Left, a portrait of
Capt. Crowninshield sailing.
Right, Cleopatra’s Barge II
under full sail.
Frank’s yacht was almost the same size
as the original 19th-century Cleopatra.
Originally named the Marriette, this
beautifully designed yacht was 80 feet
on the water line, 109 feet on the deck,
24.5 feet wide, and 15 feet deep. She was
powered by a 150 hp motor, which, in calm,
smooth water, gave her a speed of six knots.
From 1928 until the beginning of World War
II, when the boat was commandeered by the
US Coast Guard, it sailed from Chesapeake
Bay to Penobscot Bay, Maine. After the war,
the vessel was returned in such terrible
condition that Frank lost heart and sold it.
But the question is often asked: How
did Frank, a staunch New Englander,
and his wife come to establish a home in
Boca Grande? The original lure was the
abundance of tarpon in Boca Grande Pass
that his brother, Benjamin “Benny” Williams
Crowninshield, had discovered.
It seems that, at fi rst, Frank and Louise
rented Benny’s cottage along the Gulf of
Mexico in 1916 or 1917. During some of
their fi shing expeditions, the Crowninshields
often registered and stayed at Useppa
Island’s Collier Inn. Yet another reason
behind Frank and Louisa‘s arrival in Boca
Grande was the opportunity to leave Boston,
where they had lived in the family home at
164 Marlborough Street since 1902.
After their marriage, Frank and Louise
had soon become a part of Boston’s social
The crew of Cleopatra’s Barge
world and its club life. Unfortunately, Frank
was often an outspoken critic against
United States involvement in World War
I. Frank, a great sailor, had raced with top
German sailors during the 1906 and 1907
Kiel Regatta, the great competition in the
North Sea, and admired their skill. Bayard
Sharp, during an interview in 2001 for the
Boca Grande historical society, described
him as “World War I‘s Charles A. Lindbergh”
because of his pro-German views. In fact,
50 GASPARILLA MAGAZINE • May/June • 2021