Jada comes and goes

John Blaich

Stephens Brothers of Stockton, Calif., built the Jada, a

well-sailed yacht, for Delbert Axelson of the Newport Harbor Yacht

Club in 1938. I. Judson Kelly designed Jada. Her length overall was

56 feet, with a draft of 8 feet.

The name Jada is a combination of the names of Delbert’s son Jack

and his wife, Alda -- hence Jada.

Jada was a college graduation present to son Jack Axelson -- she

was essentially “Jack’s boat.” Jack kept Jada on a mooring off Balboa

Island at 1100 S. Bay Front.

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.

On July 23, we visited Jada in a slip near Sea Port Village at San

Diego. She is in good condition, with most of the original equipment

still in place. Jada is now owned and operated by Classic Yacht

Charters of San Diego.

* JOHN BLAICH is a Corona del Mar resident and volunteer at the

Newport Harbor Nautical Museum. About once a month, he writes

histories of interesting boats that graced Newport Harbor.