Sailing a Classic: the Perfect Birthday Celebration Aboard Freda

By Monica Grant | January 20, 2021 | San Francisco Bay Area |

Last Monday, local sailor Jay Grant took advantage of the perfect weather, and the perfect boat, to enjoy what became a perfect birthday celebration. Along with friends Thanie Pesavento and Andrew Biernier, Jay took a few hours off and sailed Spaulding Marine Center’s historic vessel Freda from Sausalito to Angel Island and back.

“She’s the oldest boat on the Bay,” Jay said. “We left the dock in Sausalito around 10:00 and were back by 3:30; it was perfect.”

The 32-ft gaff sloop was built in Belvedere in 1885 to take part in the local racing scene, and in 2014 was relaunched after undergoing an extensive refit at Spaulding Marine Center in Sausalito.

*Freda* and her crew enjoyed a brisk jaunt to Angel Island before the afternoon wind picked up.
© 2021 Latitude 38 Media LLC / Thanie Pesavento

It was the first time aboard the historic vessel for all her crew, and Thanie said Freda is the oldest boat she’s sailed on. “She’s very, very beautiful. She looks like she’s out of Home Magazine.”

Sailing a classic — What better way is there to celebrate a birthday than to be sailing aboard a grand old wooden boat?
© 2021 Andrew Biernier

Despite the crew being rigged up in jackets, Thanie said it was “kind of warm for a winter day. She’s a smaller boat, so we got some spray. That was really nice; I definitely miss that.” Thanie spent 2019 and the first half of 2020 crewing aboard Call of the Sea’s schooner Seaward.