Happy New Year

Happy New Year

I wish you all happy sailing in the new year

(Merry Christmas to those who missed the Christmas post)

The Premium Boat

There's been quite a lot of hype about a Linden sponsored premium gift boat. Me, I've been wondering why the Lindens would create what appears to be a sort of channel conflict. It turns out they didn't. Here's why, but first, - let's have a look.

Premium boat at Tradewinds

It's the one in the foreground. It looks a little like a 12mR. Not overly detailed, but nice from a distance. The hull shape is probably the best part, though the bow looks a little weird from this angle. The keel isn't bad, but it isn't good either. The keel front-edge is shaped a little strange, but hey... you can't see that while sailing. Then there's the mast...

Premium boat mast

It's hardly tall enough for a boat this size. The spreaders are placed way too high. Sadly this is a common mistake among SL boatbuilders. Shrouds? They completely left out the lower shrouds, but where would they go with this spreader configuration anyway? Realistically, a boat this size would have at least two sets of spreaders. Another thing is the front stay. It would never attach to the tip of the bow like that.

Me wondering

The sailing? I suppose it's ok. There is a nicely done hud. It's just that... I like to see the boat and the ocean while I sail. I don't like huds. Sailing should be an intuitive experience of the forces of nature. It is not about staring at instruments. Oh, and the jib can't be trimmed. At all. Where-ever I point the boat the jib is securely fastened as if I was on a tight beat. The jib shape is a little strange too. The main moves, but the sail is flat like a pancake, so don't look up.

Real Premium Boat

Obviously, this boat won't compete with the exisiting virtual sailboats on the market. It's not really a premium boat. It's merely  this month give away for premium accounts. So does it serve a purpose? It might make non sailors curious. It might make them go look for more, better boats. In that sense it is a good boat, but as a sailor... I'd choose a real Premium boat such as the one shown above. It's the RM20 from ReneMarine. That's a real yacht.

More details on the Linden Premium give-away boat at the Tradewinds website. Mind you, there are other boats that are a million times more fun, such as the Fries Yacht, the Hepcat, the Q-Scow, the Cotton Blossom, the Fizz et cetera, et c...

Merry Christmas

Hey Sailor!!

I just wanted to say Merry Christmas...

So here goes... To all Tradewinders, bloggers, sailors, friends and family:

I wish you a Merry Christmas and a happy New Year with lotsa sailing.

... and now you'll excuse me, it's a little cold out here, and I have things to do inside. 

Boatshow at Tradewinds

Overwhelmed by all the Xmas stuff? Tired of hot red wine with nuts and raisins? Need something entirely different and refreshing? There's a boatshow running at Tradewinds!

Boatshow at Tradewinds YC

There are several interesting things to see. ReneMarines beatiful RM20 is there. The lovely new minischouw is there too.

Closeup

To the right in this picture you see the Linden Premium handout, and in the center you see Qyvs new 2.4mR; I guess it's Tasha messing with Xmas gift wrapping on the table. Be back with details on several of these boats.

More on boatshows at Tradewinds YC.

The Fries Yacht

The mini schouw is a cute little thing. It may not have the looks of a tall and sleek classic racer, but it has a high cuteness factor. Honestly, it doesn't really look speedy, right. Well, reality is different. Last week I saw the Fries Yacht "speeding" around Tradewinds. When Jet asked if I wanted to try it, I had no second thoughts. Yesss!

All aboard

So here we are. Me admiring the Fries Yacht, and Jet talking about all the wonders I will experience in a few minutes. Now, I like Jet, but too much sales talk usually make me go on stand by. However, just looking at the details of the boat kept me awake. It's that beautiful.

Motoring

We had to motor a little, because someone was fishing inside the marina. Strange idea. Maybe we need those signs from RL: "No fishing in the marina". Anyway, that gave me time to study the onboard instruments. Lotsa little buttons there.

Sails up!

Sails up, and whooohooo... If I had expected this thing to be kinda sluggish, I was sooo wrong. It does not sail like a dull fat bottomed keeler. At all. The sounds were very enticing as we heeled over and accellerated, much like a Wayfarer or even faster. Not that a Wayfarer is considered fast these days. 

Speedy little critter

Here we are going full speed ahead. It feels great. I mean... the feel is great. It's moving, sounding and behaving - in so many ways - like a real boat. It is not a Tako, not a Bwind, it's... is it Superman? No, it's a  ReneMarine boat, and it's wonderfull.

Instruments

It wants so much to be a real boat. Check the instruments. These aren't meant for mooring. They're clearly made for racing. Jet insisted on all the little buttons actually working. Not sure I tried them all, but the ones I did try, they clearly had an effect. On the display.

Downwind

There's no keel. Stability is built in. The sideboards prevent sidetracking, and they seem to work by themselves. Automagically. What's left for us to do is steering and trimming. Dunno how these boats are sailed in RL, but I suppose a little balancing would be in place at times.

Reaching

Never mind that. There's luffing sails, a vane at the top of the mast, and I am sure I can push a button to get a compass on the instrument. But the best part is this: She sails like a dream. Simple as that. I don't know what Rene put inside this boat, but it feels so alive. It almost carves around a mark. On top of that it is very responsive, so you feel totally in control. It sure is virtual sailing.

ahh... beers out.

That's not to say it wont do cruising. It absolutely will, and you can even let your friends steer it, while you grab a beer, relax and get some tan. That feature wasn't quite finished yet. The steering part I mean. I tried it. It worked for a little while.

...and then some relaxing

So how do I feel about the mini schouw... aka "The Fries Yacht"? It's a strange mixed feeling. The boat itself is beautifully made. The boat type does not excactly have the appearance of a sexy race boat. Nevertheless, it sails so well I would not be surprised to see an active racing fleet. The sailing engine from ReneMarine is to blame for that. It's fantastic. Is it a fun boat to sail? Definately. Is it one of those boats you just gotta have? Absolutely. Once you've sailed it, you will love that feel and want more. Thanx Jet. I had a great time.

Incidentally, one of my first posts showed a ReneMarine Zeeschouw.

Something strange and beautiful

I was out Fizzin. Just a short sail to test stuff, when all of a sudden I heard the sound of boats sailing, and these  two cuties started circling around me.

Rene and Jet in the background

It was Rene and Jet out testing their latest creation, a mini-schouw. They looked so cute I almost wanted to pet them like a little dog.

Closing in

Rene and Jet are cute too, but I really meant the boats. Above you see one of them coming closer. Pretty fast little critters. A little too fast actually, but these are test versions. Rene told me, the release version will be a little slower.

Ooops. Almost too close.

In this shot it's almost too close; Whoa, it's pretty. It's a good thing I am using a mesh viewer, or the boat would look like a brick or something.

Lovely

Here's a shot of the boat with sails down and Rene on board. It's an absolutely lovely little boat, and it appears to sail really well. More details in a future post.

Miwha Masala wins Fizz Cup 2011

The Fizz Cup 2011 finals took place on the 10th and the 11th of december. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to be there, so no action pictures. Sorry bout that. However, I am told the Fizz Cup 2011 finals offered good sailing. The videos on slsailing.co seem to confirm that, - plus there's a few interesting situations to discuss ;-)

Miwha Masala won the cup with four firsts and two thirds in the six final races. Very nice and very stable sailing Miwha. Congrats. Detailed result in the table below.

A huge WOOT to all the clubs, helpers, RDs, judges, sailors, organizers and Bea for making it all happen. The Fizz Cup 2011 has been a fantastic voyage. Thanx. SL sailing will be so strange and quiet now, but new cups are already underway.

More about the Fizz Cup 2011.