale, designed by John Laurent Giles
John Laurent Giles
John Laurent Giles was a famous yacht designer. He and his company designed more than 1000 boats from cruises, racing yachts to "megayachts". He is best known for his design of displacement sailing yachts like the famous 7.6 meter Vertue of which 230 boats made, or Wanderer III...
. In 1976, he successfully completed The Observer Single-Handed Trans-Atlantic Race
Single-Handed Trans-Atlantic Race
The Single-handed Trans-Atlantic Race, or STAR, is an east-to-west yacht race across the North Atlantic. When inaugurated in 1960, it was the first single-handed ocean yacht race; it is run from Plymouth to the USA, and is held every four years....
, again in his boat Airedale.
In 1980, Cowper completed the fastest solo circumnavigation of the globe solo via Cape Horn
Cape Horn
Cape Horn is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile, and is located on the small Hornos Island...
, Cape of Good Hope
Cape of Good Hope
The Cape of Good Hope is a rocky headland on the Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula, South Africa.There is a misconception that the Cape of Good Hope is the southern tip of Africa, because it was once believed to be the dividing point between the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. In fact, the...
and Cape Leeuwin
Cape Leeuwin
Cape Leeuwin is the most south-westerly mainland point of the Australian Continent, in the state of Western Australia.A few small islands and rocks, the St Alouarn Islands, extend further to the south. The nearest settlement, north of the cape, is Augusta. South-east of Cape Leeuwin, the coast...
in Ocean Bound, a Sparkman & Stevens 41' sloop
Sloop
A sloop is a sail boat with a fore-and-aft rig and a single mast farther forward than the mast of a cutter....
, beating Francis Chichester
Francis Chichester
Sir Francis Charles Chichester KBE , aviator and sailor, was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for becoming the first person to sail single-handed around the world by the clipper route, and the fastest circumnavigator, in nine months and one day overall.-Early life:Chichester was born in Barnstaple,...
's record of 226 days by one day.
Two years later, he repeated the feat, sailing against the prevailing westerly winds and rounding all five capes in 237 days, beating Chay Blyth
Chay Blyth
Sir Charles Blyth, CBE, BEM , known as Chay Blyth, is a Scottish yachtsman and rower. He was the first person to sail non-stop westwards around the world , on a 59-foot boat called British Steel.- Early life:...
's record by 71 days and becoming the first person to circumnavigate the world in both directions single-handed.
In 1980, the city of Newcastle, celebrating its 900th anniversary, recognised his feats and awarded him honorary Freedom of the City
Freedom of the City
Freedom of the City is an honour bestowed by some municipalities in Australia, Canada, Ireland, France, Italy, New Zealand, South Africa, Spain, the United Kingdom, Gibraltar and Rhodesia to esteemed members of its community and to organisations to be honoured, often for service to the community;...
.
Cowper then switched to motorboat
Motorboat
A motorboat is a boat which is powered by an engine. Some motorboats are fitted with inboard engines, others have an outboard motor installed on the rear, containing the internal combustion engine, the gearbox and the propeller in one portable unit.An inboard/outboard contains a hybrid of a...
s, and in 1984-1985 he sailed westwards round the globe in a converted ex-Royal National Lifeboat Institution Watson 42 foot wooden lifeboat, the Mabel E. Holland, via the Panama Canal
Panama Canal
The Panama Canal is a ship canal in Panama that joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. Built from 1904 to 1914, the canal has seen annual traffic rise from about 1,000 ships early on to 14,702 vessels measuring a total of 309.6...
, becoming the first person to circumnavigate solo in a motor boat.
These feats served as a prelude to the first solo circumnavigation via the Northwest Passage, which consumed four and a half years and ended in 1990. On 14 July 1986, he departed from Newcastle to make his way across the North Atlantic up the west coast of Greenland
Greenland
Greenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for...
to enter Lancaster Sound
Lancaster Sound
Lancaster Sound is a body of water in Qikiqtaaluk, Nunavut, Canada. It is located between Devon Island and Baffin Island, forming the eastern portion of the Northwest Passage. East of the sound lies Baffin Bay; to the west lies Viscount Melville Sound...
, eventually reaching Fort Ross
Fort Ross, Nunavut
Fort Ross is an uninhabited former trading post in the Qikiqtaaluk Region of Nunavut, Canada. Founded in 1937 it was the last trading post to be established by the Hudson's Bay Company....
at the east end of Bellot Strait
Bellot Strait
Bellot Strait is a passage of water in Nunavut separating Somerset Island from Murchison Promontory on the Boothia Peninsula, the northernmost part of mainland North America...
. Due to heavy pack ice and the start of an early winter, Mabel E. Holland remained in the ice for two full years at this location. When Cowper returned the next summer, he found the boat waterlogged, and spent the short summer pulling her ashore and repairing her. In 1988, he managed to reach Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
and left the boat at Inuvik, Northwest Territories (east of Alaska) on the Mackenzie River
Mackenzie River
The Mackenzie River is the largest river system in Canada. It flows through a vast, isolated region of forest and tundra entirely within the country's Northwest Territories, although its many tributaries reach into four other Canadian provinces and territories...
, before one of the coldest winters in recorded Arctic
Arctic
The Arctic is a region located at the northern-most part of the Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean and parts of Canada, Russia, Greenland, the United States, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland. The Arctic region consists of a vast, ice-covered ocean, surrounded by treeless permafrost...
history.
On the tenth of August 1989, he sailed into the Bering Strait
Bering Strait
The Bering Strait , known to natives as Imakpik, is a sea strait between Cape Dezhnev, Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, Russia, the easternmost point of the Asian continent and Cape Prince of Wales, Alaska, USA, the westernmost point of the North American continent, with latitude of about 65°40'N,...
, becoming the first person to have completed the passage single-handed as part of a circumnavigation of the world. Continuing via Midway
Midway Atoll
Midway Atoll is a atoll in the North Pacific Ocean, near the northwestern end of the Hawaiian archipelago, about one-third of the way between Honolulu, Hawaii, and Tokyo, Japan. Unique among the Hawaiian islands, Midway observes UTC-11 , eleven hours behind Coordinated Universal Time and one hour...
and Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...
, he reached Darwin
Darwin, Northern Territory
Darwin is the capital city of the Northern Territory, Australia. Situated on the Timor Sea, Darwin has a population of 127,500, making it by far the largest and most populated city in the sparsely populated Northern Territory, but the least populous of all Australia's capital cities...
, Northern Territory
Northern Territory
The Northern Territory is a federal territory of Australia, occupying much of the centre of the mainland continent, as well as the central northern regions...
on the Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n coast just before the start of the hurricane season where he laid up his boat. Returning in April 1990, he continued via the Cape of Good Hope, arriving back in Newcastle on 24 September.
Subsequently, Cowper attempted to complete the Northern Sea Route
Northern Sea Route
The Northern Sea Route is a shipping lane officially defined by Russian legislation from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean specifically running along the Russian Arctic coast from Murmansk on the Barents Sea, along Siberia, to the Bering Strait and Far East. The entire route lies in Arctic...
(North East Passage) over the top of Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
. He had an aluminium boat, Polar Bound, built and took it round Cape Horn and up the west coast of the Americas
Americas
The Americas, or America , are lands in the Western hemisphere, also known as the New World. In English, the plural form the Americas is often used to refer to the landmasses of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions, while the singular form America is primarily...
in 2002, but was refused permission by the Russian authorities. He turned east and completed the Northwest Passage again, in two summers, from west to east, becoming the first person to have completed an east to west and west to east single-handed transit. He then prepared Polar Bound for another attempt, should permission be given by Russia.
2009-2010
In August 2009, Cowper began what is to be his 6th circumnavigation of the earth. The journey is planned to last fifteen months and cover 35000 mi (56,326.9 km). Starting at MaryportMaryport
Maryport is a town and civil parish within the Allerdale borough of Cumbria, England, in the historic county of Cumberland. It is located on the A596 road north of Workington, and is the southernmost town on the Solway Firth. Maryport railway station is on the Cumbrian Coast Line. The town is in...
in Cumbria
Cumbria
Cumbria , is a non-metropolitan county in North West England. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local authority, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumbria's largest settlement and county town is Carlisle. It consists of six districts, and in...
, England, the intended route is to sail to Greenland and then through the Northwest Passage and the Bering Strait. On 6 September 2009, he was docked in Cambridge Bay, half-way through the Northwest Passage, and on the 24th he sailed into Dutch Harbor in the Aleutians, after completing the passage single-handed for the third time. David Cowper is the only person to have done the Northwest Passage three times. He is also the only person to have done it solo in a single season (in 2009). In 1979-82, Kenichi Horie
Kenichi Horie
is a Japanese solo yachtsman. Horie first rose to prominence when he became the first person to sail solo across the Pacific Ocean in 1962. He has made other significant solo voyages, usually involving boats exhibiting some sort of environmentally friendly theme, including his 2008 voyage across...
in Mermaid, was the first person to do it solo, but took two over-wintering. Two other individuals, Arved Fuchs
Arved Fuchs
Arved Fuchs is a German explorer. On December 30, 1989, he and the famous mountain climber Reinhold Messner were the first to reach the South Pole without animal or motorised help, on skis and with wind-assistance...
and Oliver Pitras, have done it twice as part of a crew.
Cowper left Dutch Harbor on 29 September 2009 and sailed into the St. Francis Yacht Club in San Francisco on 14 October. He left the Sausalito Yacht Club
Sausalito Yacht Club
The Sausalito Yacht Club in the city of Sausalito, California on San Francisco Bay was founded in 1942 to promote yachting, both racing and cruising.-History:...
on 28 October, heading south for Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
and Antarctica. He would then make his way to the Falkland Islands
Falkland Islands
The Falkland Islands are an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean, located about from the coast of mainland South America. The archipelago consists of East Falkland, West Falkland and 776 lesser islands. The capital, Stanley, is on East Falkland...
, South Georgia Island (where he was sighted on 21 April 2010), Tristan da Cunha
Tristan da Cunha
Tristan da Cunha is a remote volcanic group of islands in the south Atlantic Ocean and the main island of that group. It is the most remote inhabited archipelago in the world, lying from the nearest land, South Africa, and from South America...
and Cape Town
Cape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
. From there the intended route is to South Australia
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
, then across the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
to Fiji
Fiji
Fiji , officially the Republic of Fiji , is an island nation in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about northeast of New Zealand's North Island...
, Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
, Dutch Harbor and then through the Northwest Passage back to England. According to The Daily Telegraph, this "will be the first circumnavigation involving a double-transit of the Passage."
2011
Follow the "MV Polar Bound" via APRS Automatic Packet Reporting System at http://aprs.fi/vp8deu.5 October 2011, 0900UTC. MV Polar Bound arrives Whitehaven
Whitehaven
Whitehaven is a small town and port on the coast of Cumbria, England, which lies equidistant between the county's two largest settlements, Carlisle and Barrow-in-Furness, and is served by the Cumbrian Coast Line and the A595 road...
UK completing his sixth circumnavigation and fourth Northwest Passage transit.
Sources
- Cowper,David Scott. Northwest Passage Solo. UK:Seafarer Books 1993. ISBN 978-0850364293
- Power and Motor Yacht article
- Profile