JADA's History

Origins

Designed by Judson Kelly. Built to race the Pacific.

JADA was designed by Judson Kelly as a long-distance ocean racer — a vessel built not for comfort or commerce, but for competition. Kelly was known for producing fast, seaworthy designs, and JADA represented the best of pre-war West Coast yacht design.

She was built at Stephens Brothers Shipyard in Stockton, California — a yard with a long and distinguished history of producing quality wooden vessels. Stephens Brothers had been building boats since 1904, and their reputation for craftsmanship was unmatched on the Pacific Coast.

JADA was launched on June 5th, 1938. The world was still at peace. Ocean racing was in its golden age. And JADA was ready to compete.

Built for the Open Ocean

JADA's design reflects the ocean-racing thinking of her era: a long waterline for speed, deep displacement for stability in open water, and a hull form that could handle the conditions of offshore Pacific racing. She was, and remains, a genuinely capable offshore sailing vessel.

Her wooden construction — the choice of the era's finest yacht builders — gives her qualities no fiberglass hull can replicate. She moves differently in a seaway. She sounds different, feels different, and responds differently to the wind. Sailors who have sailed modern boats and then stepped aboard JADA often remark that they suddenly understand what sailing is supposed to feel like.

San Diego's Own

JADA has been part of the San Diego sailing community for decades. She has raced, cruised, and now carries guests on San Diego Bay — witnessing the changes in the city and its waterfront over more than eight decades. She has outlasted countless newer, supposedly better boats.

Even today, with a modern diesel engine added for reliability, JADA remains an exceptional sea boat. The engine is a convenience — under sail, she is the same vessel Judson Kelly designed and Stephens Brothers built, still doing what she was made to do.