Once smashed nearly to destruction after grounding in a bad storm in 1969, BAMBINO was fully restored and went on to race for many years before being donated to HMM.

BAMBINO was one of six vessels built to the same half model between 1902 and 1905, this one being a scaled-down version of the keel-centerboarder AZOR (HMCo. #578) but with a full keel. All six were one-offs, comfortable for cruising but also competitive on the racecourse, and representative of Captain Nat’s early years of designing to the Universal as opposed to the Seawanhaka rule. Four of the six are still extant, and one – TRIVIA (HMCo. #580) – is also part of the HMM collection today, though not currently on display. Another, NELLIE (HMCo. #586) is still actively sailing.

BAMBINO was on its way to Florida in 1969 when the boat was blown ashore off Beach Haven, NJ in a bad storm. The couple onboard were rescued from the surf, and BAMBINO was left to its fate. Astonishingly, when the storm abated it became evident that though the keel and much of the backbone were lost, the hull remained relatively intact. BAMBINO was subsequently rescued and restored by Louis Off, a New Jersey orchid grower, before being sold back to an owner in Bristol, RI.