Falling into Spreckels Lake might put you at more risk of breaking an arm than of drowning. The lake is only 18 inches deep around the edge, where model boaters regularly reach to launch and retrieve their craft. More than a few have fallen in, and if you happen to be one of the misfortunate modelers who experiences this dubious dunking, a further indignity awaits you at the clubhouse, where you will have to sign the club life ring. It’s a playful show of the San Francisco Model Yacht Club’s fun-loving character.

Founded in 1898, the club celebrated its 125th anniversary on October 29th, with members bringing out all manner of model boats to display and sail, as a steady stream of spectators paraded by. We were privileged beforehand to interview Jeff and Colleen Stobbe for this spotlight. Jeff and Colleen are two of the club’s most dedicated members. At fifty years, Jeff has the longest tenure of any club member and possesses encyclopedic knowledge of club history and model yachting.

The club is the oldest of its kind in the country. It is also the oldest continuously operating model boating organization in the western hemisphere. By the early 1900s, model yacht racing had grown to be a popular spectator sport, with crowds gathering to watch the races and newspapers publishing their accounts. By the sport’s peak in the early 1930s, nearly every major city in the country had a lake or pond dedicated to model yachting.

There were both powerboats and sailboats from the outset, with powerboats typically circling on a tether and sailboats using elaborate mechanisms to steer them to the wind. Free-sail steering mechanisms evolved from weighted rudders to sheet-controlled tillers, and eventually settled on vane-controlled steering. The boats have strict class rules, much as full-size boats do. In one popular class, the M Boats, the dimensions were chosen so the boat would fit in the back seat of a Model A Ford.

Radio controlled boats entered the scene in the 1930s, although the free-sail boats continued their popularity and even had a place in the 1936 Berlin Olympics. By the 1950s and 1960s commercially available radio controls made those boats the standard, enabling modelers to get their boats back without walking around the pond. But the free-sail boats continued, and still have a good following and a competitive schedule today in San Francisco.

The name Spreckels connects many dots in San Francisco sailing history. In the late 19th century, Claus Spreckels commissioned Matthew Turner to build ships that were used to transport refined sugar from Hawaii to California. Spreckels donated millions of dollars toward Golden Gate Park infrastructure, including the Japanese Tea Garden and Spreckels Lake. Spreckels was a yachtsman and a founding member of the San Francisco Model Yacht Club. The clubhouse was built in 1937, as a WPA project, decades after Spreckels’ death, but sugar or no sugar, the sweetness of sailing a model yacht on Spreckels Lake still remains.

In October, most of our volunteer energy was focused on preparing for the November 11^th SSC Play it Forward Gala, but the invitation to join the San Francisco Model Yacht Club for their 125^th Anniversary Celebration was too much for us to pass up. We are giving it extra attention here because there were so many cool models to see. The Model Yacht Club will also be doing a demo sail on November 11^th as a warm-up for the gala and a bonus for early-bird arrivals.

– Geoffrey Hinton, British-Canadian computer scientist

The Sailing Science Center 2023 Gala is themed around PLAY. PLAY is the most important word in the SSC mission statement, and at this year's event you'll learn why it's time to get serious about PLAY. You don't want to miss this!

After nearly 15 months and three different teams of students, the Flow Loop came to life on the night of October 29. It is the SSC's most ambitious exhibit initiative to date, and one we believe will provide substantial educational value for years to come. Watch the video (1:11) to see what all the fuss is about.

The SSC needs volunteers! We especially need volunteers who can staff one-day exhibitions as docents. Training, lunch, and SSC logo polo shirts are provided.

Direct your inquiries to info@sailingscience.org.