Let me start right up front: if you can get out on a boat on June 19, do it! We'll be here on our virtual oceans before or after your real-life (RL) fun, and we'd love to have you stop by on that day or any other once you're off the water!
I'm a Second Life sailor, and was a San Francisco Bay sailor and yacht club commodore some years ago. Now I'm proud to be part of this large community of virtual sailors. We have yacht clubs, marinas, boat builders and chandleries. The cameraderie of real world sailors that is so important to the joy of the sport is very much part of our virtual experience. Since our sailors come from around the globe, real friendships form across distant countries and cultures; our event coordinators come from Germany, Greece, Italy, the USA, Mexico and beyond.
I started "SS in SL" last year as a response to COVID. I had no idea if anyone inworld (the opposite of RL) would be interested, but people jumped on board immediately. Marinas threw parties with live music (SL has live musicians and DJs who stream from their homes daily), yacht clubs ran special cruises and races, and there was a big "Sails and Tails" party at the end with sailors dancing on a glass dance floor with mermaids and mermen underneath. We had the biggest virtual nautical exposition ever held; in fact, I was told by long-time sailors that SS in SL was the biggest nautical event ever!
To encourage new sailors, a major SL boatwright designed and created a new boat especially for them. SL boats are the product of each creator's imagination, artistic sense and mastery of virtual world programming, and first time sailors received this new one for free. They also got an hour of instruction and then a regatta just for them with virtual trophies at the end!
This is a good time to mention: SL sailing is EXCELLENT for learning sailing concepts like sail trim, points of sail and the Rules of the Road. Practically everything learned in SL translates perfectly to RL sailing; fine sailboats even sense when a windward boat is blocking your breeze and act accordingly. Race directors set courses and wind, the contestants sail hard, and everyone gets together afterward for the awards party. If you go weeks or months between sailing trips, our virtual world really can help you keep your skills sharp!
Want to check us out? Our updated-daily website is here and you'll find our official Sailstice event page here. The Website home page has a link to our 2020 award-winning SS Video Challenge, featuring original music composed and recorded just for us by a fellow SL resident. You'll find other short videos there too.
Once again, if you can't get out on the water on June 19, sign up for our Event and come see us! I DO recommend getting in to SL before that and learning the basics of moving around; you'll start your adventure at by joining here. NOTE: although you can spend money in SL, your account is absolutely FREE as our all of our events.
I hope to see you there!
Dale Irata, SS in SL Organizer
(also Dave Bloch, Progreso, Yucatan, Mexico)