A little fishing boat

Was just out sailing; Nice trip with Daniel around the Blake Sea SE areas. When we came back I noticed this little fishing boat. Nicely moored on the west pier:

A little fishing boat

I don't think I ever saw it before. In fact fishing boats are rare in SL. It's probably because there's not a lot to catch. We do have fish though. Usually they're found around diving spots, so they aren't really meant to be caught... Anyway, the builder is pretty well known. It's Carbon Philter. I wonder if the smoke coming out of the excaust has been well filtered... Check it out while it is still moored at Tradewinds YC.

Cargo-ship or explorer

There's always something going on at Tradewinds. Yesterday, while I was tanning on my new and delicious Ushuaia, this thing was roaring about by the west-side pier.

Cargo...

Never saw it before, but it does look kinda interesting with all the boxes, cranes and what not gizmoes stuck on it. Plus the name is funny. BTW: What are those yellow spots there on the side?

... or Explorer?

In picture two there's a platform of sorts on the starboard side. It could maybe be used for launching some kind of deep sea explorer equipment. Not that we have a great deal of deep seas to explorer. I wonder wat is the deepest spot in Blake? What's the deepest spot in all oceans of SL?

Working Boat Show

There's been a huge Working Boat Show running at Tradewinds for a few weeks or so. Haven't had much time inworld lately, but I hopped in to have a look...

Working Boat Show 2015

There are all sorts of boats - small fishing boats, ferries, gunboats and whats not. Most of them are really nice builds.

The "Ahab-view"

Here's the Ahab view - taken from the top plateau of the lighthouse. Quite crowded.

west-side

While the east side seems to be reserved for the small and medium sized vessels, the west-side holds a few larger ships such as the ferry and the container-carrier.

Checking out the details

I received an email about the show closing on the 4th of december, so today is your last chance... possibly today...

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.

Containership at Tradewinds

Here's something I haven't seen before: A virtual containership. It is also - by far - the smallest containership I have ever seen in either worlds.

What's in a virtual container?

So, what's a virtual container contain? What goods need transportation? It can't be toydolls from China, and it can't be cars from Germany. So what is it? Bits and bytes needed for new land somewhere? BTW: It flies a Norwegian flag...

Nuke-plant in disguise?

I took a brief look inside and whoa! By the looks of the controls this is a nuclear plant in disguise. Who'd have guessed that? Ok, perhaps it is just a nuclear powered containership. In that case it is probably the first of its kind.

Top view

Ooops. Probably not nuclear powered after all, or else there's something burning in the kitchen. So once again, anyting's possible. Always dreamt of steering your own containership - only slightly smaller than Emma Maersk - this is it...

For other posts on amazing workboats click the category right below here, where it says workboats.

Firefighters

There's dingies, sailboats and superyachts, powerboats, coastguards, cruiseships, tankers, tugs, fishingboats, polar explorers, subs and surface warships, but this one is new to me: Firefighters.

Firefighters at sea

I suppose I should be glad I never saw one of these before.

Workboats at TYC

Virtual sailing is not just about sailboats. There's a pretty amazing work boat show at Tradewinds these days. I haven't had the time to write about it till now, but Ahab (the harbourmaster) says it'll all be gone soon, so hurry up, go see.

The poster

One of my favourites in this boat show is a very detailed fishingboat. There's so many gizmoes there, I won't mention any of them, cause then this post would never end. Looks like a trawler. I wonder what kind of fish it'll catch.

Trawler

It would seem there's not only loads of fishingboats and coastguards in SL. There are also pilots, buoy maintenance boats and tonnes of other special purpose boats. This next one is a very special hybrid, which I've never seen before - in either lives...

Trash-lounge

It's the loungy trash-boat, - or is it the trashy lounge-boat?? It's a good thing there's no virtual smell in Second Life, or I'd probaby be wearing a gasmask on this picture. There's all sorts of garbage in this one. In the back there's another sweet fishingboat.

Huge building for maintanance

Then there's this huge building for maintenance. It is not a dry-dock but at least it never rains in here. Very usefull when refitting. Note all the details with cables on the wall and stuff.

Riverboat

A little south of the building, there's a classic river boat; You know the one with that huge wheel at the back. Very nice build. It just needs a jazzband to make the picture complete. From where I stand I can see a travelift with a tug.

Travelift and tug

Talk about a heavy load. I never saw a travelift that size, but a bit of searching reveals that some travelifts can handle 150 tonnes or more. I'll admit that I didn't check who built it, but the tug looks like an Ana-thing. Can't really explain it, but Ana's builds has a certain touch...

Overview

Here's an overview of the entire thing. Lotsa stuff so see, adore or explore. Ahab even dug up some ancient builds from Balduin Aabyes Yacht Design. Just hold your breath cause many of these boats are constantly spitting out black diesel-smoke even though they are moored.

Relaxing

After all that exploring there's nothing like a little break in the sun. Ok, perhaps a beer would be nice too. A boatshow that hasn't a beer-booth is really not a true boatshow, is it? Anyway, this boat is also an Ana-thing; It's the Bandit 50, if I am not mistaken. It's a really nice and super classic cruiser in a 70-ish design.

More relaxing

Ok, maybe there are other nice ways to relax in the sun. Now, if only I could get a coffee, a cupholder and a hardcopy of that new magazine about virtual sailing...

Explore & Rescue Show

There's the Fizz Cup, the brand new virtual Nacra 17, the updated Ktaba 20 and so much more exciting stuff going on right now, when I really need to get back to RL and get ready for Xmas. However, there is also a fantastic Explore and Rescue Show at Tradewinds...

The Explore & Rescure Show

Here's me near the lighthouse, where there's a board helping you to navigate all the different Search and Rescue boats. There's also Harbourmaster Ahab's latest toy. In the back there's a pretty big coastguard vessel. Probably the biggest Coastguard vessel I've seen inworld.

Smaller coastguard

Here's a smaller Coastguard vessel. It is just arriving, finding it's place by the piers. I think it had Colin Nemeth behind the wheel. Too big for ya? You want ribs?

Ribs with guns

You name it, we got it :-) Here's a couple of ribs. There's even one with guns. I hope it is armoured like those bulletproof vests, or else it isn't much of a combat vessel. One hit anywhere, and you'd be "out of air".

Onboard rib bay

This one I kinda like. It's a true mothership with a rib in an onboard bay. The amount of details in these boats is simply amazing. I wouldn't be surprised if it's actually able to launch that rib.

A small yellow submarine

No rescue op without a sub. Here's one. It kinda reminds me of those minisubs used by Jacques Cousteau on his amazing voyages with the Callypso. 

An even smaller yellow submarine

Right across the pier is another one; Single seater. Kinda cute. These two here are yellow, Cousteau's sub was yellow, and in a few pictures down there's another yellow minisub. How come? Why must minisubs be yellow? It can't be because of that song, Yellow Submarine, can it?

Look down

Here's another strange vessel. It like a floating crane with a platform on the side for exploring the underwater world, and sure enough, there is a sunken boat down there. Wanna see it?

Sunken boat

Looks kinda new. Not like the sunken sub that is to be found elsewhere around Tradewinds. I won't tell where. There's gotta be something left to explore.

More coasties

Over on the west side of Tradewinds there are even more coasties. They seem to come in all kinds of shapes and colours. Here's three of them; The one in the back has a helipad with a helicopter just like the one seen in the air on the first picture.

Yet another yellow submarine

Then there's the Scuba Bear boat with yet another yellow submarine. Check it out and beware of the bear. He's on the bridge. Next to the Scuba Bear is this amazing vessel:

Amazing explorer vessel

This one has it all: Moonbuggy, helipad with helicopter, powerful rib, a crane pluse loads of space below deck; There's even another helicopter on board, hidden inside. It's not unlike the one I flew almost a year ago. There's also a Christmas Quest... Go see what it is...

View from a bridge

Finally there's a view over Tradewinds from the bridge of that big coastguard vessel. It's pretty obvious that there's loads of boats to see, and I haven't even mentioned there's an entire area dedicated to planes and helicopters. Nuff said; Go see for yourself... I'll go sail the virtual Nacra 17.

In the darkness

Strange things happen at night in SL. This was actually a quiet night at Tradewinds, and I was really there to do some testing. Then I heard a strange sound and looked out the window.

Maybe those windows needs cleaning?

What I saw was a fishing boat, probably a whaler of sorts. He just came in the harbour, and he was motoring about to find a good mooring spot.

Moored for a coffee?

I instantly popped over to Balduins to get a mooring shot. Looks like he could run aground in here. Zoomed in a bit to ge a better view of details. Never saw a boat like this in SL.

Details

He moored like for a coffee, and then he went off again. Just like that. Wonder what that was all about, and what's there to catch?

Take off

Never really did catch the skippers name, so this is probably the last I'll ever hear of this lil fisher. Too bad really. I caught a few glimpses of the inside through an open door. It looked like a living room in there.

Bye...

Anyways, I gazed at the fishing boat disappearing into the starlight of the nigth and decided, it was sleep time for me. Hopefully he is in another timezone, so he won't have to sail all night to get home, or maybe thats just what he is here to do? You never know.

Size matters

Yesterday I was out sailing, minding my own business with a brand new and exciting update of the Bolero; More on that later. All was good until I received a call from Zim, my motorhead friend. He was heading up to Tradewinds YC in a huge tanker, and he wanted me to see it. So I did, and here it is...

Zimzalabim and his tanker heading north...

Zim heading north, just out of the Blake Sea. The ship is heading N, so the Blake is SSE on the photo. It is a big ship. It actually looks taller than Spyglass, the island on the right side of the photo. And the space... The bridge is decorated like a living room. Office desk, charts all over the walls, millions of don't touch knobs and gizmos, kitchen, a big and comfy couch and what not.

Captain on the bridge; Note the balloon in the back; We're up...

Down below there are cabins decorated like luxury cruise cabins with huge beds, office desks, internet, art on the walls and a fabulous view over the ocean. Couldn't really take the time to photograph it. The waters are pretty shallow, and Zim didn't know he local waters very well. That's why my arm says go to port here.

Look, a DC3!

Here we are again... crossing the raceline south of Tradewinds. And what's that above us? Looks like a genuine DC3. He didn't radio us, but later I discovered, I actually know the pilot. I sent him the picture. Now, Tradewinds YC is just around the corner, and look who's there...

Liv's looking pretty worried here...

It's "Little Liv", the commodore of TYC. Can u see the little dot with red hair? She looks kinda worried. Ok, we didn't hit the lighthouse, but we did run aground right off the lighthouse. Sat there for a while, while Zim tried to get us free. He finally succeeded, so anchor out. Ofcourse we invited Liv to have a look. She was still kinda shaky going "you guys remember to move this before u leave" again and again, hihi.

I can understand why. It is a huge ship. Lotsa noise, lotsa excaust, lotsa cpu power - to get a bit technical. It is probably the biggest functioning ship I've ever seen in SL. Had it been at the Working Boat Show, there would have been little space left for all the other boats. But you know what they say... The difference between boys and men? It's the price of their toys. Still with me guys? Did I leave u hanging long enough? Ok, so size does matter, but it isn't everything. It seems this boat was a bit too big for Tradewinds. When u've tried upsizing and done downsizing, eventually you will reach the level of rightsizing. Let's leave it there; I just wonder what Zim will bring next to top this.

Virtual Callypso

Just back from a rainy sailing holiday. Yuck. I logged in to sunny Tradewinds Yachtclub to see what's been going on. Ok, so they found a winner of the ACA 2011. Congrats. Details on metaversesailing. Talked to Bea about the new ACA boat version 3.1. Much improved it seems. More on that later.

Tradewinds is running a powerboat show, and I will shoot a few pics from that later, but what did I see, when I logged in?? I saw an almost mythical ship, and here it is:

The mythical ship at Tradewinds

It is of course Jacques Cousteau's Callypso. I've said it before. The creativity in Second Life never stops to amaze me. Look at all the details.

Details, details, details...

It is a faithfull replica of the ship, complete with the helicopter, zodiacs, and the little sub. Yup, it's all there. Amazing to walk around on this ship, which - I suppose - most people have seen on TV.

Here's another view. I also sat in the heli, but I didn't know the commands to fly it. Kudos to Jacques for his amazing work for the ocean and its inhabitants, and what a beautiful build by Sweecahcahche Ah. Hope I got the name right. The rainy holiday? Someone asked me to share a few pics. Not sure it fits this sailing blog though. Will think about it.

Working boat show

Tradewinds at it again. Last time there was a show on, it was about seaplanes. This time is is about working boats. How they do it is a mystery to me, but somehow Tasha manages to find the most amazing boats all over SL.

Old timers at the working boat show.

They are all there... Cutters, trawlers, ferrys, tankers, rescue boats, sand-pumpers, tugboats and what-nuts in old timer style with sails, and in modern design with diesel engines. Speaking of diesel, it seems sails are on the verge of becoming modern style again in this poluted world. Maersk is focusing on the diesel consumption; Mostly talk atm. Others are not just talking. Have a look at Skysails. One day they will go by sail again.

Tankers, fisherboats, cranes, rescue boats...

I know other companies are experimenting with sails or commercial ships. Kinda strange thought; But nice. One boat type that was not represented was cruise ships. Neither engine powered or sail driven. Yes, cruising around the world by sail is possible. Check this link. So why can't I get a ticket to cross the channel like that?

Tugboats, fisherboats and more...

One day I will be able to do that. I am sure. It might take an hour more, maybe two, but really... if it does not burn any fuel, wouldn't that make the bill smaller? No polution and smaller bills? Sounds almost too good to be true, but I so wanna believe in it.