Janet Cowan
Barque · United Kingdom · Lost 1895 · The British Columbia Coast
A large four-masted steel barque, the largest sailing ship lost on this stretch of coast, wrecked here with seven lives lost, helping spur the creation of a mariners' rescue trail.
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The Vessel and Her Loss
Janet Cowan, a four-masted steel barque of 2,498 tons built in Glasgow in 1889, was wrecked on the exposed southwest coast of Vancouver Island, with seven crew members losing their lives. As the largest sailing vessel lost along this stretch of coast, her loss helped drive recommendations for a lifesaving trail along the shore, a call renewed a decade later by the loss of the Valencia less than a kilometre away. That trail eventually became the West Coast Trail.
Vessel
- 1889
- Barclay, Curle & Co.
- Glasgow, Scotland
- Steel
- Not established
- Not established
- 2498
- Sail
- Not established
Loss
- December 4, 1895
- Storm
- Near the 19-kilometre mark of the present West Coast Trail, southwest coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia
- Pacific Ocean
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
- 7
- Not established
The Wreck Today
- Not established
- Scattered wreckage and artifacts remain visible among rocks at the site
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
Position
- Not established
- Position not established
- West Coast Trail, Vancouver Island, British Columbia
Evidence
Overall confidence: Partially documented (55/100)
The precise date of loss and full circumstances vary between secondary sources; the vessel's captain and full casualty details are not firmly established.
HikeWCT.com, West Coast Trail Shipwrecks
Vessel dimensions, build details, and general loss circumstances.
