Balduin Aabye launched the Bolero recently. It is a faithfull replica of the knockabout sloop; Very pretty in that good old fashioned way. The RL knockabout sloop has a history of its own. Google it and enjoy the pictures. This is about the virtual knockabout, aka The Bolero.
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| Me and my Bolero leaving the safe waters of Nautilus. |
To test her, I decided to take her off shore sailing. What better way to do that, than trying to make it over the new off shore connection to the continent of Oceania. If you are not aware of the new waterways added, check the Tradewinds Yacht Club website. Link on your right.
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| Bluewater sailing. Nautilus behind; Oceania ahead. |
Inside the Bolero is a bwind sailing engine, so it is no surprise - she sails well. A little slow perhaps, but that adds to the feeling of reality. This is not a modern race boat. It is more of a classy day cruiser. The easy bowsplash sounds of the boat says it all. Sailing the Bolero has a certain Zen-like feel. It is peacefull and uncomplicated.
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| Totally relaxing off shore sailing. |
So here's me being totally relaxed after climbing the mast to place the camera. Had some trouble with the autopilot, but it almost stayed on course while I was up there. Hopefully I can stay awake till I arrive at Oceania; Can't wait to take a nap in the cabin. Yes, there are berths for two in the cabin, and you can jump in and swim from the aft deck. The Bolero is perfect for a weekend for two in the Northern archipelago of Nautilus.
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| Taking a peek at the Oceania inshore waters. |
The sails are well made. Curved and with stitchings. The spinnaker is too. Again, uncomplicated, classic, white and pretty. Autogybing makes spinnakers so much easier, - unless you are holding a course with the wind right aft. Then the autogybing flips you back and forth between starboard and port. Not something you would want in a close race situation. It is a design issue. Make the boat easy to sail usually means you loose a little control. That aside, the sailing is nice and intuitive.
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| Just moored in Oceania. |
You can get a hud, if you want to sail by numbers, but check the above picture again. There is a little windvane. Here it is grey to indicate sails down. Otherwise it will tell you the wind direction. It will also indicate your trim by a colour. This allows for intuitive mouselook sailing. So realism is good, feel is good, and all in all it is a delightfull and relaxing experience to sail the Bolero. I will do that again, when I need a break.
About that ship there, Antinea, - see this
link. It's important.
Hej!
ReplyDeleteI like classic sailing boats.
They may be too slow in a competition. However, they have an elegant model of a vessel. And we thoroughly can enjoy the neighboring scenery :)
I like the classics too. Many of the classics were racers in their time. Besides, in a classboat race all boats are the same, so the only the relative speed is important. Speed seems to be problematic on sim crossings, so slower boats are in fact better suited for racing - in SL.
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