Bogart And Bacall's Love Boat Life

Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall's love story is one of Hollywood's most recognised romances. But Bogart had another love: the sea. The actor was an avid sailor and owned the yacht Santana, a 55-foot schooner built in 1935. Bogart bought the vessel in 1945 for $50,000 and sailed it until his death in 1957. He and Bacall lived on the boat, along with their son, Stephen, who recalled his early memories of the boat, the smells of the water.

Bogart's love of sailing

Humphrey Bogart's love of sailing began at the age of 14 when he learned to sail on his father's sloop on Lake Canadaigua in upstate New York. His passion for sailing continued throughout his life, with Bogart buying his own yacht, the Santana, in 1945.

The 55-foot schooner was built in 1935 and had previously been owned by William L. Stewart, a member of the Los Angeles Yacht Club. Bogart fell in love with the boat while sailing his Albatross Class sloop, Slug Nutty No. 19, in Newport Harbor. He persuaded the previous owner, Dick Powell, to sell it to him for $50,000.

Bogart kept the Santana on a mooring off the Newport Harbor Yacht Club until 1950, when he moved it to Los Angeles Harbor to be closer to more wind and more competition in the ocean racing fleet. An avid racer, Bogart campaigned the Santana in local and offshore races, winning the Around San Clemente Island Race three years in a row. He also entered the Santana in the 1948 Ensenada Race, where the boat placed first in its class, with Bacall on board.

Bogart's final sail on the Santana was in September 1956, five months before his death from cancer. He assembled his all-male racing crew and sailed from Los Angeles Harbor to Whites Landing at Catalina, where they spent the night before continuing on to Newport Harbor.

The Santana's specifications

The Santana, the boat Humphrey Bogart shared with his wife Lauren Bacall, was a 55-foot schooner. It was originally built as a staysail schooner in 1935 for William L. Stewart, a member of the Los Angeles Yacht Club. Bogart bought the boat in 1945 for $50,000 from Dick Powell, a fixture of Warner Bros. musical revues.

The boat's specifications are as follows:

• Length: 55 feet, 2 inches
• Beam: 7 feet, 11 inches
• Draft: 7 feet, 11 inches
• Rig: Originally a staysail schooner, later re-rigged as a yawl, and eventually returned to its original schooner rig
• Power: Gray 6-71
• Designer: Olin Stephens, Jr.
• Builder: Wilmington Boat Works
• Previous Owner: Dick Powell, who acquired it from William L. Stewart
• Racing History: Santana claimed the Schooner Trophy in the 1938 Newport-to-Bermuda race and finished first in its class in the 1948 Ensenada Race and the 1950 San Clemente Island Race.

The Santana was clearly a labour of love for Bogart, who was an avid sailor and racer. He kept the boat in top condition and employed a full-time professional skipper, Carl Peterson, to look after it. After Bogart's death, the boat remained in use and underwent a complete restoration by a group of US West Coast sailors.

Bacall's complicated relationship with the Santana

The yacht Santana, which Humphrey Bogart bought in 1945, was a source of complication in his relationship with Lauren Bacall. While Bacall loved Bogart, she never loved Newport Beach, where Santana was docked. She disliked the close quarters of the boat and the machismo of its crew. She also felt out of place in the close-knit social circles of the area, where she experienced anti-Semitism and judgement for her decision to earn her own money.

Despite Bacall's feelings about Newport Beach, she understood and accepted her husband's passion for the sea. In her autobiography, she wrote, "If ever I had a woman to be jealous of, she was the Santana." She acknowledged that the boat "enslaved" her husband, and she even joined him on board for the first Ensenada Race in 1948, in which Santana placed first in its class.

Bogart's love for the sea was a constant in his life. He learned to sail at the age of 14 on his father's sloop and actively campaigned Santana in local and offshore races. He won the Around San Clemente Island Race three years in a row and often spent weekends sailing to Catalina Island.

Even after Bogart's death, his connection to Santana remained significant. In September 1956, five months before he passed away from cancer, Bogart took one last sail on the yacht. He assembled his all-male racing crew and sailed from Los Angeles Harbor to Whites Landing at Catalina, where they spent the night before continuing on to Newport Harbor. This was the last time Santana was in Newport Harbor under Bogart's ownership.

Today, Santana has been restored to its original schooner rig and is currently in the San Francisco Bay Area, continuing its legacy as a piece of Hollywood history.

Bogart and Bacall's wedding

Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall's wedding was one of the greatest celebrity weddings of all time. The couple tied the knot on 21 May 1945, just 11 days after Bogart's divorce from his third wife, actress Mayo Methot. The ceremony took place on a farm in Lucas, Ohio, owned by Pulitzer Prize-winning author and farmer Louis Bromfield. The wedding was a private affair, with Bacall wearing a simple two-piece belted doeskin suit, and Bogart a plain grey flannel suit and dark tie. The couple were addressed by their names, "Humphrey" and "Betty Joan" during the service. Bogart, who was moved to tears during the ceremony, greeted his new wife with a "Hello, Baby", to which Bacall replied, "Oh, goody".

The wedding was a significant event in Hollywood, with newspapers across the country closely following the nuptials. The guest list included family members and farmworkers, with Bromfield's daughter, Hope, playing the wedding march from Lohengrin on the piano as Bacall walked down the stairs. The couple's dog, Prince, sat at the centre of the altar during the ceremony.

The choice of venue was influenced by Bogart's friendship with Bromfield, whom he considered a "character" and preferred spending time with over "Hollywood phonies". Bromfield's farm, Malabar, was a retreat for Hollywood celebrities, and Bogart often visited with his then-wife, Mayo Methot. The farm, located near Mansfield, Ohio, featured a 19-room Greek Revival farmhouse and served as a cooperative for agricultural pioneers.

The wedding came at a pivotal moment in American history, just two weeks after the Allied victory in Europe, and amidst tensions with Japan. Despite the challenging times, the Bogart-Bacall wedding brought a breath of fresh air and hope to the nation.

The couple's romance began on the set of the 1944 film "To Have and Have Not", where their undeniable chemistry led to a change in the original ending, with Bogart's character ending up with Bacall's. Their relationship progressed quickly, and despite a 25-year age gap and Bogart's track record of failed marriages, they married and stayed together until Bogart's untimely death in 1957.

Bogart's sailing legacy

Humphrey Bogart's sailing legacy began at the age of 14 when he learned to sail on his father's sloop on Lake Canadaigua in upstate New York. His love for sailing continued throughout his life, with Bogart owning multiple boats and even naming his production company, Santana Productions, after his beloved yacht, the Santana.

The Santana, previously known as the Slug Nutty No. 19, was a 55-foot schooner that Bogart purchased in 1944 or 1945 for $50,000. He kept the boat at Newport Harbor Yacht Club and actively campaigned it in local and offshore races, including the Newport-to-Ensenada race in 1948 and the San Clemente Island Race, which he won three years in a row. Bogart also took the Santana to Catalina Island most weekends and holidays for 10 years, until his death in 1957.

The Santana was featured in the 1948 film "Key Largo," and Bogart's love for sailing and the sea was well known. His wife, Lauren Bacall, acknowledged that she had to share his affections with the boat, writing in her autobiography, "If ever I had a woman to be jealous of, she was the Santana." Bogart's son, Stephen, also recalled that his father's "favourite thing was the sea."

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