Upon a softly floating ship, beneath a star speckled sky, out on the stirring San Francisco Bay, Winter Ball took place January 11. The Celebrations Commodore ship at Pier 40 hosted the event providing three levels to accommodate attendees. The ship took a three hour tour around the bay starting at eight and ending at eleven.

The first floor held the dance floor as well as plenty of drinks to hydrate dancers. The second floor held refreshments and tables as well as a deck to take in the breath-taking view. It literally was breath-taking as the weather that night was frigid and blustery. The third deck held a small observation room as well as an open-air area to view the water and the city at night. Due to the weather, of course, this area wasn’t very popular most of the evening except when the ship passed right underneath the Golden Gate bridge, a sight well worth the price of admission. The life of the party clearly was on the first floor. Divinely dressed bodies packed the dance floor and bar most of the night, but this had more to do with the size of the boat rather than the number of people who attended. Ticket sales came up shorter than expected this year.

The crowd rocked and swayed back and forth throughout the night with the motion of the ship. Everyone let out shouted and fell to one side or the other as the ship tossed and turned causing some to actually topple over. Seasickness was understandable. The DJ that night wasn’t very popular with the dancers, though. His habit of playing a few seconds of one song before abruptly changing to another upset a number of people. Smoother transitions and longer play time for the more popular songs would have garnered higher satisfaction. Playing “YMCA” as the last song, though it got crowd participation, wasn’t the most ideal way to end an otherwise picturesque evening.

Even the teachers and administrators, who had camped out on the second floor forming a party of their own, really enjoyed themselves. Everyone seemed to leave in fairly good spirits at the end of a good night full of dancing and mingling with friends.