A cruising device

Never much liked engine powered boats. That's not a big surprise. Also, I never really gave a lot of thought to engine powered canoes. That changed yesterday, when Manul sent me a three seater electrical canoe:

Electrical canoe

My first thought was - ehm - not worth repeating here. However, I did spend some RL time canoing the local streams, arms falling off after hours of upstream paddling. Canoing can be nice. I also saw a canoe with an electrical outboard engine.

The engine

It was - ofcourse - operated by a (rather cute) guy. I smiled intensely as he passed by, but he didn't offer me a ride. We met later that same day. Hehe. He was out to take his wife, kid and mother in law for a picnic on the lake.

Humming about

Anyway, I gave the canoe a shot, and it is super nice. Very relaxing with a nice canoing sound. There's only a quiet hum from the engine. It is stable and straight forward to sail. Good for cuising and exploring while chatting and having a sandwich; Huge battery under the seat, and it virtually never weares out.

The camping canoe

But wait... there's more...It comes with a tent. Not a big one, but you can just about squeeze two people in there. I suppose after one night like that there are two options. Either you're in love, or you'll never see each other again...

Lights out

Here's me totally relaxed in the tiny tent. Strangely, there is no light. Would be nice with a cozy little light in there. After all the battery is huge. I'd like to see a solar charger add on. Just in case. Would make it a totally ecological vessel.

Nice one

So, it is a sweet little thingie. Very nicely made. Lotsa good details. Quiet, easy to sail and with a sleep over option. Add to that no maintenance and six plus knots. Not sure how long the battery will last at that speed though. Which reminds me: There's no emergency paddle on board, so I hope there's enough power to make it home from here. All I need now is a river in a jungle and a lake with an island. And maybe Manul in the drivers seat...

Depressed sailors haiku

Strong winds on the bay

Still inside I choose to stay

It's a rainy day 

Boats shiver and rock

Kinda like sheep in their flock

Drip says the windsock

Marina looks dead

Golfing pops up in my head

Alert flashes red

Walking home all wet

My mind made up, I am set

to take the next jet

Down south to the sun

Warm waters and sailing fun

sailor on the run

...

It's friday

Finally friday. What am I to do? The RL weather isn't excactly fantastic. What to do, what to do? Maybe just spend some time unwinding?

The unwinding

Hmm. Booring. Then what? I guess I could use some excersize; Let's call it warmup. It's summer, but it's still  so cold I need to warm up. I bet all you office people out there could do with a little excersize too; No need to do a marathon, but standing in the rain, lifting buckets of cold water is so much like sheeting in and out, hehe. It has to be cold; Lift it ten times and pour it over your head to get that sailing sensation...

The excersize

No? Then, maybe some meditation. Ready? Sit and ask yourself: Do I sail enough; Repeat that a hundred times. Like a mantra. Yes, a hundred... Close your eyes; See that dream boat chopping through those waves! See that island in the distance... Go on... I'll wait and do likewise: Do I sail enough, do I sail enough, do I sail enough... 

The meditate

You're back? That was fast. Did you do a hundred? Next up is a stretch... The doctor always recommends stretching. Take a good, long one, and clear your mind. It might help if you imagine you're sitting in my chair here, looking at the ocean...

Stretch and relax

When you're done, you should feel totally relaxed and ready to answer the question you just meditated over. I know what my answer is. Well, I kinda knew that beforehand. What's yours? Feel ready for the weekend? Know what you wanna do? Know what you must do?

The water

It's got to do with water, right? Lots of water. Not water from above. The other kind of water. Not the grey, cold stuff with penguins. Oh no! It's about the blue water, or even better: The turquise water. That's what we like. Champagne conditions...

The necklace

Shooting the turquise water shot, made me remember something from my todo list. I kinda promised JP a picture with water, palms and a necklace; In the comments. In this post here; So, - here it is. JP. I hope you like it.

The yeah!

Have a great sailing weekend. I know I will... one way or another...

Complicated

I just sat here, thinking how complicated a sail simulator really is; First there is wind. It has a general direction and force. Then there's the shifts. Shifts are puffs and lulls, lifts and headers moving down the course with a certain rythm. Any two boats experiene different wind unless they sail close together, and if they do, they will generate shadowing and bending. On top of that, there's local wind variations due to geography.

A good thinking spot

Then there's the waves. Waves vary in height and distance, and they travel. Just like the wind, the waves have a direction and a speed; Boat A and B meets the same wave at different positions, and if the depth is different, then the wave will be different in length, height and force. Waves typically become smaller on the lee side of an island. On top of that the waves attack the boat differently based on their direction relative to the boat direction. Waves from the bow are choppy. Waves from aft come slower and make you surf. Waves from the side make you roll.

The view from another good thinking spot

Currents add to the fun too. The current also has a speed and a direction. Both may vary. Typically the speed varies with the depth, and the direction changes with local underwater geography. The current may also vary in both direction and strength over time, - as the wind changes, or the moon generates tide.

A good sailing spot

All these things make racing more fun and more challenging, and guess what... all these things are actually in the WWC system. It is really a wind, wave and current simulator in itself. The WWC receiver and interpreter provide all the data needed to make a boat sail under all the above mentioned conditions. I guess that's why I love the Flying Fizz... It acts like a boat, and it has a sailing engine with full support for all the WWC features. Just add seaspray and you're virtually out there...

Girls like flowers

I suppose everybody knows statistics can't be trusted. Mark Twain certainly knew. I usually put statistics in yet another category: Booring. A blog changes that. The visitor statistics show all kinds of useless and untrustworthy information about the visitors, but there is also bits and pieces that can be fun.

Dazing...

The stats show what people have searched for in order to get here. Yesterday a bunch of people landed here on my little blog from google by searching for "do girls like virtual flowers". Can you believe it? What kinda question is that... I mean flowers are flowers; I thought I'd try to answer the question with a simple post.

A little greenhouse

You are looking at it. I set out to find some nice and natural looking flowery spots suited for a picture or two. It didn't take long, but then I kinda knew where I was going before I left.

Lotsa flowers

There's quite a few pretty spots in this virtual world. Virtual sailing is great, but where would it be without all the other people; Those who create islands, villages, marinas, boat yards, skyscrapers and gardens? Sailing isn't the only thing in here. Architects and gardeners are having loads of fun too.

Even more flowers

Back to the question: The answer is - ofcourse - yes. Girls do like virtual flowers. Absolutely. Virtual girls also like real flowers and vice versa. Virtual or not they have the same effect. They touch the heart. So there's the answer for you guys out there...

Sailing the virtual waters of SL is great fun, because the boats are good, and the racing is good. But let's not forget the beautiful scenery in the Blake Sea and the North Sea. There is always a new island to explore.

PS: As usual the pics deserve full screen viewing. At least if you like flowers; More flowery shots here.

Floating home

A few weeks ago, I saw a very nice floating home at Tradewinds. Actually, it was moored by the east pier of Balduin Aabyes Boat Yard. It's gone now; It was probably part of the boat show, though it really didn't look much like a boat. Still, it was not just a house on a raft.

Floating home

See? Almost a floating house with a targa top. Sort of. There's lots of stuff inside, and on the sun deck, there's a steering wheel with a dashboard, a lounge area and a bar. The only thing missing on the sun deck is a pool...

Sun deck

Inside you'll find whatever you need to support modern life. All very nicely made. The only thing missing on the inside is maybe an office with a computer and a good uplink.

Kitchen

The kitchen looks pretty much like a kitchen at home; It is not a galley at all. You could make any kind of food here. The bath is pretty complete too. Very detailed.

Bath

It is kinda funny to note how some people put in a fully featured bathroom. I guess it is for completeness. I like to wash of the salt after a swim; It is also nice to wash off the sand from the dunes at TYC. Other builders they seem to leave out bathrooms because - lets face it - virtual people rarely wash or brush their teeth.

Bedroom

Bedrooms are never left out. People may not wash, brush or pee, but they most definately log in to fall asleep. Hey listen, - I woke up after having this weird dream, and I had keyboard marks on my forehead!! Can you believe it? Hehe...

Back porch

Anyway... At the back end there's a porch. I suppose the box is filled with chairs and parasols. Stairs leading to the sun deck and the bar of course.

Nice one

So... what do you think!? My response to the salesperson would be: I like it, and I don't like it. It is nice because it feels very much like a real home, but perhaps it is a bit too much house and a bit too little boat for my taste. I like boats to be a bit more boatly, - even floating homes. As a houseboat this is no doubts a very good buy. My preferred liveaboard? It is shown in this post here. It is a boat made into a house, not a house made into a boat... see the difference?

Weekend quiz

It's quiz time again. Yesterday, when I logged in to check my messages, I found the most amazing boat; It is probably the most fresh, fancy, up to date, modern design boat I have ever seen in the virtual waters of SL. Just have a look:

Probably the most modern boat I ever saw in SL

It is not very big. I'd say around 12 meters overall. Obviously a very modern design, - that includes the  keel. It is not extremely wide bodied, as can be seen on this next shot. Two steering wheels for optimum steering, sitting on the side, but... they are moderately sized and not far apart.

Two moderate size steering wheels

Now, steering wheels are not nearly as good as a tiller. Never. It is always a practical solution made to save space. Notice how bigger racing boats begin to have tillers, lately! Most 37ft family cruisers have wheels. The DS37 Matchracer - made for racing - has a tiller, and it is amazing how you can throw 37ft around with that. You can easily wipe the foredeck clean with just by moving your hand. That's called maneuvrability.

Weekend cruiser / daysailor / racer

The boat looks racy, but since it is around 12 meters, there's enough room for crucial "life support systems" down below. No detailed photos yet. It is work in progress, but what we have here is clearly a weekend cruiser disguised as a fancy day sailor, - and with a very modern shape. I like that.

Modern hull and rigging

My first thought was Micro-Wally, but no it is not. When I say it is probably the most fancy and modern virtual boat I've seen for long, it is not entirely true. There is one other, - built by a german boat builder, and it is precisely a pocket sized Wally. Never released. You might wanna search for Wally Yacht images and see some amazing boats.

What is it then?

Back on track. If this is not a Micro-Wally, then what is it? It is definately something I want to own and sail, but that's another story. Rene tells me it is made after a real boat, so here's the weekend quiz: Does anyone know the country, designer, size and name of the vessel... anyone?