🌁 Indie Games and Model Boats

Last week, San Francisco hosted the GDC Festival of Gaming, the largest gathering of game developers in the world. An official badge is incredibly expensive, and I didn't have one. The good news is that the real magic often happens outside the Moscone Center. The city was packed with free indie showcases running all week long. So my strategy was to RSVP to free events, show up, have a few beers, play some games, and talk to the people who make them. I hit three events at The Midway, DNA Lounge, and The Great Northern. Here’s what I found out.

I live near Golden Gate Park, and often stop by Spreckels Lake to sit on a bench and watch the water, maybe stare at the ducks for a while. I've always noticed a handful of people near the shore with remote controls, and little sailboats drifting across the water. I would always think: who are these people? Is this a thing?

It turns out it is very much a thing. When I saw that there was an “Opening Day Regatta” announced on Instagram, I finally decided to stop and ask what it was all about.

The San Francisco Model Yacht Club has been here since 1898. But the story of how they came to own this corner of Golden Gate Park is fascinating. In 1902, they were sailing on Stow Lake, which had gotten too crowded with rowboats and swans. So they walked into the Parks Commission and asked for their own lake. Within two years, Spreckels Lake was purpose-built, from scratch, exclusively for model boats. Then in the 1930s they raised private money, got the WPA to build them a clubhouse, and had the government deed it to the club in perpetuity.

Try getting the city to build you a lake today.

Before the race, I visited the clubhouse. It has rows of model sailboats inside, and display cases with ship models and decades of trophies. I met Jim, the club secretary, who answered my many questions and handed me his number. Membership is $60 a year, and you can lease a club boat for another $36. You don't need to build or buy anything to get started.

Today's event was something called a regatta. Admittedly I didn’t know what a regatta even was before today. Turns out it’s a boat race. This one was called the Tony Marshall Ragtop/Stinkpot Relay. "Ragtops" are the sailing boats and "stinkpots" are the power boats. They were all on the water together in something that felt less like a race and more like a block party involving model boats.

The power boat side had a wooden speedboat with a Barbie doll at the helm towing a tiny water skier. The sailboat side had dozens of members in sun hats watching a fleet of numbered boats sailing in the wind. Both crowds drew in curious onlookers who, like me, were wondering what it was all about.

Regattas are free to watch, every weekend through October. If you want to get involved, you just have to walk through the green door.

SF Model Yacht Club, 36th Ave & JFK Drive, Golden Gate Park. sfmyc.org.

A kissaten (喫茶店) is a traditional Japanese coffee shop or tearoom. Kissaten HiFi, a new Japanese-Filipino cafe on 6th Avenue, is currently in its soft opening and already drawing lines of customers for its signature matcha and coffee drinks. The vibe inside is fun and casual with employees popping out from behind the counter to flip records on the turntable.

The matcha is single-cultivar and sourced directly from Japan. Larry tried the Ichigo Matcha drink with organic strawberry puree, a matcha blend from Fukuoka and Kyoto, and dehydrated strawberry. This was a unique flavor compared to other matcha drinks with crushed strawberries. The texture was silky, and to my taste buds, it was reminiscent of the strawberry milk I had in childhood. It paired perfectly with the matcha. All of the syrups and purees are made in-house at Kissaten. I had my eye on the Mango Lassi Matcha for next time.

I went for the “Always and Forever,” a specialty coffee with chilled espresso, maple, citrus, a “sweet cloud” topping, and cinnamon. This was possibly the best citrus espresso drink I’ve ever had. Kahve in Golden Gate Park makes a dark chocolate orange mocha that is incredible. Where that drink is rich and decadent, this one is light, creamy, pleasantly acidic and perfectly balanced. I’m still thinking about it days later.