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...

Let's go for a Fizz

Well Baby, this is it!

Fun in the kitchen

Craig and me having fun in the kitchen

Dunno what the h... happened here. Really.

Secret spots

We all have our secret safe spots; Quiet rooms or mental places to go to when everyday life is too chaotic. In the world known as RL, these zen-spaces has become almost a collectors item. SL is full of those spots, and I love them.

Gotta love those blue colours

Sometimes hard racing can do the job: Clear the mind. Erase worries and stressfactors because it is so immersive. Sometimes a quiet place is more appropriate. For instance it is quite impossible to think straight about something while racing. Except for racing itself of course.

Remote beach

Billionaires can buy an island. Ordinary people cannot. SL comes to rescue. In SL everyone can afford a private island. Even better: It's not even neccesary to own an island for yourself. There's loads of remote beaches with only the view, the ocean sounds and an occasional bird flapping by.

Relaxing

Crazy? Hmm... I don't think so. It's a matter of convenience; Add a bit of imagination maybe ;-) Who'd have time to visit a real remote island once every week? In the virtual world you can have a quiet moment anytime you need it. Had a bad meeting? Need a five minute break with your mind at rest? Just click teleport and you're there. Too weird? Then check how Taru uses whil...

It's so big

Quiz time! Guess what arrived in my inbox yesterday? It's a boat. What a surprise... but what boat is it? I am sitting in it on this photo... Yes it looks strange. There are two long and narrow carbon hulls and a "fishy" net between them...

A big hull

Need more clues? Those two hulls share a single sail, but it really isn't a sail. It is more like a wing from a plane of sorts... And it is big too.

A big wing

Ok, ok, the boat-type is painted on the wingsail. What kind of quiz is this anyways? This is too easy.

A big boat

Did I mention it's big? Check this out. That little boat all to the left is the Q-2m. It is around 7 meters. The bigger boat (but still tiny) at the top is the Bandit 50. Big isn't the word. Huge is much more appropriate, though I suppose the J-Boat is even bigger.

Ready for launch

So here it is... Wildwind was out of the game for a while, but I must say they're back. Amazing how much good a little break can do. Hmm... It is not an official release. Not yet. I sailed it a bit but not enough to comment upon it. At least not in an intelligent way, so that will have to wait...

Tiny me

However, I will say that the build looks very good and detailed. I was never into catboats, but I gotta admit this is a littlebit exciting. If the sailing is as good as the looks I'd expect the Blake to be filled with these monsters. Only problem is - if they foil - they will cross that pond in less than two minutes. Honestly, I think the 45er is more suited to our virtual waters, but that won't stop me from trying out the 72.

Oh and that silly quiz question: Will a cat fly if it has only one wing?

Sailing time

The RL racing season has begun; So far it's not very hot but at least it is salty. The virtual sailing isn't exactly salty. Au contraire. I mean, you really can't tell the difference between ocean water and sweet water. Still, there is a certain amount of hard-to-describe saltyness about the virtual sailing.

Tradewinds

After a busy Easter I logged in to check the saltyness of Tradewinds. The first thing that appeared on my screen was a message from an old friend. He'd seen a dress that he thought I absolutely needed to have. I went to the store to see it. It was supersalty, so I bought it right away. It's the one I am wearing on these photos. Thanx Netrom...

Bwind X?

Back to Tradewinds. As you can see the saltyness is intact. There was also a couple of salty "things" at Tradewinds. Unexpected ones even. This here is a BWind of sorts. It looks like an update of that old BWind dinghy, the Spark. Dunno what it sails like, but the version was 2.03 or something. It would seem that Becca is still around. We just don't see her much.

The beautiful Q-2m

Here's another pretty and salty thing: The Q-2m. It's an old boat in SL terms, but rumours has it that Qyv will rebuild it in mesh. If the mesh Q-2m comes with more trimming options, - it's gonna be just about the perfect daycruiser. More on that in another post.

Ahab's boat

Ahab wasn't around this time. However, he left a boat on the west dock. It looks like a Rene-re-build that we've seen before. Not sure if it really is a new version, but the version number indicated it was in prerelease state. Perhaps it's just an old prerelease, but in any case it looks great, rather salty and very wooden. Unlike the boat to the left in the back...

A steel Bandit 50?

I dunno how you all feel about steel boats? Me, I never really understood the concept. It's cold, it's noisy, it's slippery and it's rusty no matter what steel quality they use. Besides, it reminds me of ferries. Not the kind of feeling I want to have when packing for a two week cruise. Still, I suppose it is also (somewhat) of a matter of taste? And it may be better suited for icy waters. In any case here's a Bandit 50; Steel edition. Nice work, but I must admit that to me it looks a little weird. Cheers...

PS: As a salty sidedish there's a new virtual Moth around. Here's a post about the old virtual Moth. And... here's a link to Orcas scriblings about the new virtual Moth.

Cafe Del Mar

I never really tested the Cafe Del Mar. At least not officially. I sailed it quite a lot, but I only blogged it once. So here it is again...

"Morning at the Cafe Del Mar"

What can I say? I like the morning at the Cafe Del Mar. No wait, - I love the morning at the Cafe Del Mar! It's such a luxury cruiser. It's fast, it's responsive and well behaved - and you can grab a coffee in one of the sun-chairs. If you ever need a relaxing get away, this is surely it.

Relaxing at the helm

Ofcourse she needs attention; Sailboats are sailboats. In my first Cafe Del Mar post I mentionen that it's kinda like a cruising version of the VO65. That's still true. Very lively; However the cruising gear is best in class.

Trimming...

Here's the upwards view from the helm. Huh! Who wouldn't wanna work with that? So the looks are great. Dutch does a great job when it comes to looks, but there's still work to be done. The thing is, there's really no option to work with the sailshape. There are sheets, and that's it.

Sails

However, I am convinced we will get sail-trimming sooner or later. It's just that there's little demand for that right now. We need more sailors in SL to create the demand for true sailtrim. Technically it is possible. It's not like SL can't do it. It's more like the boatbuilders in SL won't... 

The water is so quiet in the morning

Have you ever been out there in the early morning? It's truly magical. It's so silent. In the summertime the wind is usually lower at night; The sun is generating a lot of wind. So if you get out there early, you get the quiet flat water and the easy winds of the morning... Grab a cup of freshly brewed coffee and the rest of the world matters no more...

The obligatory shot with the Fastnet Rock

That's what the Cafe Del Mar is really great at, but it's not the only thing. There's also a genakker, so racing can be fun. Tactics both upwind and downwind.

Easy, even with the genakker

See? A cruising VO65-er! The difference is that it is really easy to handle. It's push-button sailing. One person can sail this baby while the guests are having a party. Which reminds me, I didn't see a MOB button. That might come in handy in case the party gets too wild and people fall over board.

Complicated

This? It's just a boat I met. It's approcimately the same size as the Cafe Del Mar. It looks so great and so much more complicated. I wonder why the sails are down?

My cup of tea

Nah, gimme this. Modern, fast and easy to handle. It's really close to a dream boat for a weekend  cruise. Not that it wouldn't do for two weeks in the greek islands, but bluewater cruising? I am not so sure about that...

Back at Tradewinds

And if you're not in the mood for sailing, there's always the option of hanging out in the sun-chairs. I'd call it lounging, but I couldn't find the radio; Lounging kinda needs a radiofeed with a nice and loungy touch. Pink Martini would be great. The drink isn't too bad either. I'll ask Dutch for a special version where the coffemaker is swapped with a pink martini dispenser... Cheers!