As the Giants take the field today, we expect seafaring fans will be paddling, rowing and sailing in to McCovey Cove for the afternoon game as well. While we love everyone hardy enough to watch the game from a plastic boat with a life vest on, something has always been missing from the splash zone. We're talking about whimsical floating things. Specifically: why aren't there more of them?
Earlier in the week, Bay City News delivered a report on what appears to be the first Giants-themed vessel to set sail around South Beach. Called "The Splash Craft" and designed by a submarine engineer living in the Presidio, the homemade boat looks like a cross between a pontoon boat, a conference bike and a patio. It's basically a buoyant grilling platform powered by an old bicycle. Which is fine because the builders have a singular goal in mind: "The general idea is just to chill out in the cove." OK, perfect. Let's not complicate things here.
Now, we like where these guys are going with this. Their heads are definitely in the right place, but seriously why aren't there already a dozen of these types of things crowding out the yachts down by the 3rd Street bridge? Kayaks and canoes are nice and all, but those require physical exertion, which goes against pretty much the whole idea of baseball. So, come on, San Francisco, you guys love making themed floats out of garbage and whatnot. Why isn't the aquatic party scene inflected with a little more DIY-ethic? We want to see floating Cable Car replicas and treehouses and snailcars or whatever. These guys in the Sacramento River Delta know what we're talking about.
And don't get us wrong - yachts are great. We love yachts. If you happen to own a yacht, you consider yourself very lucky and then also invite the SFist staff to watch an upcoming game on your yacht. But if we must use the dreaded Burning Man analogy: McCovey Cove would do well by having some youthful dotcommers hanging out in mobile homes on the outskirts, drinking Stella and taking ecstasy at 3 in the afternoon.
OK, now get to work on those blueprints.
