Sad news: Wildwind Yachts is gone.
Yesterday Wildwind’s simset went offline. I understand their visionary boatbuilder Corry Kamachi is taking a well-deserved rest away from Second Life.
So OK. Please stop whatever you’re doing, stand up, and join me in a loud round of applause for Corry. She is a truly wonderful designer who devoted years of effort to her friends in SL Sailing.
Woots to Corry and Wildwind!
Through skill and hard work, her boats rose to join the most popular sail craft in SL. With no exaggeration, Corry’s efforts deeply enriched the lives of each and every sailor who ventured out on Second Life’s seas.
I personally first sailed a Wildwind over 38 months ago, when Taku Raymaker introduced me to early betas of the DG-14 (a dinghy racer similar to the Fizz 1.x) and the first-draft of the ACJ (Corry’s IACC racer).
Those early test boats told the tale; it was obvious that Corry possessed remarkable ability, coupled with a strong drive for sailing accuracy and perfection. Less than one year later, the Wildwind fleet had grown beyond any expectation. Corry’s artisanship crowded the dock with a diverse offering of authentic sail craft.
Hey, did I mention Wildwind also sold seaplanes and multi-hulls? 🙂
As Corry’s creative urges blossomed, Wildwind clearly needed more space. Corry joined with a host of other sailors to form a new Japanese nautical community on private sims centered around Far East Yacht Club.
Taku Raymaker‘s Waypoint Yacht Club is situated in the heart of United Sailing Sims and Blake Sea, and it remained the original nexus of Japanese sailing in SL. However, from 2008 through 2011, Far East YC (Max Starosin, Commodore) and Hayama Zushi YC (Kei Cioc, Commodore) offered additional, valuable sailing options to Japanese skippers interested in SL.
I have much more to say about the wonderful Japanese SL Slsailing community, but let me put that off for the moment. Today I just want to focus on Wildwind boats and praise the legacy of Corry Kamachi.
Corry spawned an entire, unique family of fantastic yachts that are primarily based on contemporary, high-performance racers of all sizes. For example, at the dinghy end of the fleet Kokoro Alcott captured the excitement of the 470 Cup here:
However, Corry is perhaps best known for the RCJ-44. That boat was fast and easy to handle, but also packed a wealth of racing options and authentic design features. For a long time it was easily one of the most popular posts on the SL Sail-Racing circuit, and many of us nicknamed it “Orca Flotta’s favorite race-boat.” 🙂
Naeve Rossini caught that fever too, and in 2009 she and I ran the boat around the test track more than once…
Yikes, we did that whole test-thing again when Corry launched the JMO-60, too. 🙂
Nuboko Cris test-drive
In that context, let me reach back and comment that the Wildwind wind-power algorithm had a number of interesting and unique features and options. for example, it’s worth emphasizing that all the Wildwind boats in the fleet used a proprietary “apparent wind” correction.
I know this is a boring topic, so I won’t belabor the issue. 🙂 I’m bringing it up here because when I complained about this 2 1/2 years ago, Mothgirl Dibou took the time to post a great explanation, and it’s worth taking a look again now. 🙂
I admit I’m still not sure I agree with Wildwind’s wind algorithm adjustments. 
However after more than two years thinking and sailing, I certainly understand better why Wildwind included their compensation factors, and the differences that make the boat exciting to sail. That excitement and creativity was actually typical for Wildwind’s whole lifetime in SL.
Corry’s last, official release was a totally new and typically ambitious vessel: The Wildwind ACJ35 Wildcat. The boat is further proof that Corry was always on the cutting edge.
Here’s don Berthios’ promo video for that great Wildcat work-in-progress!
Vodpod videos no longer available.
I have far more to say about the history of builders and boaters in Second Life, but that seems enough for today. The legend and legacy of WildWind will live on.
And Corry? Thank you so very much…
Please come sail again soon.
Metaverse Sailing 