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1. The Early History

GAMBELLA: I believe this an Italian idiomatic expression that literally translates to “pretty legs” but in a nautical context means “good lines.”

Apparently she spent some time in Singapore and was a member of the Royal Singapore Yacht Club. If you look closely at the photo you can see that letters RSYC are still posted on the after buklhead of the cabin. I believe, while in Singapore, the dog house was added. It is made of teak and of entirely different construction than the rest of the boat. Also, somewhere along the line, the capability for inside steering was added in addition to a larger more powerful engine. At that point she essentially became a small motorsailer.

As I remember she was then sailed to Guam, but I don’t know how long she was there. Eventually, she was shipped aboard a freighter to the San Francisco Bay Area. I did hear a story from the owner of the Palo Alto Boat Works that at some point she hit a snag and sank in the shallow water of the South Bay. She was apparently raised and repaired from that adventure, but finally ended up in the old Palo Alto Boat Works where the picture above shows her. That picture dates to about 1961. About that time my buddy Doug, his brother Stan and I owned an old converted lifeboat which we called LA BAÑERA (The Bath Tub). We used to haul out at the old Palo Alto Boat Works right next to where the GAMBELLA was slowly rusting away, and this gave us the opportunity to give her a close look.

Here is what she looked like in the mid-seventies when restoration was more or less compete:

GAMBELLA Sublime

Tags: Clyde River Scotland, Palo Alto Boat Works, Royal Singapore Yacht Club