Philip L. Rhodes JADA

Historical:

Originaly commissioned by Alta and Delbert Axelson of Axelson Manufacturing. Axelson had the yacht built for his son, Jack Axelson, as a college graduation present. JADA is less a name and more of an acronym, being the first letters of the names Jack, Alta (Jack’s mother), and Delbert Axelson. Delbert, a member of Newport Harbor Yacht Club had JADA built at Stephens Brothers Boat Yard in Stockton, CA in 1938. JADA was launched on June 5 of that year.

Daily Pilot, John Blaich – The Schooner Yacht was actively raced and sailed up and down the coast from Santa Barbara to Ensenada, Mexico.

At the start of the famous 1939 hurricane that caused so much damage at Newport Harbor, Jada was moored alongside the Axelson family pier on South Bay Front. The wind increased in velocity so fast that Jack was unable to get Jada off (lee shore) float. Jack and his crew spent the night arranging fenders and shoring up the pilings to prevent damage to Jada. The hurricane wind went down at daylight and Jada came through the storm with no major damage.

The cast iron keels for Jada and Odyssey, another local yacht, were poured and machined by the Axelson Manufacturing Co. at Huntington Park. They were placed on a flatbed railroad car and shipped to the Stephens Brothers Shipyard in Stockton. Note that the hulls of Jada and Odyssey were almost identical; both were built at the same time. Jada was rigged as a stay sail schooner, Odyssey became a yawl. Each was owned by a Huntington Park industrialist – Jada by Delbert Axelson of Axelson Manufacturing and Odyssey by Harry Steele of U.S. Electric Motors.

In 1950, Jack Axelson reluctantly sold Jada to Mrs. Isabelle Belyea. It has been said that Belyea purchased Jada so that her daughter’s boyfriend could sail to Honolulu in the 1951 Trans Pack Race. Jada placed 10th in class B and 18th in the fleet standings.

In 1953, George R. Sturgis of the Newport Harbor Yacht Club acquired Jada. The schooner rig did not fare too well in yacht races, so in 1955, Jada’s rig was changed to a yawl. Under Sturgis’ ownership, Jada was actively raced in local regattas. She sailed in five Transpac Races. In 1956, Jada was first overall in the Tahiti Race.

Jada was sold to Howard Wright of Los Angeles Yacht Club in 1961 and she ceased to consider Newport Harbor her homeport.

Jada is now owned and operated by Classic Yacht Charters of San Diego.

Provenance (The Wall of Remembrance – The Owners, Crew & Notable Guest):

• Commissioning Owner/Guardian (1938) Alta and Delbert Axelson
• Owner/Guardian: (1938-1950) Jack Axelson, Balboa Island, 1100 S. Bay Front.
• Owner/Guardian: (1950-1953) Mrs. Isabelle Belyea
• Owner/Guardian: (1953-1961) George R. Sturgis, Newport Harbor Yacht Club. Converted to a yawl.
• 1955 Transpacific Race Crew: Fred Smales
• 1955 Transpacific Race Crew: Robert Herley
• 1955 Transpacific Race Crew: James S. Douglas
• 1955 Transpacific Race Crew: P.W. Sanborn
• 1955 Transpacific Race Crew: Hank Sanborn
• 1955 Transpacific Race Crew: Charles Sanborn
• 1955 Transpacific Race Crew: Frederick H. Honey
• 1955 Transpacific Race Crew: Richard Blatterman
• 1955 Transpacific Race Crew: Ralph Benner
• Owner/Guardian: (1961) Howard Wright, Los Angeles Yacht Club.
• Celebrity Quest: Humphrey Bogart
• Celebrity Quest: Lauren Bacall
• Celebrity Quest: Errol Flynn
• Celebrity Quest: John Wayne
• Owner/Guardian: * Marlon Brando
• Owner/Guardian: (1992) Classic Yacht Charters, Honolulu Hawaii.
• Owner/Guardian: (2008) Carole Noska and Brad Maybury dba Sail Jada Charters, LLC., San Diego Hotel and Marina on Harbor Island.

Resources

Sail Jada Charters, LLC.
Daily Pilot, John Blaich
The Log – California’s Boating and Fishing News.
Transpacific Yacht Club.
Wikipedia
* Forty Years of UCSD Perspective – Page 79