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The Saona design was a husky, double ended ketch. During this period, Rhodes designed a few double-enders, with sleek, balanced hulls. Saona had a little less draft and a centerboard. She also had a bit more beam and that enabled her to carry more sail. The original Saona, built in 1935, was renamed Lady Patty. Even though her hull is that of an ocean cruiser, she was surprisingly successful in the Southern Ocean Racing Circuit, winning the 1951 Havana Race. (A ketch can throw up a lot of sail area, including a large mizzen staysail, in the right conditions.) She competed in the 1953 Transpac Race and returned to the East coast by way of San Francisco, the Galapagos Islands, and Panama, enduring a knockdown along the way. A sistership was built in
Tasmania in 1936.
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