ACA Time Trials Ready to Launch

The ACA33 Cup 2011  begins this week! You can get the background here, but go to the ACA Racer website for current info and the latest official details!

There will be two boat classes and a total of three racing groups. Each division will have it’s own fleet, it’s own competition race series, and it’s own Ruleset. However, every skipper needs to qualify by sailing a simple, solo, time-trial event. That race series will determine which boats are eligible to advance in the three semi-final fleets.

Tension’s been rising across the practice fleets recently, as crews get set for the opening round. However, Quirky’s just turned up the heat a bit more. 🙂 He just released a promo video for this year’s competition!

Vodpod videos no longer available.

The ACA 2011 Regatta’s designed with multiple tracks, so the event should be consistent with members’ varied style and experience. Hopefully, it will be fun to sail. 🙂

So if you haven’t signed up yet, read through the above links, then go here to register!
The opening round is about to begin!

Outreach and Outposts

Second Wind Kudos

Sailing in Second Life can be pretty confusing and intimidating for new skippers. If you’ve never sailed in real life, it’s easy to get bogged down and totally lost in all the sailor jargon,  variable boat features, and multiple wind physics algorithms. Actually, my guess is it takes a few weeks for most people just to figure out that “sheeting” refers to sail adjustment, not what’s on top of a sex bed! 🙂

I suspect many SL users shy away from Sailing because it appears to have a steep learning curve. It often seems hard to find quick, unbiased, and fun resources where you can get answers to embarrassingly simple questions.

Many sailing groups reach out to help new sailors. Starboards holds “Learn to Sail” classes every Sunday, Bea Woodget has the Sailing Academy, and there are many other classes and resources to help new and old sailors gain more confidence on the water. Even while I was writing this post, I received notices that Elbag Gable was teaching Beginner Instruction at Fruit Islands, and LDeWell Hawker was following Elbag’s act with a Racing Class! 🙂

Today however, I want to give a special shout-out to three people who recently took a few additional steps that may make sailing more accessible to everyone. Well-deserved kudos go to Francois Jacques, Charlz Price and Fiona Haworth, who  together launched a Second Wind initiative that promotes sailing to the large SL community.

If you’re reading this, hopefully you’ve already seen the video they produced with Surfwidow’s creative skills; it’s pretty fantastic and deserves a replay:

Vodpod videos no longer available.

The goal of the video is simple; to let SL users know a well-kept secret: Sailing is the most fun, the least expensive… and yes, the most addictive thing anyone can do in Second Life. 🙂 

Building on that simple, obvious message, the Second Wind Troika is setting up outposts on the grid that serve multiple purposes, including:

– Rez points, where SL users can learn about sailing and get a flood of free information.
– access to free boats and time-limited boat trials, so new users may get a wealth of  unbiased options to choose from.
– lists of yacht clubs, marinas, and yacht yards where sailors can get more info, and the latest updates.

So far there are two Second Wind stations, both in Sansara.  The first is located in Fudo near the new expanded Sansara sailing waters. It’s dedicated to Epicurus Emmons, and I’m pretty sure someplace dear Epi has a big grin… it’s exactly what he always believed in. Please go stop by, and see if you agree:

Epi Sailing Resource Center, Fudo (19, 35, 22)
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Fudo/20/35/22

The other Resource Center is located on the East shore of Sea of Fables, near where Suzanne Zeluco, Extreme Riders Japan, and Far East Yacht Club all had outposts in past years.

Three Pines Sailing Resource Center, Owasco (46, 247, 22)
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Owasco/47/247/22

Three Pines - click to enlarge

It’s a really great spot that stands in tribute to both SL Sailing history and the current fleet of wondrous, global skippers. It’s location also celebrates the great new sailing opportunities that Lindens helped build in Sansara waters this past year.

Go stop by; I guarantee you’ll get a lot of free stuff, as well as a ton of propaganda about how great sailing is. 🙂 You’ll also get exhaustive lists of places to cruise, to race, and to get more info, or maybe to just tie up and dance, grid-wide. 🙂

(Note: if you have a place to add to the info lists, please contact Francois, Charlz or Fiona!)

LEEWARD CRUISING CLUB OUTPOSTS

As I said in my opening comments, there are a variety of initiatives to expand Sailing in Second Life, started by many great people. The Second Wind / Come Sail With Us idea is notable because it emphasizes the wide extent of sailing resources in SL, and it works closely with many others to support the diversity of SLSailing opportunities. As just one example, Second Wind’s two Resource Center are also Leeward Cruising Club Outposts.

As most sailors know, Leeward Cruising Club is a pretty wonderful group originally started by Tory Micheline and Manul Rotaru. They were trying to encourage organized, open-water cruises for fun. Their focus was on group sailing, and it was never linked to any club or ‘race competition.’ They left nobody on the dock. 🙂

After all, in real life the vast majority of sailors spend their time cruising, not racing. In RL and SL, they want to enjoy the company of so many global skippers they count as friends. They can’t do that if they are always competing on a race line.

Over considerable time and with much persistence Tory and Manul’s goal proved valid. Their fleet grew and the fun was contagious. It expanded to pretty-much every new spot a fleet could rez in SL!

Last year, Kittensusie Lander, Cate Foulsbane, and Chaos Mandelbrot took over, and woots! LCC expanded and grew even faster! I recall hosting one of their events where… no kidding… Fifty-two boats rezzed.

(Thank god Debelox sim had over 12,000 free prim!)

As I said, that was just last year; this year it’s even better. There are several cruises each week, and they follow fun courses that link great new ports many sailors might not know about. LCC fixes that, and conjoins a whole flotilla of newbies and old salts that laugh the evening away together.

Since Second Wind’s Resource Centers are also Leeward Cruising Rez sites and sailing docks, let me take this chance to add the current list of LCC spots below!

Here is a somewhat modified version of the notecard list provided by Kitten and Cate inworld this past week. Any errors are mine, transcribing their info; the text and all the hard work is theirs!

From Kitten and Cate, 11 April 2011

These areas are open for anyone to rezz their boats and explore the surrounding waters. This document will be updated when new Outposts are made available.

Corsica:

click to enlarge

Marina Sport Racer Sailing Club , Ghloogums (58, 180, 25)
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Ghloogums/58/181/25

Pendelton Resort – Marina I – CH, Charleville (163, 142, 21)
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Charleville/163/143/21

SLCG Baitoushan Airport Station, Baitoushan (164, 9, 21)
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Baitoushan/165/9/21

Marina Sport Racer Sailing Club , Skyridge (217, 27, 21)
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Skyridge/218/28/22

St Exupery Airport and Club, Gorgonzola (82, 200, 22)
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife//83/201/22

Telling Marine Queck 120,16,21
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Queck/119/20/21

Leeward CC, Twisster (24, 187, 20)
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Twisster/25/187/21

Peachy Beach, Plumpton (146, 36, 21)
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife//147/36/22

LCC Outpost, Sheershank, Gaeta V, Sheershank (134, 240, 21)
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife//135/240/21

Nautilus and the Islands to the east

Thistle Cove, Tsurington (117, 55, 21)
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Tsurington/117/55/22

LCC Outpost @ The OrCafe, Devilbrook (37, 189, 22)
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Devilbrook/38/190/23

Club Palladium @Beach Pad , Nuclear (2, 177, 21)
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Nuclear/3/178/21

Yacht Club Annex, Thorkell (243, 230, 21)
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife//244/230/21

DomusLand – Twice Bitten (25, 41, 21)
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Twice%20Bitten/26/41/21

Emillie Designs Marine Store/MOU, Raimondo (200, 124, 21)
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Raimondo/200/124/22

Abi’s Wharf, Tails (52, 30, 21)
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Tails/53/30/22

EVES Light house and Gallery, Dooknock (172, 154, 21)
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Dooknock/172/155/22

Fran’s 512 – Chaos house , Oleg (17, 178, 21)
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Oleg/17/179/22

Abi’s Wharf 2, Tordangle (218, 11, 21)
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Tordangle/219/12/22

Wicked Good, Nantucket Yacht Club (242, 117, 21)
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Nantucket%20Yacht%20Club/243/117/21

Martinique, Martinique (209, 158, 20)
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Martinique/209/158/21

Sansara

Bitterend & Threesheets Cruising, Marunogere (83, 39, 21)
Wicked Good Too, Marunogere (66, 26, 21)
(these two Outposts are situated adjacent to each other)
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife//66/26/21

Rydal Outpost, Rydal (231, 15, 24)
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Rydal/231/15/25

LCC Outpost Kaminari/Sansara, Kaminari (241, 81, 22)
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Kaminari/242/81/22

Yacht Club Annex, Horseshoe (31, 179, 87)
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Horseshoe/31/179/87

Yacht Club Annex, Wingo (134, 178, 28)
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Wingo/135/179/28

Foulsbane’s Folly, Miller (96, 233, 81)
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife//96/234/82

Svan (208,208) Moderate 2048m Wa, Svan (224, 212, 22)
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife//225/212/23

Companion’s Point, Snout (205, 27, 21)
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Snout/205/27/21

Jeogeot

Telling Marine, Caragana (226, 236, 20)
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Caragana/226/236/21

ZINDRA

SLCG Station Ursula Bay
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Villareal/74/210/22

In addition, LCC also has a Group Joiner at the Freebie Mall in Droomeiland.
Droomeiland – houses for rent, p, Droomeiland (226, 183, 21)
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Droomeiland/227/183/21

It is our hope to eventually have LCC Outposts on all the major continents. If anyone is willing to let us use their land as an Outpost (especially in the Gaeta V and Heterocera Atoll continents), please contact Kittensusie Landar, Cate Foulsbane or Chaos Mandelbrot.

All we require is a rezzable area for our boats, and a stream that can be changed to our DJ for when we party there. If you would allow us to plant an LCC flag and a group joiner there too, that would be even betterer….. Thank you 🙂

Kittensusie Landar

Hypergrid Sailor II

Over two years ago I posted a very short note about a video.
Bri Hasp had shared it, and it was called HyperGrid Sailor.

Vodpod videos no longer available.

Here’s what I wrote then:

Sometimes a picture is all you need. An image appears that sparks an idea, and everything changes.
Bri Hasp handed me a video this morning. It shows her sailing a boat designed by Owen Oyen.  Pretty simple stuff: A a jug of wine, a book of verse, a loaf of bread… and Bri [cough, sorry]. … With a smile and a sailboat, Bri steps off the grid, and she is free. The implications are beyond my imagination…
Remember today. Some day we will make new calendars, and we will look back wondering what day everything changed. I know it does not happen all at once, it takes time for an idea to blossom and spread in a caring community, but it starts someplace.
We all know it will happen. …We soon will be free to chose grids based on needs and available resources. we’ll cast off from out home port, catch the breeze, rise off a wave…
and sail the universe.

Well, it’s been two years. Although most sailors are still focused on Second Life, It’s impressive how the number of opportunities on alternative grids are growing.

This month Saxxon Domela announced he was leaving Mowry, and permanently moving to Inworldz. Yoiks!

A few days ago Bri Hasp also advertised a grid stress trial over on Science Sim. Here’s what Quirky Torok had to say about it:

“Oh wow i was there!!
Nothing more invigerating than spending a sunny afternoon sat inside talking to intel nerds
However what it did highlight was the great numbers of avatars that could populate a sim from the photo below you can see that there were mega loads there. Take a look at the map!! mostly bots but 194 avatars in one sim and over 650 in four next to each other was really quite impressive. By the way im standing on the box to get away from the bots that constantly bumped into me. I am sure one pickpocketed me!”

Today I logged into OS Grid and aimed for a landing point. I fell in the middle of a 20-person active discussion about Open Sim practical issues. I was impressed; two years ago, twenty users was often the maximum online population of all OS Grid :-). Back then, I admit got discouraged. Most of the time my Avatar didn’t appear, and I spent intolerable times waiting for any of my changes to update in-world. Today I was a white cloud again, but I’m pretty sure it resulted from me walking in on a crowded meeting. It must not be too common anymore; the other 19 people today kept complaining “I can’t see Jane.” 🙂

I’m actually writing about this issue now because last evening  the Builder of Demolay (who looks suspiciously like RJ Kikuchiyo) invited me to visit the Kingdom of Demolay grid site.

As I said above, although I think they have enormous potential, I’ve actually had low expectations for recent Open Sim grids, probably because I’m a ‘user,’ not a mass-scale scripter or 3D-Webwide visonary. :-).

My past experience was that non-SL worlds were usually empty, they had very few aids or tools for new users, and the occasional people that you met were the sort of folks that in RL you tried to avoid talking to at parties. 🙂 I’m beginning to think that’s changed.

I know few of the details about Kingdom of Demolay, but I’m eagerly awaiting more news from the Kiko-Craft website.

The Builder of Demolay has installed a marvelous and detailed medieval kingdom on the site, centered on the City of Rhodes.

You can see a wealth of reports and images at Kiku-Craft about the build. Frankly, they’re largely an understatement; the place is pretty fantastic. The installation is still in progress, but it’s huge and wonderfully detailed, with a consistent theme throughout. Perhaps even more important, it has a number of instructional areas and plenty of free items to fill-in new users about this far-offgrid, strange world.

And here’s a key point:
Yes, Virginia, you can even sail…

It’s still in early stages, but last night I went sailing with the Builder on free boats that are available dockside. The boats are still pretty basic, but I understand several people are involved in this project, and I even heard Owen Oyen’s name mentioned. (Woots, Owen! We gotta talk! 🙂 )

What most impressed me was… we were not sailing alone. There were easily a half-dozen people on the water within my draw-distance, trying out the free boats, or testing new ones. Woots! This looks like the beginning of a real community!

Of course, a half-dozen online and a community of many dozen more smart people helping out still doesn’t amount to much… until you add hypergrid. Hypergrid protocols offer the potential to link individual Open Sim worlds together into an unlimited framework of options. It’s like Bri and her boat in the video at the top of this post; you can go where you want.

Actually, I find it easier to think of Hypergrid as “Multipass.”

Vodpod videos no longer available.

“Bump in to each other, sparks happen…” and suddenly whoosh, with hypergrid you are on another world together. 🙂

The Kingdom of Demolay, like so many other spots, turns out to be a stepping stone, a door… to a universe of grids that lie beyond.

I suspect most sailors like me are not familiar with the details, options, and the potential of hypergrid protocols. Maybe that will soon change, however.

There are many online discussions and fun tools to help new users get up to speed with hypergrid. They include lists of compatible sites and discuss the various feature options.

So far my favorite link on this topic is Hypergrid Adventurers Club. They meet weekly, and combine a thirty minute discussion of Open Sim issues with a group adventure, exploring some new grid-world together! It’s sort of like the Leeward Cruise, but in space suits, not boats!

Hypergrid could soon offer a dramatic expansion of opportunities for individual users; the potential is already available to try. Due to the efforts of so many people, what I said two years ago now seems to be coming to fruition…

With a smile and a boat, you can step off the grid,
and be free… to sail the universe.

This week I’ll update this note with more links as well as a list of instructions for beginners, so sailors can confidently pull out their “multipass cards” and drag their boats over interplanetary distances. 🙂

Who knows? If you try it, you might run into Bri, M1sha, Joepie, Owen, RJ, Slanty… or even Quirky. 🙂

ACA33 2011 CUP

Speaking for 9th.com and the ACA Racer Group, today Quirky Torok formally announced details for the long-awaited SL ACA33 2011 Cup. Quirky will again serve as Race Committee Chair, and LDeWell Hawker will act as Uber- Race Director for the series.

You can get all the details and updates over on the ACA Racer website; I’ll just cheerlead a bit here, and add a brief summary of the highlights Quirk and Hawk have planned.

This year the ACA regatta will host races in two separate classes; skippers can chose to compete sailing either the ACA33 3.0 or the ACA Light.

The first phase of the competition will be held during the first two weeks in May in Fruit Islands. The format will be an elimination round based on individual time-trials, and competitors will do solo laps on a windward-leeward course designed by Hawk. The eight skippers with the fastest official lap times sailing ACA33 3.0 will then advance to an Elite Cup Group. The next eight (those ranked #9-#16) will form a separate Intermediate Trophy Group.

The top eight ACA Light sailors will form yet a third group, and they’ll also advance to the next round in their own division.

These three groups will then sail semifinal rounds scheduled between May 23 and June 5. The format and race rules will be tuned to best suit each group. At the end of this phase, each fleet will be left with only four sailors standing.

The three sets of four ultimate skippers, the magnificent dozen, will then converge on Blake Sea where they’ll  go head-to head in a Finals match shoot-out hosted by Starboards Yacht Club.

Three victors will emerge!

As I’ve discussed before, the ACA33 3.x is a pretty marvelous race boat. I think Caf Binder did a rather amazing (and somewhat relentless) job bringing the IACCv5 to life in SL. It’s as good as it gets in SL for a solo, hi tech racer emulation, and I think the close match of Caf’s performance numbers to the real life boat prove that point big-time. 🙂

I wrote many articles on the SL-VT races last year. It was a great competition, but sailors were racing ACA v2.x back then, before Caf’s boat hit the water. As I watched each race, I kept thinking that those great sailors deserved a new boat; they were better than the hull they were racing.

Well, this is an old story now; Santa Claus came, and ACA33 3.0 hit the water. 🙂 Caf’s vision produced a pretty wondrous racer. It’s a boat that meets and respects the aspirations and abilities of SL’s racing skippers.

So… this Cup race should be one damn good challenge. 🙂

Go read the details Quirky posted, and then go register here to race.

Oh! and don’t forget to join the ACA 2011 Trophy Group in SL! Here’s the in-world key: secondlife:///app/group/151bc3da-5e97-b3e2-aaca-5e0533785c92/about

In case you need additional motivation, here’s a view of SYC Commodore Chad Sawson’s ACA33 portside aft-quarter, courtesy of Dil Spitz. 🙂

New Sansara Coastal Waterway

Click to enlarge

Coastal Waterways

Last November I wrote about the Linden Department of Public Works’ waterway upgrades in Nautilus. Overbuilding and residential ban lines in some Nautilus spots made long distance cruising difficult and often pretty frustrating.  It was also hard to argue about it. After all, property owners invest considerable money in their parcels, and the owners have a right to build and manage their land as they see fit. The Open Seas Project started as a way for sailors to work cooperatively with such landowners in a positive effort to keep navigation channels clear.

Last September in public Office Hours, Michael Linden discussed a plan that might fix the waterways problem. He thought it made sense to add Linden coastal water sims at congested choke points along the continental edges.  That way, sailors could bypass blocked passages, and travel around high density residential and commercial zones.

The idea for new coastal waterways was pretty universally supported, but I think all sailors understood the problem couldn’t be fixed overnight. Adding additional water sims would take time and effort… and no surprise, those extra sims cost money.

I doubted the new water would actually happen. Nonetheless, I thought Michael’s comments showed that LL was listening to user concerns and seriously considering meaningful fixes. (Sometimes that isn’t completely obvious 🙂 )

However, despite my pessimism, A month later a bumper crop of new coastal waterway sims showed up in Nautilus! Sailors gave out a pretty massive “WOOT!” that was loud enough to shake the grid!  Many sail clubs immediately jumped in to take advantage of the changes, organizing rather massive sailing events that linked Corsica and Nautilus. 🙂

Sansara Goes Coastal

Sansara and Heterocera 2010

The issues about coastal waterways and navigation routes also came up in public discussions of the Sansara upgrades last summer. Bay City is a great, vibrant Sansara-based community in Second Life, with a nascent yacht club (New Port) and a sizable patch of dedicated Linden water (Gulf of Lauren and the surrounding channels).

However, there was no water route connecting Bay City with the the large seas and multiple sailing groups located in Fables, Ice Bay, Mare Secundus, Mowry, ANWR Conntector, and Heterocera Atoll.

A few ‘coastal waterway’ options were discussed as possible fixes for this problem, but again I think most sailors felt the changes might not materialize. I strongly supported new coastal waters, and I admit “I’ve never seen a water sim I didn’t like.” However, I also knew SL was going through major staff cuts at the time. I didn’t want additional water sims if that meant DPW might lose staffing, or their precious Moles… 

(Don’t worry; no one ever asked my opinion on that topic. 🙂 )

Well, Kudos to Blondin and Michael Linden, and the absolutely great Bay City group for working this out! As Marianne McCann announced last week, a sizeable string of coastal waterway sims were just added to the Northwest corner of Sansara, linking Bay City to the ANWR connector and thence to the entire subcontinent of Heterocera Atoll! Woots!

Click here for full-size chart

Wowzers! The new passage lets you start anywhere around Bay City; if you are new to the area, you might try the Linden dock and rez point in Shamwari (see the pic at the top of this post 🙂 ) Otherwise, you can rez anywhere you want in Gulf of Lauren/ Straits of Shermerville waters, and then just sail Northeast…

If you look at the map, you’ll see that course brings you to a new quartet of sims just North of Shamwari: Hiltrude, Landres, Auda and Pepin. They take you to a wide channel that cuts through Fuschia and Swanhild. That passage will then bring you to open water in the brand-new Coastal Waterway sim of Grifo… but that’s just the beginning.

In an apparent tribute to the Octo-mom of contemporary culture, Grifo is the gateway to an identical linear octet of conjoined coastal sims that run all the way to Cyclops, a venerable sim that forms the southern root of the ANWR channel.

Grin, in case you’re new, or if you’ve been working too hard… or if you’re in complicated divorce proceedings 🙂 … let me remind you that the ANWR channel links the continent of Sansara to the subcontinent of Heterocera Atoll.

Is that important? Well, to many it is. The ANWR region sims have near biblical import for sailors. ANWR provided the Holy Waters that gave rise to the legendary Flying Tako. It was the test-track, the proving ground for the Kazenojin, the  legendary Illuminati of SL Sailing… back in the Ancient Times. 🙂

I wont expand on that, since many sailors in SL know the waters of Heterocera and their history better than I do. I’m excited to hear their comments and suggestions about the new linkage. The “Northern Route” coastal waterway now opens a major passageway that’s full of options and new opportunity for sailors, landowners, and maritime businesses.

This is Sansara’s story too, and Kudos go to all the wonderful people who patiently built communities on the shores of Sansara’s Seas. They deserve all the credit for the great changes across the continent this past year. I’ve listed their names in posts several times before, but today let me give a special shout-out to Bay City and East River Community. They kept the faith in Sansara over several years, and built much of the community we all value there.

GRIN; in that context, on May 14, Bay City will celebrate the great new changes in their corner of Sansara. I’m hoping the local sailors and the massive Leeward Cruising Fleet can join in for that event. It would truly demonstrate how much the new waterways are appreciated, and how much we all depend on each other.

Linden Kudos

Behind the scenes a huge THANK YOU also goes to Blondin and Michael Linden, as well as the whole DPW mole team who worked on the content changes.

Sometimes users (like Jane Fossett) get frustrated over in-world problems and whine a lot. In my case, I wrote several blistering articles a couple years ago on the “Open Sim Crisis” and related issues. I’m sure I’ll complain again, too.

However, let me today give credit where it’s due. From my perspective, the efforts by Lindens to improve communication with sailors over the past several months, in addition to the above-mentioned maritime upgrades, the coastal waterway sim expansions, and the innumerable small fixes they did for individual sailors are all noteworthy. In fact, they are pretty impressive.

So if you’re a sailor, although it may get you a TOS violation, I’d suggest you go hug a Linden next chance you get.
I mean, hey, it’s worth the risk. 🙂 LL isn’t perfect by any means… but their recent track record with sailors shows they are trying hard.
It’s difficult to fault that. 🙂

AC Promo Video!

As most know, I’m not a big fan of the RL Americas Cup. For many years the AC’s been a sad saga about a few guys with too much money and way too much testosterone. The focus on media grandstanding and litigation made many sailors, including me, wonder if the current AC juggernaut was still sailing at all; it looks a lot more like Disneyland.

I know many other sailors feel strongly about this issue on both sides. That’s no surprise I guess; the AC has been pretty controversial since its inception. 🙂

I had a fun conversation with Dale Irata a few days ago. He talked about the local San Francisco plans. As a Commodore for one of the SF-area clubs, Dale’s excitement was genuine and palpable.

I appreciate I’m a curmudgeon about this topic, but I must admit I understand and grudgingly agree with his enthusiasm. The sustained media attention over the long build-up for the next Americas Cup will focus public interest in sailing world-wide. On many levels, I appreciate that’s a good thing. 🙂

I’m talking about this issue once again here because I just saw Don Berithos’ promo video for the AC Cup… It’s interleaved with the clips of the ACJ-SL Cup version.  Frankly, Don, let me say:

ZOMG; Woot! That vid is absolutely GREAT;
What a nice job, Don!  I LOVE IT!!!
It almost makes me excited about the Cup again! 🙂

Vodpod videos no longer available.

Thank You!

Tinies Triumphal

On April 16, with a big smile Charlz Price and Fiona Haworth downsized for the day, and turned the keys to Triumphal Yacht Club over to Tiny World Regatta 2011. Chaos Mandelbrot chaired the “minor, low-brow” event, 🙂 and with Orca Flotta’s help turned the OrCafe into Tiny World Headquarters, sponsoring a nonstop program of music, racing and cruising that ran from dawn to dusk!

Kudos to Beejee Boucher, Greythistle Twine, Jakespeed Northman, BennyThe Boozehound, and Don Septimus; they each took turns spinning great tunes that set the right mood and built tiny spirit over the day’s activities.

click to enlarge

When people weren’t dancing, they were on the water sailing. The competition events included separate morning and afternoon fleet races, designed for the convenience of sailors in different time zones. Between the aquatic hot-rodding sets, Kittensusie Landar and Leeward Cruising Club took center stage. They orchestrated a distance, mass cruise that launched from the Schiffsratten docks in Pslande. The fleet sailed through Dire Strait and passed by DYC in Knaptrackicon to re-enter Bingo enroute to a landfall back at Triumphal! It was great fun, and BennyThe Boozehound piped through his soundtrack all along the way. It was a “Tour-de-Force” of truly tiny proportions. 🙂

Oh. I forgot to mention one of the best parts!

Triumphal’s owners Charlz Price and Fiona Haworth provided everyone with TrYC Tiny-compatible racing and cruising sailboats! The boats are actually pretty great, so go over to Triumphal and get one. They are powered by the BWIND engine, and are very nicely (and thoughtfully) detailed. The boats will carry two sailors and they have adjustable textures and sit positions (so your Tiny can see over the cockpit). The TrYC cruiser/racer even comes with a spinnaker!

This was my first acquaintance with Charlz and Fi’s club boat; it turned out to be easy to use, very stable and quite speedy, as the first group of racers discovered on Saturday morning. That 8:00am timeslot had a packed house with five sailing teams on the startline. Despite the crowd, the weather proved perfect for sailing, with no noticable lag.

The short race course was also well-suited to the short skippers and swift sailcraft; the morning fleet quickly racked-up results for five consecutive race heats. Chaos Mandelbrot was Race Director, and Silber Sands was head judge throughout. At different times, Orca, Joro, Naeve, and Jane were the Tiny Race Road Crew helping Silber out.

The Regatta used the ISAF standard low-point scoring system with one discard. Under those rules (and probably under any other), Aislinn Farella emerged the undisputed 8:00am winner with three First Place finishes! Lothor Vlodovic had two Firsts, and earned Second Place. He sailed a super series, ending a single point behind Aislinn! Nice job! Here are the numbers:

8:00AM Races

Orca and Beejee

Race 1:
1: Aislinn Farella   IDAF06 — 00:07:29
2: Lothor Vlodovic   IDLV42 — 00:07:34
3: Julia Ceres   IDJC61 — 00:08:22
4: Orca Flotta   IDCAFE — 00:09:33
5: Blunt Fhang and Garbet Psaltry — DNS

Race 2:
1: Aislinn Farella   IDAF06 — 00:07:23
2: Lothor Vlodovic   IDLV42 — 00:07:26
3: Julia Ceres   IDJC61 — 00:07:51
4: Orca Flotta   IDCAFE — 00:09:39
5: Blunt Fhang   IDBLUN — 00:09:40 DSQ

Race 3:
1: Lothor Vlodovic   IDLV42 — 00:07:14
2: Julia Ceres   IDJC61 — 00:07:51
3: Orca Flotta   IDCAFE — 00:08:03
4: Blunt Fhang   IDBLUN — 00:09:07
5: Aislinn Farella   IDAF06 — DNF

Race 4:
1: Lothor Vlodovic   IDLV42 — 00:06:51
2: Aislinn Farella   IDAF06 — 00:07:00
3: Julia Ceres   IDJC61 — 00:08:36
4: Orca Flotta   IDCAFE — 00:08:59
5: Blunt Fhang   IDBLUN — DNF

Race 5:
1: Aislinn Farella   IDAF06 — 00:07:08
2: Lothor Vlodovic   IDLV42 — 00:07:11
3: Orca Flotta   IDCAFE — 00:07:37
4: Blunt Fhang   IDBLUN — 00:08:35
5: Julia Ceres   IDJC61 — DNF

click to enlarge

The afternoon races were just as great!

Joro Aya spent the morning session judging, so by 3:00 pm she was hot to sail, and ready to roll. Joro quickly mastered the Regatta Raceboat, jumping ahead of the fleet and winning the Start in nearly every heat. When the salt-spray settled, the scoreboard showed Joro had grabbed four First Place wins out of the total of five events.

Woots, Even under the day’s Small Circumstances, Joro had the right stuff, ending up with a perfect low-point score of “4.” Don Berithos and Gemma Vuckovic trailed Joro at a distance… and Gemma came away with the Second Place showing.

Woots! Nice racing everybody! Here are the details:

3:00PM RACES

Tiny World Trophies!

Flotta Flying

Race 1:
1: joro Aya   IDSLUT — 00:07:24
2: don Berithos   IDUS82 — 00:08:21 DSQ
3: Gemma Vuckovic   IDGV78 — 00:09:07
4: Ipan Tatsu   ID565 — 00:09:09
5: BennyThe Boozehound   ID3333 — 00:09:13
6: Allie Tomsen   ID80AT — 00:15:24 DSQ

Race 2:
1: joro Aya   IDSLUT — 00:07:14
2: Gemma Vuckovic   IDGV78 — 00:07:44
3: don Berithos   IDUS82 — 00:07:56
4: Ipan Tatsu   ID565 — 00:10:11
5: BennyThe Boozehound   ID3333 — DNF

Race 3:
1: joro Aya   IDSLUT — 00:07:14
2: Gemma Vuckovic   IDGV78 — 00:07:44
3: BennyThe Boozehound   no ID
4: don Berithos   IDUS82 — 00:08:14
5: Ipan Tatsu and Duana Starflare  ID565 — 00:10:10

Yes, Joro out front... again

Race 4:
1: don Berithos   IDUS82 — 00:08:01
2: Ipan Tatsu   ID565 — 00:09:08 DSQ
3: joro Aya   IDSLUT — 00:11:44
4: Gemma Vuckovic   IDGV78 — DNF

Race 5:
1: joro Aya   IDSLUT — 00:07:20
2: Gemma Vuckovic   IDGV78 — 00:07:36
3: don Berithos   IDUS82 — 00:07:44
4: Ipan Tatsu   ID565 — DNS

For such a small event, Tiny World ended up pretty wondrous. 🙂 On Saturday TrYC was chock-full of happy, funny people who were dancing, sailing, and cruising their weekend away. So Please give a huge, much deserved hug and sound loud applause to the great team that put it all together: Chaos, Charlz, Fiona, Orca, and Kittensusie. WOOTS!

Addendum

I don’t know about you, but my personal criterion for a ‘Regatta well done‘ is pretty simple. A sailing event is a success if somebody comes up and says: “Hey, that was fun; let’s do it again tomorrow!” 🙂

Chaos in younger days

Well… the day after Tiny World, that happened big-time.

On April 17, a rather huge fleet of sailors descended once again on the Triumphal race waters for a Sunday Leeward Cruise. This time however, Kittensusie Landar and Francois Jacques set the destination to Chaos Mandelbrot’s home dock at Wicked Good. 🙂

A truly sim-busting crowd made landfall there, and all joined-in once again, thanking that Penguin for a Tiny job… but a job done HUGE! 🙂

click to enlarge

click to enlarge

March of the Penguin (actually, it’s April)

As I’ve commented so often before:

“A duck walks into a bar…” 🙂

 This should be fun!
Come cruise and party
to celebrate five years
of penguin punditry!

Happy Rez Day, Chaos!

Open Seas Project

“Nautical activities in Second Life© are getting increasingly difficult due to the many residents who use ban lines over waterways. The purpose of the OSP is to inform and educate these residents on how to minimize the effect ban lines have on nautical activities and to encourage them about keeping waterways navigable.”
— Open Seas Project

The Open Seas Project is a joint effort of the East River Community, the SL Coast Guard, and Tradewinds Yacht Club. The goal of the Group is to preserve and promote the navigable waterways in Second Life through education and public awareness advocacy initiatives.

One major objective is to inform landowners about waterways issues and their importance, and then work with owners to minimize the negative effects of obstructions or ban lines. The OSP Website includes a page of information for residents, and the same information is available in-world as a notecard.

The note comes with a set of simple one-prim hazard buoys that an owner can use to mark water obstrucions on their property.

The Open Seas Project also provides a convenient online form tool where sailors can report waterway hazards, overhanging builds, or otherwise  “annoying parcels” they encounter. The form system may relieve some of the drudgery of filing individual tickets for each and every problem you run into while sailing.

However, I think one of the best things about the Open Seas Project is the integration of online information from sailors through a series of in-world networked kiosks.

The network has a central server located at SLCG Station Muirhead that commands all the kiosks; it keeps the information distributed by multiple interactive kiosks up-to-date and coordinated with the online database.

The kiosks can rotate different posters, and give a series of different options when a specific display is clicked by a visitor. You can find a list of current kiosks and their locations here, and the SL Group is here.

Better yet, if you want your own kiosk, just drop a note in-world to Indigo Mertel, and she’ll send you one. They are very easy to set up!

Tiny World Regatta on Saturday!

The Tiny World Regatta 2011 takes off on Saturday, April 16, hosted by Triumphal Yacht Club! A day-long schedule of music, fun and sailing is planned, and free boats will be available on the dock for each race!

Click here for more details, and
click here if you’d like to pre-register to race!

Here’s the race chart: