¶ Introduction
It has been some months since the last time we did set sail. Summer is slowly coming to an end…so what better way for a last chance to enjoy the warm and cozy weather than doing another Regatta?
Thats right, Tall Tails is going on the sea again! A summer end cruise with a party right after! Check your sails, test your rudders and patch your hulls! Also pack some rum…this time the route will take us around some of the United Sailing Sims (USS) that populate the edges of the Blake Sea and then directly into Dire Strait, where the remains of a gigantic beast lay dormant! Then we will head to Cannabis Harbor for docking and teleport to the party at the Bit & Bridle, where we will have our awesome DJ Jane giving us her best tunes right after the cruise! And no, we didn't coerce her with time out of tack to spin, those rumours ain't true!
If you have never sailed at all before, don't worry since it is very easy and similar to any other kind of mainland travel. Also, if you don't own a boat or ship, don't fret! Other captains should have some empty seats available on their boats, and if you wish to captain a vessel yourself, we will provide some free boats and purchase recommendations further down this page.
This time the route will be a bit longer, with tighter turns, narrower channels and more sightseeing than our last trip!
We want to thank Alexis Morningstar, our last Regatta host, for the initial route planning as well as her lovely advices, this time the hosts will be Danaira, Sadal and LorenFox, with the help of Eesoov Elan and Amber Hijinks!
¶ When Is It Happening?
Date: September 18th 2021
Time: Noon SLT
We aim to host this on a Saturday at Noon SLT. Tall Tails prime time so everyone can have a chance to enjoy the cruise and the party!
We kindly ask captains to come over to the starting port a bit earlier so we can get to rezzing and distributing boats into a few regions to get the lag as low as possible.
¶ Route
¶ Start - Sailors Cove
Location: Sailors Cove Airfield and Seaplane Base
We will rez at the Sailors Cove Seaplane Base, fitted with a nice harbour and a pier. Sailors Cove Estate is one of the few surronding the Blake Sea and like all the others it has policies to keep a pleasant sailing and flying experience, like no banlines and limited orbs usage, as well as wide water channels between all islands. It has become one of the biggest Estates in the area, spanning several regions as residential islands, others with a rainforest theme, as well as some snowy mountains.
¶ 2 - Blake Sea Passage
Location: Blake Sea - Bering
We will continue sailing and use a bit of the Blake Sea Passage, as you can see on the map it is a large corridor starting at the ocean and connecting all private Estates that have settled in the area, creating a big sailing friendly community. This Passage is vital for many routes in and out of here and it's often crowded with boats and aircraft.
¶ 3 - Fanci Deep & Merfolk
Location: Fanci Deep NW
Fanci Deep has been for many years the home of the Merfolk, all the rumours of mermen and mermaids lurking in the Blake Sea are true, and this their home. Two regions dedicated exclusivily to this theme with underwater rentals and promoting Mer living and Mer Community activities. Moving your camera below the sea here might bring some interesting sights! There is a Mer Mall at Union Passage too, maybe one day bring some scuba diving gear and do some Mer Shopping?
¶ 4 - Fishers Island Yacht Club
Location: Sailors Rest
Fishers Island Yacht Club's main clubhouse is located here. It's a popular meeting spot for recreational and racing sailors and it's been in Second Life for a very long time. They provide a small pavilion to post notices of interest to the sailing community as well as a boatyard and a chandlery, so people can rez and modify their boats or host a variety of useful items for sale and for free. There is also a restaurant, a gaming zone and a pool! It is a very good place to get started in sailing and get to know others in the hobby!
NOTE TO SAILORS: Big boats, specially wide ones, won't fit through the recently rebuilt harbour entry, please just go around it, can still enjoy viewing it, by skipping from waypoint 10 to waypoint 13!
¶ 5 - Hollywood Airport
Location: Santa Catalina
Hollywood Airport, pertaining to the Balboa Estates, is one of the oldest and most popular airport in Second Life. The overall age of the buildings is telling and it's perfectly located right next to the Blake Sea, many aircraft presentations happen here and while it is not the best, neither the most realistic looking and certainly not the biggest airport in the grid, it has a special place in the soul of the flying community no other airfield has managed to achieve.
¶ 6 - Columbia River
Location: Columbia East
The Columbia River is a unique four regions long water channel. While it has several rentals per sim, the perfect layout of it makes them blend perfectly in. This river connects the more secluded Juneau regions with the Blake Sea Area and it is an eyecandy place to traverse through. Be aware of the small ferry, commonly known as ‘The Ferry of Doom’, that keeps crossing from shore to shore with small pauses. Sailors, you have been warned!
¶ 7 - Juneau Regions
Location: Juneau South
After traversing the river we will be sailing across the Juneau Regions, they are a bit apart from the Blake Sea. They have their own Regional Airport, a small harbour, and a train line with automated services (yes, they work!) connecting all the important bits! Enjoy boating through the mountains as we make our way to open sea.
¶ 8 - Dire Strait
Location: Dooknock
While not as popular as the Blake Sea, the Dire strait is a concurred sea and many harbours, marinas and airpors populate its shores, it is often part of cruises and compliments the Blake Sea very well. There are several channels into it and we are using the biggest one, the Grumphmunch Channel! Location points to a rezzone-dock in it.
¶ 9 - Leviathan Skeleton
Location: Ahab's Haunt
Here rests the massive leviathan skeleton since 2010, no one knows what happened to this beast, but its remains have become an tourist attraction, from risky pilots flying through it, to intrepid divers seeking treasure in its belly! Rumours say many boats lay buried around the area surrounding the bones. We best look at it and then keep sailing to our destination!
¶ End - Cannabis Harbour
Location: Grenadier
Our destination this time will be Cannabis Harbour! Sister port to the Cannabis Airfield just at the next region, this place was conceived for all sorts of people to have fun. There are several objects spread thorough the port with VICE scripts in it…yes…that means they blow up! On the other side of the airfield there is a battlefield with all sorts of blowing up things for casual fun with big guns!
NOTE TO SAILORS: Big boats, specially wide ones, won't fit through the entry route into Cannabis, please use the south entry of the port by skipping from waypoint 40 to waypoint 43!
Please dock your boats here and when deboarded, derez them so others can dock. We will have a Teleport Gate to our Party location ready and working to take you there!
¶ Navigation
Wind settings for sailboats can be whatever you like honestly, but if you are looking for a recommendation, we would suggest starting with the wind at 135 degrees.
Windspeed would be something comfortable to have your sailboat moving at about 10 knots.
However, we do understand some like to sail slower, and others faster, this is fine. Just keep a responsible navigation, avoid rammings all you can and be polite!
¶ Sailing Course HUDs
To help with navigating, we will provide the usual HUD that is given out for the Pony Caravans some of you might be familiar with, that is the Cruissette.
However another similar HUD did go through an update of its free version and now uses RLV to automatically change the map beacon, making sailing much more easier, and who knows if they will become standard for the Pony Caravans in the future.
Here is the link to the free Ultimate Sailor Buddy Basic 1.4.
Simply drop the ‘Regatta USB-Notecard’ into your USB HUD contents, then click on ‘Load’ and select the Regatta. Thats it, your USB is ready to start now!
The Cruissette HUD and the USB-Notecard both will be passed out by event organizers on the day the Regatta is held.
¶ Sailing Tips
- Always have minimap open and zoomed out so you can see well around you. Unlike traveling on the road, other sailors can come from anywhere around you and you can spot them much faster using the minimap.
- Turn your view distance up to see farther. We recommend sailing using view distance of 200, but 100 and 150 work just as well. Ocean sims tend to be more empty than mainland sims, so a larger view distance on the ocean shouldn't strain your computer too badly.
- Avoid simcrossing at corners as much as possible. Since you can sail your boat wherever you like on the water, this can make turning or adjusting your course through a sim corner easier than traveling on the road.
- Be aware of other boats and avatars. Everyone out here is kinda doing their own thing, their own way. Some people like to moor where ever and relax. Some people are racing or having their own regatta. Some people/bots are afk underwater for who knows what reason. The golden rule however is; if you see another moving ship, give plenty of space to pass. If you see a parked ship, stay just outside of general chat range unless you know the occupants.
- Plan ahead, especially if your ship is larger than a simple sailing yacht. Not only do big boats take time to speed up and slow down, but some turns can be very challenging in larger ships.
You may need to start turning much earlier than in a small boat. Also remember that some larger sailships turn slower with all sails raised - reduce sail/use your engine (if your ship has one) if a particularly challenging turn comes up.
¶ Life Jacket!
Being a water event, health and safety requires that we have to at least inform you that lifejackets exist. Wearing one is up to you however!
Some can be found on the marketplace, but we would encourage making sure you are getting a functional one if you pick one up. Though, if you feel like you're a confident swimmer, you could simply use a swimming HUD instead! (These can help prevent you from sinking like a rock if you fall off the boat)
A free lifejacket can be purchased here.
A free swimming HUD will be avaliable on the day from the organizers.
¶ Boats!
So, you need a boat huh? Well SecondLife has a lot of options! Take a look below for some ideas!
¶ Freebies
Boats can be expensive! Luckily we have a selection of free boats avaliable for those taking to the sea for the first time!
¶ Hornless Vikings Workshop
Link: https://marketplace.secondlife.com/stores/81180
The Emergency Response Boat is an excellent little free craft.
¶ Michie Marine
Link: https://marketplace.secondlife.com/stores/22448
Much more variety of boats, but with varying quality. The Hydrospeeder K-10 is excellent for undersea exploring if you are so inclined.
¶ AleyMart
Link: https://marketplace.secondlife.com/stores/161413
The stuff is old but still works well... give them a look sometime! Perhaps you would like to follow the group using the power of your arms alone? If so the Working Rowboat is for you!
¶ Big Brands
If you are willing to spend some Lindens, SecondLife has some very complex but amazing sailing boats. Take a look at these, perhaps something will catch your eye!
¶ Bandit / The Mesh Shop (TMS)
Link: https://marketplace.secondlife.com/stores/120514
In-World: Dutch Harbor
Bandit/TMS are the standard for quality boats in SecondLife. They provide an excellent sailing/boating experience. Plenty of relaxing and cuddle positions on the boats. Some can be found online but even more are in-world only. You can demo any ship they have at the inworld store too.
¶ BBX
Link: https://marketplace.secondlife.com/stores/63972
In-World: Sunny Bay
BBX do some amazing modern and sleek ship designs. With a mixture of sail and mototboats they have many many options. The price is high, but you certainly get what you pay for.
¶ Ultramesh
Link: https://marketplace.secondlife.com/stores/168151
In-World: Newport Bay
This brand doesn't have too many boats, but their vehicles are excellent. Less cuddle animations than TMS but the vehicles cross sims smoothly and can be heavily modified. Demos are avaliable in-world too.
¶ N+K Shipyard
Link: https://marketplace.secondlife.com/stores/178635
In-World: N+K Shipyards
Maybe not something to have use this regatta.. but brand we still wished to show. Alexis LOVES their ships but they are not beginner vessels or for people who just want to cuddle on a boat. They are the only square-rigged sailboat/ship brand in SL and create some of the biggest ships aswell. These ships demand that you practice with them to sail them correctly.
¶ Pictures!
¶ Credits
-Alexis Morningstar (alexisbrekka): She hosted the first Regatta at TT and also conceived the route for this one. Most of the Sailing Tips are hers and all the Boat recommendations are the originals she made.
-SadalSuub: Created the first iteration of the NavHud and its notecard, suggested changes to the ending and been supporting me a bunch.
-Danaira (auryss): Supported the team with ideas and created the Poster, as well as spellchecking and overall management of the event.
-Magic Lacroix (u69.magic) and Molly Lacroix (magentamolly): Without them there won't be a TT, also provided the party location and supported the event.
-Kylie Mildor: Tested the route for time before we even had a NavHud, thanks!
-amb3r (jennanekogirl): Posed for several hours with her boat for the Poster, thank you!
-HellFire (jane.sorrowman): Posed for several hours with her boat for the Poster aswell, DJ'd the party and provided music for everyone!
-Eesoov Elan and Amber Hijinks: Our other Regatta team, tested the NavHuds and supported us, then organized a repeat for US timezone.
-LorenFox: Me! Modified the waypoints to ease the route a bit more, helped with the Poster, did the map, created this page and wrote the Route highlights too.