No more Polyester Pam

So what's the beauty of virtual sailing? First of all it is great fun. There are weekly races in several classes; Classic boats and more modern types. Pick your potion. Besides, it's great to be able to race during winter. Even in the summer it's great. Fancy a quickie? Pop in and run three or four up/down courses in 45 minutes. Check here for a video of fleet race in the Q2m. The racing is great fun.

Me and my QSM40 looking for a mooring spot?

Then there's the exploring. There are many virtual places to sail. Some of these are breathtakingly beautiful. My all time favourite was Tranquility Island. Sadly it is not there anymore, so now I am looking for a new secret spot. It never stops to amaze me how much beauty there can be in a virtual world. Above you see me in the virtual sunset looking for remote islands.

Sunset on the beautiful Seagull Islands

Found a mooring spot, so here I am exploring the remote Seagull islands. If you like flowers, trees, the ambiance of birds, bees and ocean waves hitting the shore, then this is it. The feeling of exploring your own remote island is definately there. It is almost as good as the Sweedish Archipelago around Göteborg to mention a real thing I know quite well. This is all very good, but back to the sailing...

The T-1, the virtual IOD

Imagine having a classic boat as shown above, the T-One. Ohh, the work. Each spring. Sanding and painting, sanding and painting. No wonder plastic boats caught on. Now imagine the work after a collision. There's a good reason to prefer wooden boats. The poisonous styrene. However, most people race in - and therefore collide in - fiberglass boats. Ahh, the sweet smell of styrene. Just the thought of it makes me dizzy; And then there's the itch from all those broken fibers. And the building of complex shapes in polystyrene. Yeah, I love to work with fiberglass. In a virtual world, we never have to repair the boats. There is no paintjobs, no barnacles to be scraped off, and there is no need to master the art of fiberglass... It like that. I like it a lot. Say goodbye to styrene; Say goodbye to Polyester Pam.

BTW, you might wanna check Tillermans Beatles challenge.

11 boats at the line

I gotta show you this, while it is fresh. Previously I wrote about the Q 2m from Quest Marine. It is an absolute delight to sail that boat. Swift, pretty and easily handled but still challenging enough to be fun.

A pretty picture of a pretty boat

Realistic polars, very nice dynamics, great sounds, and you can bring a friend too. It really doesn't get much better :-) Luckily it seems I am not the only one who likes the Q 2m. It is really catching on as a racing boat.

A few days ago I came across this amazing video of some pretty realistic racing. It's filmed by Hawk, the dude you see in the clip. I think it is from somewhere in Blake, but I am not entirely sure. Anyway, check it out, - and check that port start. Skewed wind allright, and perhaps also currents? Dunno...

 Liv and I testing the Q 2m south of Blake.

Regretfully I wasn't there, but I sure will look for graded Q 2m events in the future. Graded? Yes, we have regular graded races, and the ranking can be seen on slsailing.co.

Kanker day

The other day was Kanker day, - celebrating the invention of sailing in SL. This is really too geeky for my blog, but Kanker Greenacre built the first boat in SL, the Tako, and so the SL Sailing community marks this important day on the 16th of May.

Me looking at all the Takos at TYC

I was not around when the Tako was built - back in 2005; In fact I never even met Kanker, but I sailed the Taco a few times. Compared to modern boats, I don't really find it interesting as a sailing simulation. Wrote a bit about it here; Nevertheless, in its day the Tako was close to a miracle, and most boats are still based on the Tako.

Takos at Tradewinds

Here's a better view. Behind me you see different custom Takos. I am told it was quite a big racing class. I suppose, now it has been superseeded by more modern boats such as the Flying Fizz, the Q2m, Bolero, ACA, Leetle Cat and many more.

Me and Balduin talking historic boats

Above you see me and Balduin of Bolero Fame talking historic boats. Today we have lots of yacht builders, yacht clubs, cruisers, races, RDs and hangarounds. All thanx to the Tako. Go see the full coverage of Kanker day at Tradewinds Yacht Club. Link to the right.
My next post will be purely about sailing. I promise.

Back to sailing

So Vincenzo Onorato backs out. It's really not a subject that fits on this blog, and then again... It is all about the sailing isn't it? Let's see what he said, Vincenzo:

Back to sailing, or is it too old-school?

"In our sport, men in blazer have overcome by now those in oilskins, I'm a man in oilskin and when I go in the sea, I want to win. I’m not interested in a hopeless challenge, I would lie to the sponsors, to our fans and last but not least also to myself."

I think I like that guy. Let's get the sailing back into sailing. Let's get rid of the suits, so that we can compete (wo)man to (wo)man. I so prefer to win with sore arms and wet feet from sailing over a sore throath (and bank account)  from talking to my lawyer. Or is it too much old school? I think not.

Feeling Mothy

Not entirely sure how, but something made me feel mothy this weekend. Had mothy dreams too. Perhaps it was a combination of lots of sun, cooled redwine and a panoramic view of the North Sea, - or was it the fact that there was a Moth race within a few hours of driving range?

Dreamscape

However, I wasn't on the water; I was in a bikini; First time this year; It was so unbelievably hot, the bikini wanted to go swimming. So somehow I ended up in the North Sea. Brrr. Barely above 10 degrees. Very short swim. The picture..? I cannot take pictures of my dreams, - or can I? This one is close. I am gonna get me one of these boats, because I wanna be able to do this. Takes a little saving, probably a little practicing too, but I am gonna get one. Wonder if it comes in pink. Is Pink Noodle a good name for a Moth? 

Cutter sailing

Again, I logged in to test Traps navigation device. After a few minutes at Tradewinds, Rene arrived in her latest project, - a  cutter. I gotta tell you... this might not be a racing boat, and it sure isn't a modern boat like the Moth or the Q-2m, but she is an absolute beauty, and she sails like a dream.

Me sailing Renes beautiful cutter

Just have a look! Click the image and resize to full screen. Huh! I will gladly admit I never expected a cutter to be this pretty; This is a ship, not some weird plastic critter. And the sailing?? Absolutely fabulous. The sailing has the same kind of dynamics as does the RM8; Very lively, but well adjusted to a boat this size.

Full speed ahead...

The hull movement caused by waves and the heel feels so natural. The sails look extremely good, and despite their complexity they are easy to trim. It was very easy to sail this boat even without any hud, vane, or info display. Just me, the sails, the boat and the heel. Did a 360 to establish wind direction; The rest was easy as pie. Lovely.

Going back north to Tradewinds.

So what would I do with a boat like this? Dunno really. Racing? Seems a little funny, but I suppose they raced these in the old days. Still, the chance of creating a racing class of cutters seems unlikely these days. However, should I ever need to arrive at a party by boat, this would be a fine choice. I am gonna get one of these. Definately.

Lets dance

It doesn't have to be about sailing. SL is many things. Gardening, architecture, art, racecars, flying, diving and a whole bunch more.

Me at Woods

Yesterday I logged in to test Traps new navigation device, but then I got a note about Woods celebrating the 3rd year birthday.

Lets dance

I rushed off, because Woods is one of the first clubs I found, when I was new. Always good music. Always nice people.

It's a good thing I am not wearing high heels

That's it for this short post. Need a party? Go to Woods and dance the night away. See ya. Oh wait, there's live music in SL too. More on that later. Later ;-)