Velsheda was built in 1933, designed by Charles Stephenson for William Lawrence Stephenson, founder of the Woolworth retail chain (the one that said, "If you don't know what you want, come and see us. We've got it") in 1933. The name of the boat, strange as it may seem, was derived from the names of the first owner's three daughters: Velma, Sheila and Daphne. At that time she represented the last word in yacht building - aluminum mast, the first synthetic cables and sails. The J-class yacht proved extremely successful (and lucky) in her early years, winning up to 40 races a season! Alas, the Great Depression of the 1930s nearly killed the yacht - she was abandoned in a swampy backwater in 1937, where she remained for nearly 50 years until she was re-equipped for charter sailing in 1987. The next restoration - this time a very thorough one - took place in the mid-90s, after which she returned to active racing life due to the gradual renaissance of the J-class racing circuit.
