FREDA
Freda has long been celebrated for her simple elegance and called both the Common Man’s Yacht and the Matriarch of San Francisco Bay. The 32 foot gaff sloop was built in 1885 in Belvedere, which makes her the oldest active sailing yacht on the West Coast. Her owner and builder, Harry Cookson, was a saloon keeper in Belvedere and part time boatwright. She was named for his daughter, a nursing student at Stanford University in the earliest days of that institution.
Freda was an important part of the Corinthian Yacht Club’s history for 27 years (1890-1917), including 23 years as the Club’s flagship under the command of founding member Commodore Joe Tracy.
After further travels and changes she was returned to the San Francisco Bay Area where she was painstakingly restored in the 1950’s by Harold Sommer, captain of the last wooden tugboat on San Francisco Bay. Freda became a fixture in the local Master Mariner fleet regattas but suffered a decline during these years.
Originally built with rock elm frames, Douglas fir decks, black elm and fir hanging knees, fir planks and lignum vitae deadeyes, Freda embodies the creativity and self reliance of San Francisco Bay wooden boat builders. In addition to her historic importance, Freda is central to the restoration mission of the Spaulding Wooden Boat Center, which is dedicated to the restoration and preservation of important SF Bay wooden boats and communicating the skills and ideals that went into these boats.
Freda is the inaugural Spaulding Center restoration project, and will become its flagship and a symbol of the rebirth of classic yachts on San Francisco Bay.
Read about Restoring Freda at the Spaulding Wooden Boat Center. Update: Flash photo animations showing Freda under restoration posted on May 7, 2009.
You can see photographs and videos about Freda in our Media Gallery.
How Can You Help?
You can participate in the restoration of Freda by buying a plank, contributing money or donating items of value to the Spaulding Center. See Make a Donation on this Web site.
