Farida

History

We have owned "Farida" (a 38 foot Norwegian ketch) for 36 years. The vessel was built in Risor, Norway in 1960 for Claude Willis (Bud) Johnson a retired naval officer and member of the Silvergate Yacht Club, San Diego. "Farida" was built at the yard of Aanon Kittelsen, master carpenter. Kittelsen used the best materials available to him. The planking is African hardwood (afromosia) fastened with 5/16" copper rivets to laminated white oak frames. The deck is solid teak fastened with silicon bronze screws. Her structural keel is German oak, ballest keel is 10,000 pounds of cast iron. The design is a Colin Archer type yacht with lines similar to the Norwegian rescue boats and pilot boats. Mr. Johnson finished fitting-out the yacht in England and then shipped her to Los Angeles where she was first documented in November, 1961.

"Farida" sailed to Hawaii and Tahiti and was home-ported in Honolulu for about 2 years. She was sold by Mr. Johnson to a nephew and kept in Long Beach before coming to San Francisco sometime in the 1970s. In the 1980's, "Farida" fell-upon hard times. She was abandoned by her owners in Richmond, Marina Bay. After 7 years she was sold by the Marina at a Federal Marshal's lien sale to our good friend Rick Cogswell. Rick took the boat to Sausalito where he lived aboard while running a boat yard. "Farida" had suffered from her neglect. Her laminated deck beams had separated their glue joints, there was rot is several planks, her decks leaked, and the rigging had been removed. However, her basic materials were salvageable. My wife Sue and I purchased "Farida" from Rick in 1988. We spent the next 10 years rebuilding what had to be done. We re-glued all the deck beams as necessary, replaced 6 planks, re-payed the teak deck with new black seam compound, and re-caulked the entire boat. We rigged the boat (as original) as a Marconi ketch.

Our first sail was to Juneau, Alaska in 2000. We rebuilt the 3-53 Detroit Diesel engine on the way. We stopped in Victoria, B.C, where the boat was honored as being named "Best New Classic" at the Victoria Wooden Boat Festival. The next year on our return-trip we again participated in the Victoria event. This time "Farida" was named "Best Sailboat in Show". On San Francisco Bay the boat has won the Colin Archer Regatta, and her division in the Master Mariners Regatta. It was time to take a cruise.

We left San Francisco and sailed south to the Panama Canal with stops in Mexico, Costa Rica and El Salvador along the way. After the Canal we sailed to Key West, Florida via the Yucatan Passage. Then it was up the lntercoastal Waterway and carrying on to Brooklin, Maine. The following season we traveled to Nova Scotia and Newfoundland, finally returning to the U.S in Baltimore, Maryland. In the spring we sailed from Baltimore to Cape May, New Jersey which was our point of departure for our Atlantic crossing. From Cape May it was a 17 day passage to the Azores. After sailing to 6 of the 9 islands, we continued north to Galway Bay, Ireland. We sailed the Irish coast to the north and around south to Malahide Marina, near Dublin. The following season we visited the Isle of Man and transited the Crinan and Caledonean Canals of Scotland. From Wick, Scotland we sailed to the Orkney Islands, then Faire Isle, the Shetland Isles and across the North Sea to Bergen Norway. In Norway "Farida" sailed into the bay at Risor, she was "the boat that came home" and was received royally by the Norwegians. We arrived in time for the Risor Wooden Boat Show (Trebatfest). "Farida" pleased the judges at the show where she captured the "Boat of the Year" award.

The following season we cruised to Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Denmark, and back to Norway. The next year we cruised back to Scotland. This time we chose to visit the Hebrides and the other Western Isles. We sailed down the west coast of Ireland and over to the Isles of Scilly then on to Falmouth, England. In the spring we cruised the English Channel to the Isle of Wight and nearby cities. Then we visited the Isles of Guernsey and Jersey on the way to Cherbourg, France. The next stop was La Coruna, Spain across Biscay Bay. We continued south along the Portuguese coast then into the Mediterranean Sea stopping at Gilbralter. In the Med we visited many Spanish ports and marinas. The Isles of Mallorca and Menorca were visited, then Barcelona where we headed back out the Med for Madeira. We sailed from there to the Canary Islands and left the Canaries to cross the Atlantic. Our landfall was on Santa Lucia at the Rodney Bay Marina. We island hopped to Panama with stops in Bonaire, Curacau, and Aruba. In 2013 "Farid a" returned to San Francisco Bay on June 7'h. "Farida" had travelled nearly 40,000 nautical miles and visited more than 25 countries during her 10 years away from home. Not bad for a 53 year old wooden boat!

We again went cruising in 2018. This was our second cruise to Alaska. We departed San Francisco from Pt. Richmond on May 3rd .. We harbor-hopped up the coast with stops in Noyo Harbor (Fort Bragg), Crescent City, Newport Oregon, Grays Harbor Washington, Then anchored at Neah Bay (Cape Flattery, WA). Continuing north we visited many ports in the San Juan Islands, and British Columbia. On July 14th we arrived in Ketchikan Alaska and cruised the area around Ketchikan. We sailed south to Bellingham WA where "Farida" wintered. We were hauled at The Landings Boatyard on September 14th .

In 2019 we returned to the boat and launched on April 1st. (No fooling). This year we again headed north over much of the same area but carried on north of Ketchikan to Juneau and then Glacier Bay. We arrived in the park on May 19th and stayed with the glaciers until the 22nd. On our return trip to S.F. Bay we stopped at most of the same offshore places and harbors as we did heading north. We sailed under the Golden Gate on September 24th 2019. We returned to our berth at Point San Pablo Yacht Club. "Farida" was 59 years old on this trip!

Mike and Sue Proudfoot, owners