Oh, we do get our share of rain and strong winds, and although rarely we do get blows 
of 60 knots that come in off the great Pacific and blows a few eucalyptus trees over 
like tenpins.  Then there are those days that are just real mucky days, but usually 
it's just quiet, damp and mild this time of year.

It is during this time of year the warmth of the old club house beckons its members.  
Nothing is more enjoyable than to sit in the warm old club house looking at the many 
wonderful and beautiful old boats, chatting with others about the do's and don'ts of 
sailing while listening to the wind and rain beat on the tile roof.  There is a feeling
of being snug, protected and close to nature during this time of the year and maybe 
even visions of those wonderful holiday seasons when one was young enters ones mind. 
In any respect it is a warm feeling.

The winds just aren't favorable for the freesailors this time of year.  The old 
puff faced clouds blow their winds down the lake from the northeast and that tends 
to push our frisky little yachts to the south side of the lake.  But the real 
determining factor is that the winds are also very unpredictable, one minute they 
are from the northeast and next they are from the south.  Sometimes strong with knock 
down force. Other times too weak to make a telltale stand out. One ponders whether 
one should adjust the sails for this or that and inevitably what ever adjustment 
made turns out wrong.

I can't speak for the other Freesailors but I'm getting to the age when more than 
three wild runs around the lake like a lunatic to try and save my boat takes all 
the wind out of my sails, not to mention the sagging feeling you get when you run 
with pole in hand and just miss saving the boat from a smash against the pond side 
by a miserable three feet. Ah, the frustration of it all.

For the most part the events during the winter months are therefore mostly limited 
to our regular monthly meetings and a few Power boat events.

Naturally we do have the change of command or shall I say change of officers at the 
December meeting and after that is accomplished the meeting is usually sweetened with 
a round of eggnog and a few morsels of food and good tidings had by all.  Yes, power 
boaters, gas, steam, electric, freesailors, radio controlled sail people, and static 
model builders all come together for that holiday spirit, slapping each other on the 
back and joking and laughing all saying what a great year they had and how great next 
year will be.

In January we usually have a club lunch or dinner held at one of the local 
restaurants and all thought it is a nice event and gives the members, spouses and 
guests a chance to place faces and names together.  It isn't quite as festive as 
the annual Marblehead Invitational whereby there is a lot of rib poking and joshing. 
No, the annual lunch or dinner is a tad more reserved, a dignified gathering of the 
modeling boating family.

In February we usually start off with the Frost Bite event...... It's a kind of show 
and tell event.  The gist of this event is basically, you guys that did something over 
the winter months bring it and show it to the rest of us guys that just hibernate. 
There are a few oh's and ah's and then long tales of how this or that was accomplished 
which makes the builder look like a hero in the eyes of those of us who took a four 
month hiatus.

As for what each individual member is doing during this time of lull, well that's 
rather a hard thing to say.  There are brief sightings of one another in the club 
house as one comes and goes and there is the regular quick exchange of hellos at the 
meetings and there may or may not be a mention of "I'm starting this or that."

Then there are those cloak and dagger guys who are designing something they don't 
want anyone to know about until racing season.  Sometimes you can tell as there are 
telltale signs at the club house, usually around the test tank, such as the test tank 
left full or talcum on the walls of the test tank or water on the deck dripping from 
test tank to door.  There are also sightings of guys sailing in the fog and I have 
even heard tell of late moonlit night sails, which all usually result in someone 
walking in with Cheshire cat smile and a super new boat about March. 

Yes, those are the doldrums of our winter period at the club. A relaxing time, a time 
spent reminiscing of years past and planning strategies for those future years to come. 
It is also a time when thoughts go to all those great boat builders which led the way 
for us.

Those months are months of deep thought whereas the summer times are consumed with 
race after race and the drive to do better next time.  I think we need both in order 
to be contented boaters.

That just about sums it up as I see it.

A San Francisco J-Boat
Photo: SFMYC