Noodles is made of noodles

 Was eating out yesterday. Streetfood. And then it hit me... Two things actually. Noodles is made of noodles. And i kinda miss SL...

What is Noodles made of?

 Teehee... and happy sailing... I am off to IRL sailing.

Kalsarikännit

Learned a new word today. 

Kalsarikännit! Yup, - that's it.

What an amazing word.

Need to practice that. 

I hope you are all well... in Second Life.

XOXO 

 

 

Where's Noodle?

 Someone wrote me an email asking where's Noodle, - is she ok? And yes, she is, but stuff is happening in RL, so - regretfully - SL is currently not top of mind. That is to say: I'd like to Noodle but I can't find the time right now. Really sorry but thanx for being concerned.

Americas Cup not worth watching

 Ok, so it's been a while. What's little me doing? Busy sailing in first life, and busy looking after the kids. Well, and playing Minecraft with them, but this... this deserves a comment. 

Probably the ugliest mug in the world

 

Anyone read Scuttlebutt? Do it now - Read Scuttlebutt - click here!

And let me again refer to Jane Fossets quote! She said it first, and she said it best:

 "Weird plastic critters skittering across the water". (- Jane Fosset)

Amen to that!

Here's a few burst from that Scuttlebutt post - and they are about the Americas Cup and the (current) boats:

• Complete irrelevance
• Bizarre sideshow
• Seems to be a bit of action missing
• this diminishes the spectacle of the sport
• most exiting part is when they fall off the foils
• light wind foiling is really boring

Yup!

Let's put the sailing back into sailing. Get real boats. Use real rules. Make sailing relevant to sailors - not to lawyers and crazy scientists. 

Where is Heinz Doofenshmirtz, when you need a new type of Inator to stop the madness in Americas Cup? Let's have a MadRaceInator!

Wayyy back in 2011 after sailing with El Megro

 Happy sailing and Strawberry Margaritas. 

(More on Americas Cup) 

PS: Shoutout to Bruce Dawlish racing the Folkboat Rødhætte in San Francisco.

The world is upside down

 No words needed... 

Yeah!

...and yes, - I went to the local "Ukraine-shop" and gave clothes, toys, teddybears, pillows and even bikes. No guns though. This is Europe; We have laws against guns, so I leave the gun-stuff to the government.

What is a Sjogin

 Summer means sailing, and I've had my fair share of RL sailing these past five weeks. That's why I thought it would be fun to check up on SL, and it was. Look what I found:

That's a Sjogin

My First though was: Hey, - finally a followup to Beccas beginner boat, - the now famous baby sloop; I looked closer and the Megin came to mind. Then I googled Sjogin, and it turns out this is a pretty close replica of the RL Sjogin, which in turn is a close cousin of the Megin.

Nice craftsmanship

Obviously it will sail and quite nicely, if I may say so. The hull, rig and sails are all well crafted with a sweet attention to detail. I can feel the urge to just take off and sailaway, but let's check out a few things first. There's a click menu with poses and what nuts.

Weekend?

It's not a big boat, but there is room for a couple on a romantic weekend. Or just me reading a book while the waves gently splashes on the hull. There is a special sound in this type of boat, because it is a clinker. I suppose the built in sounds could reflect that. Ok, a tiny lamp woud be nice for night reading. Check out how Balduin had that back in 2011 in his beautiful Bolero.

Sails, telltales and all

Sailing is easy. Standard commands work but there is also a hud. No need for that when you can get real feedback. The sails flap when in irons, and the telltales almost work like real telltales. Almost. They don't move up and down quite as expected. They really should be in the first third of the jib, as that's where the wind enters the sailarea. Details, details. Oh, and it seems there is no wind-indicator. A windex might look silly on a boat like this, but a vane from the top of the mast would probably look both pretty and good.

 

Sunset sailing

Sounds are ok, but the speed has no impact on the sounds. Sadly. I thought I heard a bit of Flying Fizz sound at some point, but I was not able to steer or trim in order to produce the sound again. Strange. However, a look inside the boat reveals it is not a Fizz sailing engine. It does not look like a BBK sailing engine either. Perhaps it's a homegrown... dunno. Will find out.

Time to dock

The sailing seems fine, but the rudder is bit slow. Wakes are nice. Heel seems fair, and there is balancing, which is supernice. Trimming is fine and responsive, but something strange happens when tacking. Sometimes the sail stops working. Maybe it's just me. I will give it a decent sailing test sometime soon.

Cute thing

For now I'll settle with very cute, well made sailing "thing" with loads of nice details. The Sjogin definately deserve to be taken to sea for a few adventures in the virtual seas of SL.

PS: There is a dude on Instagram sailing boats like this in RL. Check the "SailingCraftsMan". You can hear that special clinker-sound there.

Yay for Anne-Marie!

 She did it!

Anne-Marie Rindom wins Olympic Gold

It wasn't easy, but she did it. Best danish female sailor ever! Congrats!!

Rule 18.3

 So this is rule 18.3:

Passing Head to Wind in the Zone

If a boat in the zone of a mark to be left to port passes head to wind from port to starboard tack and is then fetching the mark, she shall not cause a boat that has been on starboard tack since entering the zone to sail above close-hauled to avoid contact and she shall give mark-room if  that  boat  becomes overlapped inside  her. When this rule applies between boats, rule 18.2 does not apply between them.

This sorta like says: If I enter the zone on port tack, I am not allowed to disturb boats that entered the zone on starboard tack - not even if I entered the zone first. Not sure if that's fair, but at least it is easy to understand.

BUT

Why does this rule apply only to a port side passing? AFAICS the exact same thing can happen on a starboard side passing?

I can easily see myself entering the zone (first) on starboard tack, wanting to tack to port in order to pass the mark on starboard; Sounds easy, as I have right of way, but the minute I tack, I need to think of rule 11 and 15. 

If I tack, I might get overlapped from behind on the inside. Then I have no rights what so ever? Isn't that just weird? Because I tacked in the zone, rule 18 is off - or is it? Anyway, It would not help me. I just need to keep clear. Even if I tack clearly ahead, those port tack boats may catch up and overlap on the inside; I'll then need to keep clear as stated by rule 11 and with no warning - by rule 15. Or is it just 18.2.a?

Something is fishy, but that's not all:

Rule 18 starts of by stating it does not apply to boats on separate tacks on an upwind beat. Still, rule 18.3 seems to apply to just that situation. So is rule 18.3 on or off? Turns out it is on, - the minute someone tacks and the two boats are on the same tack - rule 18 turns on..

What does that mean? Rule 12 is off when tacking in the zone, but only on a port side passing? Why not on a starboard passing? Why does that make sense?

Like... Is the inverse 18.3 correct for a starboard passing?

Try this:

If a boat in the zone of a mark to be left to starboard passes head to wind from starboard to port tack and is then fetching the mark, she MAY cause a boat that has been on PORT tack since entering the zone to sail above close-hauled to avoid contact and she shall NOT give mark-room if  that  boat  becomes overlapped inside  her. When this rule applies between boats, rule 18.2 does not apply between them.

Naah, that does not make sense.

So 18.3 is there to favour those starboard boats already in favour? Why?

 

Finally someone said it

- Said what?

- It would be easy not to care!

- About what?

- Americas Cup - read more on Scuttlebutt 

Goodbye fugly mug

 

Who is that guy?

 Who is that guy, and how does he afford to travel so much? He seems to be everywhere...

Bernie travels a lot

Now he's even sitting here at the round table at Tradewinds YC! Since he's here  without actually being here, I suppose you could say he's virtually here - sorta. So what's it mean to be virtually there in a virtual world?

Flying Fizz Cat

A Flying Fizz Cat??

 WTF? Just saw it floating by the pier. Didn't have time to investigate, so took this shot. When I returned to check it out it was gone..? A Flying Fizz Cat???

Happy New Year

So it's New Years Eve! Congrats and all... 

I haven't been inworld much lately. Busy playing PlanetSide2. Try it. It's not kids stuff. Most people will spend a couple of days dying... like learning to windsurf. Climbing up, falling down... and then you begin to think you can...

Trying to forget the old year

Kinda like Corona. Holding us all back. Nuff bout that. I feel like wishing everyone I know i SL - and others - a happy new year! We've had so much fun inworld, and I kinda miss it. And the people. Well, most of them anyhow.

It's been a crazy 2020 - Corona and all; The Vaccine is here, so lets just wish for a new year with lots of sailing - and racing with friends - inworld and IRL. Imagine a world where you are allowed to have a party; Even have a boat race. Currently we're not allowed to do that.

This is where I wanna go sailing in 2021

Anyhow, it's winter. Our PM has prolonged the strict restrictions, so right now there's only virtual sailing.

Thank You Dutch!

I can sail around the world singlehand - with my computer... it's a bit lonely. Luckily I can also take any of my SL boats for a spin. This here - above - is one of my favourites. It's a VO65. I love it. Thanx, Dutch...

So here's to a better 2021. Yay! 

 

Back at it

 Fizzin, - just fizzin...

What a feeling...

Yeah! It's still a great boat.

Harbourmeister

Sometime before the summer vacations I received a cute little thingy for testing. It's LadyJanes Harbourmeister, and she's moored right alongside my Ushuaia.

A cute lil motorboat

Yeah, I know... it's not a sailboat, but that little boat is so full of gizmos, fun stuff and sweet details - it's unbelievable. Let's go have a closer look.

Take me for a ride

Splash! There she is; It's almost as if she's begging to be taken for a ride, right? So let's hop on board and have a look.

Working instruments

There are loads of instruments to check; I mean, there are the usual ones such as speed, rpms and fuel, and then there's the fishfinder. It has depth and speed but it also shows fish, and that's where the fun starts.

Off we go

 

Let's turn the key and see what she's got for us. Hmm, and where's the reverse gear - oh - it's supereasy... keys up and down plus right and left. Yeah!

Full speed ahead

Easy peasy... and full speed ahead gives me around 14 knots. Not a lot but quite enough to get around the Blake with a bunch of friends in no time.

Rrrrrrrrr

She has a nice feel to her - if you can say that about a speedboat. The controls react as expected - swiftly and with style, and the boat leans into the curves in a very natural way. It's almost fun to speed around, hehe.

Going back

So she sails well... but what's all that fishy talk about. Yeah well I really dunno yet. The fishfinder seems to work great, but I have yet to find the fishing rods. I will get back with another post, once I discover where they've been hidden.

... and stop!

All in all a nice sailing experience... What I could wish for is some race comitee functionality... starting procedures and all that, but that lies somewhere in the future. If you wanna go fishing with friends - this is a good one, and you can even sleep in the cabin, if you hate to come home empty handed.

Sunrise

Gotta love a sunrise like this one:

Goodmorning...

Just gotta!

Yeah, I know... it's unreal. Not because it's not real, but because it's unreal like the real ones.

Unwinding and more

Ahoy! I'll admit it's been a while. First life is keeping me busy with loads of delicious sailing, and that's all good and sweet. However, today I received an email from a dear old friend in Second Life, and I tumbled down the rabbit hole, - or rather memory lane...

Morning yoga

Obviously, first life comes first, but I still have friends, fond memories - and unfinished projects - in Second Life, so my heart started beating a bit faster.

I logged in to check if SL is still there, and sure enough. It's there. Tradewinds YC, the red boatshack, the round table, the lighthouse... everything. Give or take. So I launched my favorite cruise, the Ushuaia, and started the day with a bit of sunrise yoga. That's the kinda thing I'd do in RL too.

Scrubbing Unwind

Boats never like being abandoned. Green stuff grows everywhere. Perhaps not so much in Second Life but still, I felt like giving her a good scrub after all this time. After a few hours of scrubbing plus a coffee break - Unwind has an espresso machine onboard, she was her good old shiny self.

Unwinding

Time to take her for a spin. It was sweet. Not that I had forgotten, but still... I was a bit surprised just how much it felt like sailing. It's actually pretty good. You need to constantly steer and trim, or she'll come to a halt. There are still things to do, in order to make the SL sailing experience better, but that's a subject for another post.

The sun sets behind the Tradewinds Lighthouse

I sailed around Tradewinds waters till sunset, - feeling bad for neglecting my virtual boats and friends in here. Had great fun mooring using sails only. It's a bit more challenging, but I don't much like all that motoring about; It's much easier to predict how a sailboat will move with sails up. Besides, that stinch of diesel is... yuck. Yeah well, - in SL it's a bit better :-D

Sunset thoughts?

Anyway, here's me and Unwind moored at Tradewinds thinking about that email. The subject being? The Flying Fizz! Still my absolute favourite racing boat in Second Life. In case you wonder, what it is, it's moored right behind my lovely cruiser on the picture above. Thanx for writing, Liv. I'll get back to you about that.

PS: Turns out my little blog here needed a scrubbing as well. Several comments were - ahem - rather unboatly; I sprayed them with barnacle remover and gave them a good scrubbing, - et voila.

Flying

Flying seems to be a big thing in SL. I always thought of it as fun, and then immediately ditched the idea because... oh well... sailing has trouble with simcrossing. Imagine what trouble a jet will experience. It will be at the next sim-edge before it is done crossing this one... so to speak. One long sim crossing?

Flying with Rene

Still, I always kept an attack helicopter. It's fun flying, and it will shoot annoying males when they are just that - too annoying. It's a 10 year old freebie, and it looks like a lego toy compared to todays flying machines.

Ready for takeoff

It turns out many of my good old sailing friends appear to have a somewhat secret side to themselves: Flying. Liv has been bitten by a mad helicopter, and also Rene is flying... however she's into gliding, and perhaps that makes a bit of sense, as it's slow enough to not be at a sim-edge every other second.

Close hatches

So, Rene took me flying in this glider here. It was actually quite nice. Nothing compared to the real thing; No dizzyness, no stomach trouble, but still... there is a certain majestic silence when you are just gliding around ...

Two sticks

This one has two sticks, so I could actually try and control the thing; Rene seemed quite calm about it. She went on talking about upwinds and stuff. Dunno how they simulate that in SL, as we are having loads of trouble just making the sailboat see a sort of realistic wind.

Fly low or see nothing

Never mind the upwinds. We need to fly low anyway. SL only renders stuff within a few hundred meters - or whichever amount you choose in the settings - so if you're up in the sky, there's no land to see. No fun. Stay "under the radar" and you can see stuff while you crash, teehee.

Lower

That's more like it. I am pretty sure noone would do that in RL, but hey... it's not like anything happens if we crash. The plane won't get a single scratch; Neither will the pilots. Worst case scenario would be - maybe - a relog but only if we're very unlucky.

Approaching

No worries. Rene took us down safe and sound. Lot's of obstacles as you can see. The sim was actually very nice. Hangars, radio towers and other plane related stuff all around. It's worth a TP just to walk around and explore.

Touching down

Here we are almost touching down after a nice trip up in the air. Maybe it's not a full simulator, but the instruments worked and well... it kinda felt like flying. Perhaps I should get me a secret hobby too. Thanx for taking me flying, Rene.

Summer

It's cold, wet and windy outside. The darkness is taking over. Anyone else missing summer?

Missing summer

I know I am. Sailing, swimming, tanning. Drinking cold rosewine while listening to the endlessly repeating sound of cicadas. (Cigales)

A view over the ocean

In that respect Sl is selling dreams; So many dreamy places to go. So many amazing builds. I guess the builders of this place has the same summery urge.

Chillin...

 It's just too far away right now. Sigh. Big sigh.

Kayaking

Kayaking isn't what I've done the most. However, there is a certain kind of zen about it. Kinda like singlehanded sailboat sailing. It's just you and the element.

Splish, splash, splish, splash,...

That sensation, - the calmness of singlehanded sailing, - can be recreated in SL. The same goes for kayaking (and canoeing), and if the scenery is right, it's truly a breathtaking experience.

Ocean right here, mountains in the back.

However, it takes a rather good computer, as the viewing distance must be set high in order to see those distant mountains.

What kinda canoe is it?

I did a bit of kayak-polo in RL. This kayak here does not resemble those kayaks. It doesn't look much like the ocean kayaks they use in the local kayak club either. It's a little too big for my preference, but that doesn't change the kayaking sensation much.

Into the unknown

Perhaps it's the right size for sailing an ocean with waves and such. I dunno. In any case, it feels quite safe to sail, and I'd recommend it after af hefty day at work. Unless ofcourse you have access to a real kayak.

Seagulls are forever in motion

After a kayaking trip it's always nice to sit and think. Maybe rest a bit before sailing back. Luckily it's SL, so teleporting is also an option.

Exploring new things

It's been a while. New things on the horizon in RL as well as in SL. Stumbled upon this place. So quiet, so pretty...

Just amazing

I rode around for a while; Loads of beautiful places. Lots of things to explore.

Yay

Even met a friend there.

Such a vue

This will take hours to explore. Days even. So many great places with ambiance and all. Love it. I wonder if there's a boat somewhere - all this water screams for boats.