Carrier closeup

I was just out for a fun sail in my Laser, when I saw a huge shadow on the horizon. It looked kinda familiar, so I sailed closer, and sure enough...

Reckognized this

It's that carrier I saw a while back while racing the Nacra 17. This time it is moored. Looking like it's in dock for a repair or something.

Huge!

On that old photo it is only shown in the back, and it disappeared before I could get another shot; Still it seemed huge. On the pictures here, it is pretty obvious that it is indeed huge compared to a tiny Laser.

How many decks?

Here's my view from the Laser. It's massive. Impressive. Enormeous. It's really amazing what they can build. Just how many decks are there?

Send more sailors

Weekend's gone. Monday's gone too. It's so back to the chaingang. Time for a little daydream. Let's dream of fast and smooth sailing. Tacking right on top of the fleet. Those first few super-important moves right after the start. Heart pounding like crazy. Here's a pic I took last week; I call it "Send more sailors".

"Send more sailors"

I know. The Laser hasn't been launched yet. Told you it's a daydream. Just imagine twentyfive of these moored at TYC, while we're outlining the course back at the round table. Then the RD shouts "lets get out there", and twentyfive sailors rush to their boats, set sail and steer south.

Daydreaming

Right south of Tradewinds is the starting line in Siracusa. Oh the fun of having seven close races in less than two hours; Loads of tacking, luffing and room shouting, then planing downwind looking for that extra puff. While we're waiting, check Tillermans ramblings on propercourse... There's a few good points on upwind tactics. They're good no matter what boat you sail. Mmmm. I like daydreams; Especially the wet ones... how about you?

Bent into shape

More good news from the Laser-lab. A few days back I asked if anyone could spot, what was missing on the Laser. The good news is: This one thing I was referring to, whatever it was, is no longer a missing feature.

Weeeeee

Dutch was not exactly enthused by the thought of redoing the part in question. He made it sound like a very big deal, but somehow his magic worked overly well. Soon after - few hours after actually - there was a new an improved version in my mailbox. I rushed inworld to sail it.

Can you see it?

When I logged in, I got a message about a VO70 race in the North Sea, so I decided to sail from the Mango Marina. Haven't been there for ages. There was a good breeze - like 15 knots or so, so it was great fun with  plenty of planing. And the missing feature? 

Can you see it now?

Here it is in full detail, and if you cannot spot it now, you either need glasses or you've never seen a real Laser. First one to mention it in the comments I'll send a postcard. No, not you Dutch :-D

Coconut Island?

Besides the Laser itself, the sailing in the North Sea is always a pleasure. While the real North Sea is cold and windy, - the virtual North Sea is warm, friendly and full of little coconut islands like the one in the back. Yummy. Sailing "knife in teeth" is fun, but sailing "sand in toes" is nice too.

Indians in the North Sea

Here's another few islands. The one to the left has a tipi on it. Never hear of the North Sea indians, but there you go. The vikings sailed to New Foundland, so why shouldn't the indians sail the other way? Ahh, there's another feature that is now working. The centerboard now works as expected. 

Centerboard working

It actually comes up and down when you "tell it to". Pretty neat, hehe; Most importantly it makes it easier to round a mark and get planing right away. It'll start planing on a reach, so if you execute the rounding carefully, you can be planing even before you are on course to the next mark.

Hiking strap working too

There's just one more thing I'd like to mention. If you check the first pic, you can see the hiking strap holding my feet. It's bent upwards. On this shot here, I am not using the strap, and you can (just) see it hanging loose. How's that for attention to detail?

While the attention to detail is immense, the real keyword for this boat is "refreshing". I had a truly  refreshing sail with this baby in the North Sea. Refreshing as in - it felt like sailing. This boat looks so real, you automatically expect it to be like a real boat. It's almost there. I still miss a few details such as the vane on the Shelly Fizz, and there's other stuff I'd like to add. Nevertheless, I can't wait to sail it again... 

Laser action

Enough talking... Let's see some action. Here's me and Dutch racing a bit; Me pinching, trying to cover...

Pinching

Here's me, fully concentrated on getting max speed out of this thingy. The Laser is extremely lively, so it is imperative to steer and stay focused all the time...

Full speed

... Dutch is doing pretty good too. Stay focused... stay absolutely focused. No looking at the scenery. No looking back. I can hear his bow wake... is he coming closer? Stop thinking and start sailing...

Focus

Eeeek. He's got a little lift there, and maybe - just maybe - I was thinking too much instead of sailing. Hey! Ahoy there!! This here is just about close enough.

That's close enough pal

Ok, so he got away. After all he built this baby, so he should know it better. Not an excuse. Just an explanation, teehee. Nah, I kinda lost focus in sheer excitement over this boat.

Hey! That's far enough pal...

However, there's no reason to give up. Never. never give up. There is always an option to win it back. Something will happen. A lift, a shift, he will make a mistake, a huge bird will land on his boat and drag it down - something will happen... just wait for it.

Working hard, hiking hard

My turn to get a lift. See... The gab is closing; Just a few more minutes of hard hiking and...

Weeeee!

Yes, - I am back on top. This is an absolutely amazing boat... and it isn't even done yet. I am not sure I can possibly imagine how great this will be once finished. This will raise the barre. Virtual sailing in SL will never be the same again.

Still a few details are missing. We already covered the continous sheet loop and the missing traveller in the comments here. I covered the non-carbon blocks in this post. It is not the centerboard, because it is already working. Well, it is sorta working, but only when it wants to. What's left? I wonder if anyone can spot it...

Just under 14 feet of fun

So here's a question: If a sixtyfive footer is great fun, does that mean a fourteen footer is like four times less fun? Thirteen foot and nine inches to be precise:

Easy take off

Dutch has been fiddling with a Laser for some time. It really begins to look like a winner. Last night was my first time sailing it, and here we are. Taking off from Tradewinds. Taking it easy.

Looking good

It does look rather nice, don't you think. Now it isn't just looks; There's brains too. It actually sails. Woohooo. Depending on how you handle the rudder and the sheet, that is...

Into the Big Blue Hawaiian

What's the name of that blue drink? I have a faint memory of something called an "Icebear", but since these waters aren't icy, I'll go with the "Blue Hawaiian. It's sounds warmer, and it's sweeter too. Wonder where Dutch went;

Back up again

Diving for something that wasn't securely attached? Anyway, we got it back up on it's feet again; It's a good thing the sun is out, cause I wasn't exactly wearing a swimsuit. However, the winds are nice and warm in Siracusa. Easy to dry.

A room with a view

We sailed on, and I just sat there and enjoyed the view; Completely taken by this amazing boat. It looks absolutely stunning, and the sailing is very good too. It is as if all the experience from the VO70, the VO65 and the Nacra17 is going into this. Which is probably the truth ;-)

To be continued..

65 feet of fun

This is just me out having some good old fashioned fun. Sixtyfive feet of fast and furious fun. Yay! So is it the size that matters? Actually no! It's the agility. It's the way it moves. This baby tosses and turns like no other boat. It is such a salty snack.

Entering the Blake Sea

Too much work and too much ice in RL! Gaaah. Sometimes I just need a good load of fresh and salty wind in my hair. I wouldn't mind a few sunrays either. So I browsed through my boats and something made me stop at the VO65. Clickety-click and it's moored right there beside me. Whoa, it is big.

Sharp-tooth isle in sunlight

It's huge actually, - and it so wants me to sit on it and just sail away. So I hopped on, raised sails, and set a south-westerly course. Only minutes after that I turned 90 degrees, and weeee! Found a good rythm: Got  soaking wet while tacking towards the Blake Sea. That's when I realized I haven't blogged much about the VO65er. Very little in fact. Since the 65er came out right after the VO70, the VO70 kinda got all the attention. That's not entirely fair. Especially since the 65er is better.

Fastnet Rock and seaspray

In fact the VO65 is all the VO70 is plus more. More features, more fun and more details. Besides, it sails like a dream. It is so agile and lively. You absolutely must stay focused every single second, - or you loose control. It turns so fast you can swing it around almost instantly. Kinda like the DS37 Matchracer.

Heading for Siracusa

It's a real pity there aren't any regular class boat races with this boat. It's truly flying. That's one of the few downsides of this boat. It is almost too fast for the virtual oceans, or the virtual oceans are too small for the VO65. Just like the Nacra 17. Same builder, same "flaws", hehe. Speaking about flaws... While this boat looks like a racer and sails like a racer, there is really no concept of currents and wave simulations, so old salts will probably find it a little dull in the long run. Too bad... boats like these are made for long runs, but with no local windshifts and other variations it's not really much fun to find the optimum route. This boats really needs WWC wind.

Full speed ahead

Still, it's a dream boat if you need some fast paced action with a truly salty taste; I know I do. The RL sailing season is far, far, much too far away. It's freezing friggin winter. Under those conditions the VO65 is a truly meditative trip, a supersalty injection shot right into the veins. The seaspray is so good you instinctively duck behind the computerscreen. Fifteen minutes round the Blake Sea and back to Tradewinds and the smile-o-meter says "wide". Ahh...

Update: I got an email saying these pics do a great job as desktop background... Thanx.

A Harrier in Nyhavn

SL is truly an amazing world, and it's not just because of the virtual sailing. Less than a week ago I blogged about an aircraft carrier. It passed by while I was out racing the Nacra 17. Check here if you missed it. In the post I joked about a Harrier jet, and I wondered, if there are Harriers available in SL...

A Harrier taking off from the helipad in Nyhavn

So, yesterday I met this guy: Ingmar Wallstedt. Now that's a very Swedish sounding name, and sure enough... Ingmar turned out to be genuinely Swedish; We had fun speaking Scandinavian for a while, and then he wanted to show me a new place called Nyhavn. 

Hovering over the Nyhavn canal

Now, Nyhavn is a famous part of Copenhagen; Turists will know it from the many bars along the canal. Ofcourse I wanted to see it, so I went along, and Nyhavn is what you see in the back of the photos above. It's pretty neat with shops and clubs and... I suppose you've also noticed the Harrier jet by now?

Janina Foxdale

You see, Ingmar introduced me to a friend of his, Janina Foxdale. She is the very Swedish looking chick on the picture above. I showed her a couple of boats that would fit nicely in the Nyhavn moorings. The VO65 was maybe too big, but the Tofinou looked great. 

An impressive sight and sound

Anyway, it turns out she actually owns a Harrier Jet. She was quite good at flying it, and I tell you, it's a pretty impressive sight sitting in a Fizz, while a Harrier jet is hovering right above you. Not to mention the noise. So there are Harriers in SL. Isn't that just unreal? Still haven't found a strawberry margarita...

PS: I am not really into flying, but flying is big in SL. Liv from Tradewinds has a sweet spot for seaplanes, so we've had several "boatshows" with seaplanes. Check the category planes if you're a flyboy... Chuting is also possible, and it's great fun.