Night Sailing with the Ushuaia

I love night sailing. It is different from day sailing in so many ways. Sailing in the dark does something, - plays with your mind, - sharpens all senses. You pick up sea-scents that you'd never notice at day time. You hear sounds that seem to be there only at night. You feel more... and you have to, cause you can't see a thing. It's kinda like switching from brain-control to heart-control...

Sailing into the dark

So I thought I'd take my new and shiny Ushuaia for a trip in the dark. Just to get to know her... See how she compares to both old and newer favourites. See if I can "feel the force". I was in for a nice surprise. Not that she's easier to sail in the dark, but she does sail pretty well just by the feeling. No staring at screens. No weird hiccups. Everything works as you'd expect from a real boat, and that's what I like. Let's call it "natural sailing".

Light ahead!

The night sailing experience itself in SL is pretty good. I mean, it is dark and there are differents sounds everywhere. The sea-scents we'll have to do without. For now. However, there are plenty of lights to sail by. Nav buoy lights. There are quite a few lighthouses too - spread all over the grid. A little too many of these are really just there for decoration. They look nice, but they don't really serve a purpose.

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This one here is the all time classic Sharp-Tooth-Isle, which I have rounded in more virtual boats that I care to count. The Viking Long Boat Roar Ege being one of them. As you can see - it's quite dark here; The moon was hiding behind clouds, but a few nautical  miles down the road I had a beautiful moonlit night.

Moonshadows

That turned out to be very useful (the moonlight) as I went inshore through a couple of small islands with no nav buoys at all. Very interesting. Unmarked reefs to the east, big island to the west. Boats, piers and tiny islands inbetween. Way too busy to take pictures. Especially as I was going upwind and the Ushuaia has quite an aggressive weather helm. Not a complaint! Just taking a note. I suppose the hull shape would give a weather helm in RL too. It's pretty much a scaled down version of the VO65, and that has weather helm. I'd be happy to be able to trim some of this away though.

Open sea again

As mentioned the virtual seas are full of meaningless lighthouses, whereas there is (still) a lack of meaningfull nav buoys. Some areas are better than others. The North Sea has a few correct buoys indicating shallow waters and stuff. The Blake sea is a bit too littered with stuff that lights up for no apparent reason. Perhaps it is time to tidy up and possibly upgrade, Mr. Blake? For instance, there's a map giver that sends out more light than the entire pool of nav buoys in that same area. Pretty ugly actually. Dunno why it has to be so shiny... 

Two nav buoys

Here are two nav buoys. Click the image to them better. There's really no reason why they are just there, but they do look nice. The white one resembles a traffic separation thingy. It sits north of an island!!? Maybe to split up traffic on either side? The red one is just - ehm - there. Well, and you can't sail much east of it. So maybe it's just the wrong buoy at the right place?? Or - it is really a red - marking the portside of a path..? Could be...

Another two

Here's another two... The blinking red is just a pointer of sorts. The triangular one on the right is a startline buoy - not lit at night. Luckily it is a balloon type of buoy so no damage is done if you hit it. By the way, - note how much my boat heels over. The Ushuaia and the VO65ers are meant to be sailed like this. It's in their DNA... or at least in their hull-design. It isn't meant to be sailed flat. It's meant to go max speed while floating on it's edge. A family boat? Maybe, but the kids legos will pretty much fly around in the cabin as if in outer space.

Land ahead!

Here's the small island east of Tradewinds YC. It's a nice view, but the island is completely unmarked. I suppose there is no need for that as there are no reefs surrounding it, but a tiny flash on a stick would have added just a tad of finishing touch. On a dark stormy night that piece of rock would have been as invisible as the now famous reef in the Indian Ocean. Incidentally, I recently heard from one of the danish sailors that it was in fact pitch dark when they hit it.

Beautiful night

If only the moon had been out they'd have seen it - well not the reef but the island right behind it. Moonlight can be rather strong out there. When the moon is the only source of light - at all - it can pretty much light it all up. Check out this shot, which I kinda like. Zoom in and note the faint yellow light in the back. It's actually marking shallow waters, so there's one meaningful buoy. Except it should have been a South marker. Oh, I wish we had better marks and better charts... 

Going home

... and here's another one... The Tradewinds Lighthouse overlooks 270 degrees of open water. It's well placed there. It could have been a sector light. Being green in the 270 waterish directions and red in the last 90. I suppose Tasha want to keep it as close to the real thing; The smaller red light is actually on the other side marking the entrance to the west side marina. Could be sectored as well. Well, better get back at my mooring spot in time for a morning coffee.

Morning

Ahh... I just love the morning at Tradewinds; It only gets better with a freshly squeezed espresso. Yummy. So how was it then..? I love it. The boat seems fast and responsive, and it doesn't act up in unspected ways. It's really smooth on a downwind, whereas upwind requires a bit more attention due to the weather helm. Perhaps cruisers will find it a bit tedious. I almost did, but then again a boat like this would rarely sail on a straight line by itself. The trimming? Supereasy. There are lamps indicating trim and there are luffing sounds and telltails. Doesn't get much better. Well, perhaps there should be an automated fender function. I just realize that I sailed around with fenders out. Duuuh. And there are no decent nav lights. The light command turns on engine light plus starboard and port side, but there's no rear light. Unsuited for night sailing! Anyways, I had a great time sailing the Ushuaia. Will take her out for a dayspin anytime soon... Unless 1st Life calls for some real sailing. 26C and 5 meters from east. Sounds like summer... Cheers...

Night sailing

Few things are as immersive as night sailing. That goes for sailing in RL, but it also goes for SL sailing. There are differences though. Virtual nightsailing it is not as inherently dangerous; Which is good because the buoys, markers and lighthouses in SL only make sense on rare occasions. At night it is even worse. Most virtual lighthouses just send out a white blink. There's usually (if ever) no zones indicating safe waters or anything. It seems these are called sector lights; We call them zone lights.

Night sailing

The lighthouses and the buoys really deserve a separate post. They are closely linked to the missing charts of the virtual oceans. Luckily the virtual GPS - or rather the virtual electronic chart if you like - works great and just like you'd expect. Here's me and Dutch sailing the Cafe Del Mar in the beautiful virtual moonlight. I was in the passenger seat, so I am not quite sure, where we are, but it is somewhere south of Tradewinds.

Coastal

The wind was medium strong, but we were inshore so the waves were not too bad. The wave simulation is not described in the manual, so I cannot comment upon it. It's nice, but I dunno what to expect as BWind boats have no concept of wave simulation. Let's stay with nice. The boat tosses around and you get the impression that there are waves. In any case the Cafe Del Mar seemed to like inshore sailing. I was getting kinda sleepy from all those small rolls and the lovely sounds from the bow wake.

Dutch at the helm

Here's Dutch at the helm of his latest toy. Note that Dutch is so cool he has to wear shades even at night. Anyway. I suspect this is the one boat he likes the most; While I absolutely love the VO65, I gotta admit the Cafe Del Mar is a very nice cruiser. First of all it sails very nicely. It feels like a racer, not like a cruiser. The accelleration is good, and the rudder is very responsive. In fact it feels almost as the VO65, which is no coincidence, since it is sort of a touring version of a VO65.

Relaxation

Ok, it doesn't look much like a VO65, and I'll admit that at first I hated that boathouse he put on top of the deck. However, once you come to terms with the rooftop design, the hull itself has very nice and modern lines. And is it complicated to sail? No, it's supereasy and intuitive. As already mentioned, this boat is easy on the rudder and very lively. Almost like a dinghy. No need for huds and numbercrunching. Sail by feel. I love it. It works great - even on this rather big 75 foot yacht.

Sunup

Here's a shot of those lines. Looks like sunup. We must have changed course. Yes, even in the virtual world the sun comes up in the east. Sunup is coffeetime. Hehe. It's a good thing we're on a Cafe Del Mar. There's loads of stuff inside, and almost all the little gizmoes work. There is also a coffeemaker. Didn't see a watermaker, but then again I didn't look for it either.

Gizmoes inside

Here's a peek at those gizmoes inside. Besides the coffeemaker, there's a shower, a couch and a table plus a huge bed in the bow. And you can sail the boat from that panel right inside the cabing. It's great for foul weather even though this boat clearly is meant for easy sailing and easy onboard living. Yes, you can race the Cafe Del Mar, but no... it's not really meant for that. Still, - note the telltails. They work, but they are positioned somewhat strangely. For instance I cannot see the headsail telltails while steering.

Blue water cruising

This is what the Cafe Del Mar is really meant for. Yes, you wanna click this picture and fullscreen it. It's virtual cruising. Blue water cruising even. At least in SL. It would need more long distance cruising gear to cross the pond in real life, but it sure is big enough. Size matters differently in SL. I sailed around the new Seychelles in SL in this, and for that it is too big. I'd much rather be Fizzin around those islands.

Blake Sea cruising

For Blake Sea cruising it doesn't get much better than this. If you are looking for a cruiser that is more than a daycruiser, the Cafe Del Mar is a step up from earlier times. I know I've been looking for a boat that sorta supported virtual on board living. There are others, but the Cafe Del Mar takes it to the next level. It sails nice, it looks nice and you won't get claustrophobia from staying on board over the weekend. Even if you bring a few friends, there's enough space.

More nightsailing here.
More liveaboard here and here.

Naked Night Swim

I always thought night sailing was a very special experience. Tried it quite a few times in RL; Both racing and cruising. So, I wanted to see if the ambiance of a night sail can be replicated in SL. I checked the weather forecast, chose my most relaxing boat, the Bolero, and off I went... 

Trying to capture that special night ambience...

The essence of a beautiful night cruise is the silence, the darkness of the sea, and the huge twinkling bubble above. It is the perfect reminder of how small we are. The navigation by light houses and bouys raises your awareness, as you need to be just a bit more sharp on the navigation. 

Me cruising at night, looking for a spot...

This raised awareness extends into your entire body. The scent of coffee gets more intense. The digestives taste better. Peace and love fill your heart. However, in SL navigation is a bit different. We do not have navigational charts; We see the bouys and all the lighthouses, but sadly they aren't plotted on the map.

Let's go for a swim

One thing that is really great in SL is, that it can be a hot summer night, - every night. After a night cruise, nothing is better than a swim at sunrise. Sails down, anchor out, kettle on, clothes off and splash... Get right in. My watch tells me it's just above 21 degrees C; That's roughly 70 degrees F.

Skinny dipping, standing on my toes.

Ahh, and there is no need to wear a bikini, because there is no one around. Perfect opportunity for skinny dipping. If this isn't relaxing I dunno what is. The everyday treadmill is far far away it seems. Uh, thats the kettle whistleling... Lets get up and have a hot coffee and yet another Digestive, and then...

A little nap before sailing home.

Down below for a nap; I will probably wake up in a few hours, when the sun heats up the boat. Then it is sails up and back home before lunch. So, what do you think? Is it unreal? I know I did this in RL with a few beers and a few friends. To me it looks almost too real to be true. The feeling, the ambiance, the relaxing mindset, - it's all there. You can definately enjoy night sailing in SL, and perhaps it could even set the scene for romance... Now, where do I click to get a blanket?

Psst! The sailing in SL is keeps getting and better with new boats such as the Q-2m, the IOD and the Bolero.