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 W. H. (Wally) Nickell was a retired Brigadier General in the U. S. Army who became an independent oilman in Sacramento, becoming the second owner of Santana who was in the oil business. Nickell had owned various boats in the past and Emil "Babe" Lamberdin had been responsible for their upkeep. Once Nickell bought Santana, Babe was asked to look after the boat on a full-time basis and accepted the position. One of Babe’s first tasks was to replace the seahorses with something more appropriate in the saloon, and he was more than happy to oblige. While Babe fully appreciated the practical matters with respect to the modern racing yachts, he always talked about how great Santana looked when she was a schooner. Knowing full well that Nickell would never change that boat, it was obvious that he too had fallen in love with Santana, but as a schooner, not a yawl. Nevertheless, Babe diligently looked after the boat and she proved to do well on San Francisco Bay, racing as many as 20 times a season. Ultimately however, Nickell, a competitive fellow, became frustrated with his lack of success on the race course and in 1966 decided to sell the boat. |
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