What's for summer

The summerholidays are sneaking up on us. At least for those of us living on the northern half of the earth. Last week the RL weather was very summerish. Now it's back to normal: Cloudy and below 20C. Still, I have high hopes for the rest of the month, cause I am gonna do this:

Ana's beautiful folkboat

That's right... and if the RL weather won't behave, I'll probably be sailing in SL as well; The destinations in SL are so nice. So many marinas to visit and explore...

A marina is popping up

Not only that... there are vast areas of water to explore... It doesn't have to be "nose in the charts" inshore sailing all the time... Still, you could argue that SL misses a really big ocean. I mean... you can cross the Blake in like five minutes. What would it take to make a true ocean? Just water, boats, birds and fish! Can't require that much computing power, can it?

What's on the other side of those islands?

Back in the boat! Are you paying attention? 9.5 knots in a Folkboat is quite alot. I suppose Ana has painted it with some secret sauce... Old secret family recipe of sharkskin soup perhaps :-)

Chillin

Makes me wonder: Would this lil Folkboat outrun my Ushuaia. That's something I gotta test next time I am inworld.

On my way to the great big blue

For now I'll just concentrate on the Folkboat, and here I am on my way from the (relative) safety of inshore sailing to the great big blue... Oh, and I see the telltales. I need to ease out on the jib sheet... Difficult to trim continously while "droning" around with the camera.

Arrived "on the other side"

This is what it looks like when approaching land on the other side... Better get that engine going cause I am not entirely sure where to go. Let's see, where's that knob to lower it... ahh... there!

Vrooummm

This boat has everything, - or close. Perhaps there is one thing missing! My Ushuaia has an espresso-machine. It might be too big for a Folkboat, but in RL I always bring one of those tiny two person italian coffee cookers for the stove. Doesn't take up much space, and the taste is way better than instant coffee. 

Motoring about

Besides, coffebags are easier to store in a boat compared to those glass cans they use for instant... Anyways, it's not yet coffeetime. I need to motor about and fine me a mooring spot, and since I don't have a coffe maker, it's gonna be...

A coke and a smile

A nice chilled coke... ahhh. Doesn't get much better than this. So that's my recipe for great summer holidays. Get a boat and get out there on whichever waters you have nearby; Real or virtual - in that order.

Bon voyage

Whichever type of sailor you are, I wish you fair winds, and if you're a virtual sailor... scroll through my pics here and imagine - if only just for a minute - doing this for real. No need to cross the Atlantic or sail around the globe like Troels Kløvedal did (R.I.P)... It really doesn't need to be fancy or expensive.

Just set sails with friends and meet for drinks and hotdogs in the next marina up coast. Or the nearest exotic island. That's life! Cheers... (and strawberry margaritas)

Checking up on stuff

So after a great summer of FL (aka RL) I decided to check in and Unwind a bit. Went cruising from Tradewinds down south and around the Sharp Tooth Isle. Apparently there's not a lotta changes. The airport is there, NYC is there. All the islands seem to be in place.

Cruising the Blake

Met quite a few boats though, so people are still sailing these waters. On my way back up north I sat and enjoyed the sunset for a minute or two... The virtual sunset has somekind of calming effect on me - quite like a real sunset.

Sunset

Nah, it's not just the sunset... I found something that I found once before... Something shy... Only this time I'll check it out, if I can. It's right behind me...

Guess it?

Can you guess what it is? It's that patrol boat I observed back in june. It's still there, so maybe I can sneak aboard and have a look around. I'll be very quiet as last time it sorta disappeared when I clicked it.

Time for a sundowner

Right; Inspection time next time... Now, it's time for a sundowner and then back to RL, or is it the other way around? Still, - sure feels good to be back in the virtual waters now that the real ones are getting colder.

Pirate Bay?

Here's a little something for the boys... Went sailing in the Ushuaia with a friend. Had a great trip down south-east; Nice steady wind and an almost clear blue sky.

Watch those reefs

After crossing the Blake Sea we wanted to have a break and test the anchor; See if it holds. Found a beautiful mooring spot. Just as we had dropped the anchor, we spotted yet another beautiful bay that needed exploring, so anchor up...

See that bay over there?

... engine on. As we approached we realized that someone was already there. At least some boat was there. Noone was around though, so we dared to moor and have a look around.

Moored in ...

Turns out the island was a pretty little paradise. Beautiful garden and views plus a nice house. Dunno who lives there, but that little boat sorta inspired us to call the place...

Pirate Bay

Pirate Bay! Never saw a pirate look like that. There's pirates several places in SL waters. The classic ones. Not the ones in high powered ribs roaring the east coast of Africa. Anyway, I got the feeling that my companion wouldn't mind meeting one of those... Have a great weekend...

PS: The mooring was kinda working but not working. More on that in another post.

Cruising

Just a shot from a bit of cruising. Sailed around Blake with Craig, and we stopped by the old greenhouse. It's an ancient but still fantastic little island. Yes, it's the Ushuaia in the back. When I was about to leave for Tradewinds - this view was just so much of a Kodak-moment I had to shoot it; If that expression still exists... Kodak...

A truly fantastic location.

Someone once brought me to see the greenhouse - many years ago, wayyy back when I was brand new to SL. Sadly I don't remember his name, and I also have no pics from the trip. It was before I started blogging and all... As far as I remember it, it seems pretty much unchanged since then. Which makes it even more fantastic.

A virtual cruiseship?

I was out sailing my lovely and newly updated Ktaba Cirya, when this rather big thing popped up on the horizon. At first I thought they had made a new island, but no! On closer inspection it turned out to be yet another thing I've never seen before: A virtual cruiseship.

A new island? 

I'm often amazed by the things people build. This is no exception, but... I mean for what? The Cirya I can take out and go sailing with a friend. Would anyone do the same with a cruise-ship, or are there passengers on board? Will people be going on virtual cruises round the Blake Sea? Sometime in the future they might. Movies have been made on that subject.

No, it's a cruise-ship

As you can see it's not that big after all. Big enough to be big for the virtual waters. Small enough to still be able to sail around without constantly running aground. Even if it did hit a rock, I am sure there will be help available from the Coastguard. I don't know if there are organised pilotboats in SL. Probably.

An empty cruise-ship

Up on the top deck, I'd expect to see people flocking around the pool and the bar - and the golfcourse, but it was quite empty. Would have been fun to see a full fledged party going in up there. Perhaps the SL Enquirer will have cruises in their add-section in the next issue. Dunno. The cabins look kinda nice, so why not book a cruise right away?

Empty cabins too

Sadly I only managed to get one picture from the inside before she was gone. I turned around my Cirya, but upwind I was not able to catch up and get a closer look. Soon I lost visual contact and after a few minutes she was nowhere to be found. Well, never mind! Off to find me an island where I can drop the anchor for the night.

Foul weather experience

We had a few rainy days this summer. So I went to SL to catch the sun. I found it, but I also found the worst virtual weather I've ever experienced. However, it all started beautifully. Somewhere in Folkvang...

Smooth sailing in the sunset

I accidentally found the viking ship, and when I hopped on, it (the ship) asked me if I wanted to go on a journey. I accepted and a whole story unfolded before my eyes. A true story of a viking journey.

The ravens cage

The attention to detail was quite unique. The ship had cargo covered with blankets or cow-hides,  barrels with I-dunno-what plus sheep and then there was the cage for the obligatory raven. The vikings used the raven to find the course to land - if they got lost at sea. Release it and see where it goes.

Arriving somewhere

So, I just sat there... the story was rather lengthy but interesting. However, the scenery was amazing. In fact it was so overwhelming, I'll admit I was too busy looking and taking pics to catch all the details of the story.

Waves

The waves were amazing too. They are difficult to catch on fotos in RL; They're even more difficult to catch in SL, but they're a pretty big deal. The SL waters may look watery and wet, but in fact they're flat as a pancake. Here, they had me worried. The waves.

Quiet night

Just as in RL the wind eased a bit at night, so here's a shot upwards. Pretty. Pretty realistic and pretty sleep inducing. It was so nice, but it wasn't gonna last...

Gaaaaah

This is what woke me up. It is - by very far - the worst virtual weather I have ever experienced. Lightning struck more than once near the boat. The wind picked up and closed in on storm. The waves grew taller and taller while heavy rain filled the air... Foul weather indeed.

Where's my horn

After a hefty night this was the morning... fog. Loads of it and thick too. Quite exciting in that scary way. Ahh, but not that scary. After all I kinda knew I wouldn't meet Emma Maersk or any of her siblings. That's comforting. Still, I had no horn and no charts... Hmm...

Land!

Staring at the horizon some 50 meters ahead expecting anything can be exhausting. Here, I finally saw some rocks. Good? Bad? Dunno yet. 

Let's find land

After a while the sun broke through and it was time to test the raven. Here she is... flying, circling, looking for land, and after a few minutes she took off. I followed.

Ahh, yes... the sun is back

Not much to see. I mean, - no land. The sun was up though, and that always helps cheering me up. Happily I splashed forward in the same direction. The Raven was out of sight, but finally...

LAND !!

Finally. This chalcky rock appeared and I knew the journey was about to end. Not with me being lost at sea, but with me landing somewhere... presumably nice. Maybe there'd be a pub nearby, so I could get a beer. I won't tell. Go check the journey yourself... it all begins somewhere in Folkvang.

Update: Yes, all pictures are 100% true and unmanipulated screenshots.

Luxury cat

Cat people are special. That's common knowledge. Some sailors get bitten and they never return to monohulls. They spend their lives trying to convince all the other "normal" boaters that cats simply are better, faster and more fun. Me? I was never very fond of cats, but this one made my day...

A giant cat

Oh yes it's big. Perhaps not as tall as Craigs J, but the interior... While the J is huge on the outside, this monster cat is a giant on the inside. It's almost unreal. It just begs for someone to move in. Permanently. Let's move a little closer.

What's missing?

First you'll notice the Zodiac; Then there's the huge deck area with sunchairs. There's also a "winter-garden" with lounge chairs and spices growing in pots. If anything is missing it would be a windsurfer or some other small wind-toy. A Flying Fizz would be nice or perhaps a 2.4mR.

The spicy loungy area

It seemed noone was onboard, so I sneaked on board to have a closer look. Gotta try those lounge chairs and they are comfy. I could easily see myself having a nice little cocktail party here, but where's the pool? Oh, we'll come to that. First let's check out the bar...

The bar

You probably guessed it: It has everything. Fancy chairs, ice-cold champagne, loads of bottles with a diversity of liquids with which you can mix pretty much any cocktail or drink. In the back there's the captains chair with myriads of controls and stuff... way too complicated for me. I prefer a tiller and a couple of sheets to pull.

And there's two of these

Let's go find that pool. Here's a shot from the hall in one of the hulls. It doesn't look much like the inside of a sailboat, huh. In the hall there's a couch, stereo and TV plus lots of closets for all sorts of gear. Diving gear included. Note the oxygen-bottles on the "Winter-garden" picture.

Dining area

After a few cocktails or 25 I tend to get hungry. It's a good thing this cat sports a pretty nice kitchen and dining area. I didn't check all the drawers, but I have a feeling that not much is missing here either. It looks like an italian boat. There's a whole italian ham there at the back, and on the shelf there's one of those famous round italian winebottles with "straws" on the outside.

zzzzz

In the other end of this hull there's the master bedroom. Complete with huge closets, Botticellis Venus on the wall and the other wall is one giant internetscreen. Note the clock radio on the night-table, hehe. One of the things I love about sailing is that time is not important. I'd probably throw the clock radio over board.

The other hull

Here's a shot from the hall in the other hull. Not much to see here. It looks kinda like a bathing area. I cannot identify that picture there; Dunno if it is quite as famous as the Botticelli in the master bedroom.

Moving on...

The pool

Ahh, finally: The pool. It's perhaps not the perfect pool for a cocktailparty, but its' nice and loungy nevertheless. There are huge windows with remote controlled blindfolds so you can have privacy, or you can have an ocean view if that's your thing. What you (probably) can't see is the water running from the lion in the back. It gives a soothing sound of running water, and...

The sauna

... ofcourse there's a sauna. What's better after a nice swim in the pool to sit in the sauna and get overheated whilst enjoying a cool drink and a fantastic view out those huge windows. Push a button and blindfolds appear from the top. Just in case you're in the sauna with the love of your life. Too hot for you?

Shower the people

You can always get a cold shower to calm - I mean cool - yourself down. This sorta completes the tour of this totally unreal boat; Probably the best liveaboard vehicle I ever saw in this world. The only downside is that the harbour fee is gonna be rather expensive, but then again boats are made to sail not moor.

Sunset

What's that saying? Boats are safe in the harbour, but they aren't meant to be there. Something like that. Here's me enjoying the sunset from the deck of this giant cat; Have a great weekend, and go sailing... soon. Spring is nearing. Woohoooo!

I am a sunseeker

I learned something new about my real self this past month. I am a sunseeker. Not that I feel like a mobilhome at sea. Lolz. Let me explain: This january set a really unwanted record. It was the darkest, most sunless month in 45 years. I'll just repeat that: This past january was the darkest month in 45 years!!

Sunseekers paradise

I am only glad I didn't experience the former recordholder month. Never really thought about it, but the sun seems to influence my mood quite a lot. SL to the rescue: It's called Las Islas, and it is a beautiful place. There's all sorts of stuff there, but I'll just focus on the ambiance... it's the most fantastic thing. There's little shops, secret beaches, secluded islands with hammocks, reefs, wildlife and much more... go there and see for yourself...

Yeah!

For a long time, this has been one of my favourites for relaxation and peace of mind after a stressfull workday. However, something was always missing: There was no boats, and no place to launch your own boats. So I wrote to the owners, and asked for that. Boats. Sailing. What happened? Check the picture above.

Laser sailing at ISL

That's a virtual Laser allright. I know exactly what to do with it. Click it, choose board, raise the sails and I am off to the sailing wonderland. Woohooo. This is just what I need in these dark and cold months.

Mind the reef

Las Islas is not a huge area, but there's a handfull of sims. If a sim is 256 x 256 meters thats's a fair amount of sailing area. You do the math, while I dream of having this area attached to on of the major sailing areas: The Blake Sea or the North Sea. I don't have any charts of the North Sea, so that last link is just pictures from there. And of a beautiful little boat.

See the islands

There are many islands to visit. Most of them are small and uninhabitated except for the birds and the flowers. It only takes a few minutes to get there, so you won't have a "cross pond"-experience. It's more of a daysail-thingy with loads of little places to explore. 

See the islands up close

Here's me passing one of the very small islands. In fact it's just a tiny dune sticking up of the water. Let's take an ever closer look! Maybe there's a treasure burried in the sand...

I mean real close

Hoppetihop. It's only knee-deep here. I'll need to drag the boat up the beach or it will take off and be gone. Or get stuck at the edge of the area. Or that's what I thought, hehe. Turns out the owners of Las Islas set something called autoreturn to be pretty fast. In a matter of seconds after I hopped off the Laser, it vanished into thin air. It's a good thing I can swim. (And fly ;-)

My brand new Laser, hehe...

Too bad cause the experience of island hopping sorta gets ruined when you have to go back to start each time you land... Makes sense in a way though. Wouldn't want the place to be littered with abandoned Lasers. Maybe give us a couple of minutes to explore? Still, it's a beautiful sailing area, so bear with me when I post just one more picture that speaks so much to my heart... It's just water, a tiny boat and me - and an island...

Ahh... 

Can you feel the urge? I wonder if someone is doing this for real right now... Me? I just need to get out there. Badly.

PS: Ahab made me add this PS with a link to the winter blues.