The Beginning.
Freda’s story starts in 1885, when she was built in Belvedere, California for racing and recreation. As the oldest registered yacht on the west coast, Freda embodies tradition and elegance.
“I stood entranced for a long time, absorbing her poised loveliness as if she were mine alone to kidnap and sail away toward those dream harbors…..I caressed her overall grace with my eyes and saw at once that her master must also be in love. For there was not a single blemish or compromise anywhere. Her sheer was exactly right, being neither so marked as to suggest a wooden shoe nor so slight as to resemble a flat iron. Obviously what little water came upon her decks would soon slip back to the sea.” - Ernest Gann, Rudder Magazine 1970
The Rebuild.
In 1996 the Arques School of Wooden Boatbuilding undertook a 15-year rebuild of Freda, reconstructing the hull and restoring the vessel to near original shape. Freda was re-launched from the Spaulding Marine Center in 2014 and remains in the care of the center.
Today.
The “Friends of Freda” volunteer group diligently maintains and cares for Freda. Come Summer 2023, Freda will be available for small group charters with US Coast Guard certified captains and crew. If you’d like to join us on the water, or get involved in volunteering, reach out!
