Sailboat Races

April 1 race results

Saturday, we had another small fleet (to be expected since we were racing at the same time the NCAA backetball tournament final four games were being held). So the fleet consisted of the non-baskeball-obsessed part of the sailing community. I added a medium length course to take advantage of some of the new void sims that the Lindens added recently added in the area near Sanchon and Jinsil. The medium length course is similar to to long course, except that we use the island in Banpo sim as a turning mark before heading back to the finish line. All five races won by either Mel or Silkie, but Mel was enough better that he won the regatta, while Silkie git second place. I got 3rd based on the tie-breaker (I beat Static in the last race we both sailed in). After the races were over, we had some air sailing silliness to mark April Fools day.


official results:
1 Mel Fitzcarraldo 2 - 0.75 0.75 0.75 4.25
2 Silkie Muir 0.75 0.75 - 2 2 5.5
3 Pixeleen Mistral 4 2 3 - 3 12
4 Static Sprocket 3 - 2 3 4 12
5 Thaddeus Wilberg - 6 4 4 5 19

without throwout race:
Mel Fitzcarraldo 2 3 0.75 0.75 0.75 7.25
Silkie Muir 0.75 0.75 5 2 2 10.5
Static Sprocket 3 4 2 3 4 16
Pixeleen Mistral 4 2 3 6 3 18
Thaddeus Wilberg 6 6 4 4 5 25


for strangely pedantic yet piquant details, see: the Second Life Sailing Federation forums!

The Sanchon Custom Sailboat Contest and Show

Since the early days of the Flying Tako, owners have been customizing the look of their boats, and with the newest versions of the Flying Tako there are even more possibilities. At the same time, the pirate sailors have been developing sailing warships that are also customized and use the same wind-driven physics as the flying tako. Now, for the first time, Vagabonds Yacht Club is sponsoring a 3-day boat show so that everyone can appreciate the creativity of the yacht racing customizers and the pirate warship builders, and the SL community can vote on who has the best flying tako and pirate ship.

Where: Sanchon sim

When: Saturday April 8 @ 6 pm SL time boat show contestants can rez their boats
(after the conclusion of the 4 pm Saturday VYC races in Sanchon).
Contestant boats should remain rezed at the Sanchon boat show docks until
6 pm Tuesday April 11 when we will tally votes received and declare winners.
We will then return the boats to their owners and run the usual VYC tuesday night sailboat races at 7 pm.

Categories:
* Best Flying Tako Sail Customization (L$500 prize)
* Best Flying Tako Hull Customization (L$500 prize)
* Best Flying Tako Overall (L$1000 prize)
* Best Pirate Ship Sail (L$500 prize)
* Best Pirate Ship Hull (L$500 prize)
* Most Deadly Pirate Ship Overall (L$1000 prize)

Note that all pirate ships entered in this contest must be able to sail under wind power and take part in the pirate battles held wednesday nights at 7 pm in Sanchon.

Hollywood April 2, 2006 – An overwhelming turn out of 12 boats for the regular regatta put a heavy load on the new sims. While lag was definitely an issue with that many boats, the performance was better than last week’s test. Also the issues of SL 1.9 creating difficulties could have been a factor, although we didn’t have very many to crashes.

In race three MarkTwain became too dependent on a timing hud he was using which did a 10 second burp and cause him to be 8 seconds early instead of 1 second to the good. He had to sail completely around Angel’s Gate and restart.

Congratulations to Suzanne Zeluco who toasted us all with an amazing 3.5O points in a 12 boat regatta.

And congrats also to Ginge who know only won the novice race but placed a very respectable 8th in the regular regatta.

Novice Race Results:
1. Ginge Reymont
2. Courtney Boffin
3. Agramzu Hand

Weekly Regatta Results
1. Suzanne Zeluco 3.50
2. Mel Fitzcarraldo 9.00
3. Silkie Muir 9.75
4. Kanker Greenacre 13.00
5. Noland Brokken 14.00
6. MarkTwain White 16.00
7. Ta Moxie 19.00
8. Ginge Reymont 26.00
9. Al Kaiser 27.00
10 Courtney Boffin 29.00
11t Agramzu Hand 30.00
11t Tealkra Pankhurst 30.00

Hollywood April 2, 2006 – An overwhelming turn out of 12 boats for the regular regatta put a heavy load on the new sims. While lag was an issue with that many boats, the performance was better than last week’s test. Also the issues of SL 1.9 creating difficulties could have been a factor, although we didn’t have very many crashes.

In race 3 MarkTwain became too dependent on a timing hud he was using which did a 10 second burp and cause him to be 8 seconds early instead of 1 second to the good. He had to sail completely around Angel’s Gate and restart.

Congratulations to Suzanne Zeluco who toasted us all with an amazing 3.5O points in a 12 boat regatta.

Congrats also to Ginge Reymont who know only won the novice race but placed a very respectable 8th in the regular regatta.

Courtney "I'm not a lady" Boffin was the queen of the sailboat drag races. Congrats there as well.

FOR DETAILED DISCUSSIONS ON SAILBOAT RACING, VISIT THE Second Life Sailing Federation FORUMS! Including photographs of the SYC events.

Novice Race Results:
1. Ginge Reymont
2. Courtney Boffin
3. Agramzu Hand

Weekly Regatta Results
1. Suzanne Zeluco 3.50
2. Mel Fitzcarraldo 9.00
3. Silkie Muir 9.75
4. Kanker Greenacre 13.00
5. Noland Brokken 14.00
6. MarkTwain White 16.00
7. Ta Moxie 19.00
8. Ginge Reymont 26.00
9. Al Kaiser 27.00
10 Courtney Boffin 29.00
11t Agramzu Hand 30.00
11t Tealkra Pankhurst 30.00

Join us for some informal sailboat racing as we learn the rules of sailboat racing together. Videos of the rules are available in Starboards Yacht Club. Learn at your own pace and then practice what you learn in our Thursday Night at the Races.

We now race in FIVE DEDICATED SAILING SIMS. Tonight's races will be on the Santa Catalina Course.

Come early and watch the videos and practice the course.

6PM Hollywood

NOVICE Lesson and Race: 1PM
SAILBOAT FUN: 2PM (Sailboat Soccer in Santa Barbara).
WEEKLY REGATTA: 3PM (Santa Catalina Course)

Static is moving up in the world. While Silkie won the regatta, Static posted an impressive second place finish. We sailed 6 races: 2 short triangle course races,
2 medium length races, and two long-format races. Pacifien was bemoaning
her dead video card, and mentioned something about a lot of gray textures making her slow. Those interested in donating to the Pacifien video card replacement fund, should contact her directly. For me, the highlight of the regatta was the return of Oliphant Ming to the racing scene after a long absence. Welcome back, Oli!


1 Silkie Muir - 0.75 2 4 0.75 0.75 8.25
2 Static Sprocket 0.75 - 0.75 2 3 3 9.5
3 Mel Fitzcarraldo 5 2 - 0.75 2 2 11.75
4 Pixeleen Mistral 2 5 3 3 4 - 17
5 Oliphant Ming - 6 5 5 5 4 25
6 Pacifien Massiel 3 7 4 - 8 8 30
7 Spicy Vindaloo 7 4 - 8 8 8 35

without throwout race:
Silkie Muir 4 0.75 2 4 0.75 0.75 12.25
Static Sprocket 0.75 3 0.75 2 3 3 12.5
Mel Fitzcarraldo 5 2 8 0.75 2 2 19.75
Pixeleen Mistral 2 5 3 3 4 8 25
Oliphant Ming 6 6 5 5 5 4 31
Pacifien Massiel 3 7 4 8 8 8 38
Spicy Vindaloo 7 4 8 8 8 8 43


for strangely piquant yet pedantic details, see: the Second Life Sailing Federation forums!

We did 8 races... I was trying to get enough racing done to feel like we had enough, and at the same time finish early since Static had the uber-cool idea of doing a boat show. The boat show runs until an hour before the tuesday night races (boat show ends at 6 pm SL time tuesday, races at start at 7 pm SL time tuesday). Stop by and look at (and vote for) the pretty customized boats while you can...

official race results:
1 Silkie Muir 2 3 0.75 0.75 2 0.75 - 0.75 10
2 Mel Fitzcarraldo 0.75 0.75 6 2 - 2 3 3 17.5
3 Oliphant Ming 6 2 5 - 3 4 2 2 24
4 Pixeleen Mistral - 4 4 3 4 3 4 4 26
5 Static Sprocket 5 5 3 - 0.75 8 0.75 5 27.5
6 314 Poindexter 3 6 2 4 5 8 8 - 36
7 Spicy Vindaloo 7 7 7 - 8 8 8 8 53

withough the throwout race:
Silkie Muir 2 3 0.75 0.75 2 0.75 5 0.75 15
Mel Fitzcarraldo 0.75 0.75 6 2 8 2 3 3 25.5
Pixeleen Mistral 4 4 4 3 4 3 4 4 30
Oliphant Ming 6 2 5 8 3 4 2 2 32
Static Sprocket 5 5 3 8 0.75 8 0.75 5 35.5
314 Poindexter 3 6 2 4 5 8 8 8 44
Spicy Vindaloo 7 7 7 8 8 8 8 8 61


for strange yet pedantic details, see: the Second Life Sailing Federation forums!

VYC Race results for April 8

Eight races were run as quickly as possible so we could be off the water before the boat show began... and it worked! We finished on time, and the docks for the Sanchon 3-day boat show went up saturday night on schedule. Stop by Sanchon
and vote on the customized sailboats anytime until 6 PL tuesday.


official results
1 Silkie Muir 2 3 0.75 0.75 2 0.75 - 0.75 10
2 Mel Fitzcarraldo 0.75 0.75 6 2 - 2 3 3 17.5
3 Oliphant Ming 6 2 5 - 3 4 2 2 24
4 Pixeleen Mistral - 4 4 3 4 3 4 4 26
5 Static Sprocket 5 5 3 - 0.75 8 0.75 5 27.5
6 314 Poindexter 3 6 2 4 5 8 8 - 36
7 Spicy Vindaloo 7 7 7 - 8 8 8 8 53

without the throwout races
Silkie Muir 2 3 0.75 0.75 2 0.75 5 0.75 15
Mel Fitzcarraldo 0.75 0.75 6 2 8 2 3 3 25.5
Pixeleen Mistral 4 4 4 3 4 3 4 4 30
Oliphant Ming 6 2 5 8 3 4 2 2 32
Static Sprocket 5 5 3 8 0.75 8 0.75 5 35.5
314 Poindexter 3 6 2 4 5 8 8 8 44
Spicy Vindaloo 7 7 7 8 8 8 8 8 61


for pedantic yet emotionally arresting details, see: the Second Life Sailing Federation forums!

We got a late start (sorry) because the Sanchon boat show took longer to finish up than expected. Still, we did get in 6 races, and the event was notable for a couple of reasons. First, skippy made her racing debut after deciding on a whim to buy a tako and practicing with some of the gang at VYC for a week. Second, Oliphant won the regatta without winning an single race... but he was more consistent than anyone else with mostly second and third place finishes. I proved to myself that the instability in SL since 1.9 (at least for Mac users) must have something to do with textures, because I crashed several times while trying to sail until we removed the boat show docs and entries. Then things got a lot better for me.

official results:
1 Oliphant Ming - 2 3 2 4 2 13
2 Mel Fitzcarraldo 3 1 9 0.75 0.75 - 14.5
3 Silkie Muir 0.75 9 0.75 3 3 - 16.5
4 Static Sprocket - 5 5 6 2 0.75 18.75
5 Pixeleen Mistral 2 - 6 4 6 3 21
6 Pacifien Massiel - 4 4 5 5 4 22
7 314 Poindexter 4 3 - 9 9 9 34
8 skippy Spatula 7 7 7 7 - 9 37

without the throwout race:
Oliphant Ming 5 2 3 2 4 2 18
Mel Fitzcarraldo 3 1 9 0.75 0.75 9 23.5
Silkie Muir 0.75 9 0.75 3 3 9 25.5
Static Sprocket 8 5 5 6 2 0.75 26.75
Pixeleen Mistral 2 6 6 4 6 3 27
Pacifien Massiel 6 4 4 5 5 4 28
314 Poindexter 4 3 9 9 9 9 43
skippy Spatula 7 7 7 7 9 9 46



for stoic yet exciting details, see: the Second Life Sailing Federation forums!

VYC sponsored the Sanchon boat show for prirate and flying tako sailboats, and donated prize money for 6 best of catagory custom sailboats. In a very pleasant surprise tuesday night, Tony Becket stopped by and donated additional prize money, then Static Sproket topped up the purse, and we ended up paying prize money to not just best in catagory for flying takos, but the second and third p[lace finishers as well. Static Sproket talled the votes, so we'll have to wait for him to get the actual numbers, but here is what I paid out last night. Congratulation to everyone, and I'm sure we will be doing this again soon.

Best Tako Sail
#1 - Suzanne Zeluco, Mermaid ($500)
#2 - 314 Poindexter, PI ($400)
#3 - Silkie Muir, Silkie ($200)

Best Tako Hull
#1 - Suzanne Zeluco Mermaid Result ($500)
#2 - 314 Poindexter PI Result ($400)
#3 - Ta Moxie Sea Witch Result ($200)

Best Overall Tako
#1 Suzanne Zeluco Mermaid Result ($2250)
#2 314 Poindexter PI Result ($750)
#3 Ta Moxie Sea Witch Result ($500)



Best Pirate Sail
#1 Khur Kawabata Viking Raider Result ($500)
#2 Chase Speculaas The Blockade Runner Result
#3 TonyRockyHorror Hauptmann Wraith Result

Best Pirate Hull
#1 Silkie Muir Your Ship's Silkie Result ($500)
#2 Khur Kawabata Viking Raider Result
#3 Chase Speculaas The Blockade Runner Result

Best PIrate Overall
#1 Silkie Muir Your Ship's Silkie Result ($2250)
#2 Khur Kawabata Viking Raider Result
#3 Chase Speculaas The Blockade Runner Result

HOLLYWOOD April 6, 2006 – Four races were run on the Santa Catalina course taking the skippers through Santa Barbara, Hollywood, and Santa Catalina. Some excellent racing made for an exciting day.

Each skipper could throw out his or her worst finish. At the end of the regatta we had a tie between SUZANNE ZELUCO and MEL FITZCARRALDO. Our congratulations to our co-winners.

Next week: The Grand Tour Course. Early practice races make it clear that this is an exciting course with several strategic and tactical options.

We had 18 skippers in the sim for the novice class. The winner of the novice race was Dirjha Summers!

Sailboat Soccer proved to be challenging in Santa Barbara without end of the world barriers. Next week skippers will need to set up a picket line to keep the ball from going off world.

FOR DETAILED DISCUSSIONS ON SAILBOAT RACING, VISIT THE Second Life Sailing Federation FORUMS!

Novice Race
#1: Dirjha Summers! Race time: +00:02:36
#2: Algernon Spackler! Race time: +00:02:44
#3: 314 Poindexter! Race time: +00:02:46
#4: Duffman Doolittle! Race time: +00:03:42
#5: Courtney Boffin! Race time: +00:04:15
#6: Wendy Babeli! Race time: +00:06:33

Weekly Regatta

1t Mel Fitzcarraldo 3.50
1t Suzanne Zeluco 3.50
3t Silkie Muir 10.00
3t Static Sprocket 10.00
5. 314 Poindexter 11.00
6. Noland Brokken 18.00
7. Meadow Golding 21.00
8. Jemster Hartnell 24.00

HOLLYWOOD Apr 16, 2006 (EASTER) -- Sifu ran four strong races finishing 1st, 2nd, 1st, and 1st (the 2nd place was his/her throw out) to dominate the field on Easter Sunday. Static Sprocket and Noland Brokken fought hard for second spot, with Static just barely edging out Noland.

The novice turn out was light on this Easter Sunday. But Kitty Sprocket and Flint Stantz showed signs of being fast learners.

The sailboat soccer game established 7 min 12 seconds as the time to beat on the run to Santa Barbara and back.

FOR DETAILED DISCUSSIONS ON SAILBOAT RACING, VISIT THE Second Life Sailing Federation FORUMS!



CAPTION: The fleet brings the earth/soccer ball home after the rounding at Santa Barbara.

Thanks to Nber Medici for running the bulk of the regatta.

Novice Race
Start Line (2 Way): 1: Kitty Sprocket - +00:02:28
Start Line (2 Way): 2: Flint Stantz - +00:02:49

Weekly Regatta Results

1. Sifu Luan 2.25
2. Static Sprocket 6.00
3. Noland Brokken 6.75
4. Pacifien Massiel 12.00
5. Nber Medici 13.00
6. Al Kaiser 18.00
7. Jonty Peel 20.00 (3 DNS)
8. Jemster Hartnell 21.00 (2 DNS, 1 DNF)

Tuesday we ran 6 races, but I was one lazy slug and did not score
them that night. Then RL caught up with me for the rest of
the week... and so we have results super late. I'm sorry... you
all can say bad things about me behind my back for a couple days
to punish me.

Sifu posted 3 first place finishes to come out on top, and
while Oliphant started the regatta in fine form, he may have tired
a bit towward the end of the event, since his finishes were not as good.
I was stuck consistently in the middle of the pack, and skippy Spatula
did quite well for having just started racing in SL. This was Theodore
Polonsky's first event and he also did well particilarly since he
declined to sail the long format races. We would all be in trouble if
Pacifien hadn't been late due to RL commitments... when she showed up,
she posted two seconds and a third.

official results:

1 Sifu Luan 5 2 0.75 0.75 - 0.75 9.25
2 Oliphant Ming 0.75 0.75 4 2 4 - 11.5
3 Static Sprocket 3 3 - 4 0.75 3 13.75
4 Pixeleen Mistral 2 4 2 - 3 6 17
5 skippy Spatula 4 - 3 5 5 4 21
6 Pacifien Massiel - 10 10 3 2 2 27
7 Theodore Polonsky 6 6 7 - 10 10 39
8 TonyRockyHorror Hauptmann - 10 6 7 10 10 43
9 ZATZAi Asturias - 10 10 8 10 10 48


without throwout race:
Sifu Luan 5 2 0.75 0.75 6 0.75 15.25
Oliphant Ming 0.75 0.75 4 2 4 5 16.5
Static Sprocket 3 3 5 4 0.75 3 18.75
Pixeleen Mistral 2 4 2 6 3 6 23
skippy Spatula 4 5 3 5 5 4 26
Pacifien Massiel 10 10 10 3 2 2 37
Theodore Polonsky 6 6 7 10 10 10 49
TonyRockyHorror Hauptmann 10 10 6 7 10 10 53
ZATZAi Asturias 10 10 10 8 10 10 58


for earthy yet erudite details, see: the Second Life Sailing Federation forums!

Oliphant won in convincing fashion, but I think the best part of the event was the 6th race where we all tried to turn 4 abreast around the first windward mark, and all got tangled together. I laughed really hard.

Here are the official results:

1 Oliphant Ming 2 - 0.75 0.75 0.75 0.75 0.75 5.75
2 Pixeleen Mistral 0.75 0.75 - 3 2 3 2 11.5
3 mush Caldera 3 2 2 2 4 2 - 15
4 Kumiko Takashi - 4 4 4 3 4 3 22


without the throwout race:
Oliphant Ming 2 3 0.75 0.75 0.75 0.75 0.75 8.75
Pixeleen Mistral 0.75 0.75 3 3 2 3 2 14.5
mush Caldera 3 2 2 2 4 2 5 20
Kumiko Takashi 4 4 4 4 3 4 3 26

for erudite yet gritty details, see: the Second Life Sailing Federation forums!

HOLLYWOOD Apr 23, 2006 -- Suzanne Zeluco returned to the winners circle with wins in all four Grand Tour Course races at the weekly regatta in Hollywood and the Channel Island sims. An interesting scoring "anomoly" occured as MarkTwain White finished the regatta with four 3rd place finishes.

What make that odd was that all those 3rds netted him 4th place over all. As in RL racing SYC allows you to throw out one race out of four. Mark's through out was a 3rd place finish. Noland and Static each got to throw out 4th place finishes which put them in a tie for second place, one point ahead of Mark. "Second Life is so unfair" said Mark after the regatta.

Polkerface Mahoney won our novice race and stayed for the regular regatta where he tied for 6th place. Susan Dangle was another first time SYC racer and finished an impressive 5th place over all and improved her place in nearly each of the four races. We expect to see good things from Polkerface and Susan in future regattas.

Sailboat Soccer was fun as always and netted a new record on the Santa Barbara run of 6:24.

Thanks to Nber Medici for running the regatta on Sunday. This comment despite the fact that she continued to be a nemesis to all with her magic wand after the regatta. Details below.

FOR DETAILED DISCUSSIONS ON SAILBOAT RACING, VISIT THE Second Life Sailing Federation FORUMS!


Caption: The start of the novice race


Caption: The calm high above the course in Angel's Gate bar right before the storm.


Nber waves her wand and Angel's Gate is wiped out.

Novice Race Results
1: Polkerface Mahoney
2: Susan Dangle
3: Dice Stein
4: Jesse Mackenzie

Weekly Regatta Result
1. Suzanne Zeluco 2.25
2t Noland Brokken 8.00
2t Static Sprocket 8.00
4. MarkTwain White 9.00
5. Susan Dangle 17.00
6t Sifu Luan 18.00
6t Polkerface Mahoney 18.00
8. Al Kaiser 20.00

For the historians, here are the race results from tuesday April 25:

official results
1 Oliphant Ming 2 0.75 2 - 0.75 0.75 2 8.25
2 Static Sprocket 9 2 3 0.75 2 - 0.75 17.5
3 Pixeleen Mistral 4 4 - 5 3 3 3 22
4 skippy Spatula 3 3 - 3 5 4 4 22
5 Sifu Luan 6 9 4 2 4 2 - 27
6 Pacifien Massiel 0.75 5 0.75 - 9 9 9 33.5
7 Theodore Polonsky 7 7 7 6 6 9 - 42
8 Tanya Ayoob 9 6 9 9 9 9 - 51



without throwout race:
Oliphant Ming 2 0.75 2 4 0.75 0.75 2 12.25
Static Sprocket 9 2 3 0.75 2 9 0.75 26.5
Pixeleen Mistral 4 4 5 5 3 3 3 27
skippy Spatula 3 3 6 3 5 4 4 28
Sifu Luan 6 9 4 2 4 2 9 36
Pacifien Massiel 0.75 5 0.75 9 9 9 9 42.5
Theodore Polonsky 7 7 7 6 6 9 9 51
Tanya Ayoob 9 6 9 9 9 9 9 60


We had a pair of protests. Static protested me in the first race and after the races were all over, I decided to withdraw from that race rather than contest the issue. This lead to an amusing scenario. Static was sailing Tako with test/non-standard scripts to see how it would perform in race conditions and had asked that his results not be counted for that one race, so he withdrew from the first race as well (as agreed upon before we started). So... both Static and I dropped out of race one and I was protested by a boat that was DSQ'ed before the race had started. But this was in the name of better tako scripts, so it was well worth it.Besides... one race is not really that important.

Race two created more controversy after the event ended with a fairly interesting protest scenario. This time I was not one of the principles... instead I ended up being the protest committee since nobody else was available who I felt comfortable asking to interpret a complex racing rules situation. The problem with small fleet sailing is that you can easily run out of sailors who are not not directly involved in the protest. We really need to recruit more knowledgeable sailors, but that is a different issue.

This was an instructive case of "some positions on the race course are dangerous to be in", and holds many lessons for those interested in learning to use the rules to their advantage, which is something I heartily encourage. Using the rules is specifically allowed. Rule 2 states that
"A boat and her owner shall compete in compliance with recognized
principles of sportsmanship and fair play"
If you read the ISF casebook for interpreting the rules Case 78 states:
"A boat does not break rule 2 by slowing another boat's progress in a race,
provided that this tactic is intended to benefit her own series result,
that the boats are on the same leg and lap of the course, and that in
using it she does not intentionally break a rule."
So studying the rules is to your advantage. Interpreting them makes things interesting for everyone

So... here is the interesting scenario, based on the evidence available to the protest committee (which was somewhat limited since one of the principles did not stay for the entire event and was not present for the hearing).

Boat A and B are both approaching the windward mark on starboard tack, close hauled. It appeared that neither boat will be able to round the mark without tacking onto port then tacking back onto starboard tack. Boat A is ahead and to leeward of boat B which puts boat A outside of B relative to the buoy. Boat A starts turning into the wind and collides with boat B just before boat A is head to wind. Boat B claims that boat A was tacking too close and attempting to tack onto port. Boat B was holding a close hauled course on starboard, then headed up into the wind when it became clear A was not going to clear her but did strike boat A and protested A. Both boats then turned onto onto port tack after the collision. Boat A did not accept the protest during the race, and was not available for the protest hearing after the race.

The protest committee determined that boat A did not hail for room to at the mark, nor did A hail for boat B to head up into the wind. In other words, A did not hail that she was attempting to force B up into the wind, and did not give B sufficient time to respond to being forced up into the wind if that is what she was attempting to do. In light of this, the protest committee found A had fouled B and disqualified A from that race. This was either a case of A tacking too close or attempting to force B to a head to wind course but not allowing B sufficient time to respond. Either way, the protest committee finds that A fouled B. The protest committee found it very likely that A was in fact attempting to tack, since she needed to get over to the port side of the buoy fairly soon to be able to round it properly.

Much discussion ensued, as other sailors suggested that A might have been within 2 lengths of the mark and should have been entitled to buoy room. There is a problem with this theory. First, A did not hail asking for room and second, rule 18.2 says:
"If there is reasonable doubt that a boat obtained or broke an overlap in time,
it shall be presumed that she did not"
There is reasonable doubt in the mind of the protest committee that A was within 2 boat lengths of the windward mark, and that an overlap existed, so I presume that she had no right to buoy room.

The moral of the story: approaching the windward mark on starboard you may find it difficult to execute a tack onto port without getting in some difficulty as other boats on starboard converge on the mark and are not interested in letting you pass in front of them. Being stuck inside and needing to tack onto port soon may require you to go BEHIND starboard tack boats, and lose some position. You need to clearly establish overlap and bouy room if you are going to claim it. There are some bad spots that you can get into on the course, and A appeared to have gotten into one of those. Some hailing asking for room or telling the other boat to head up into the wind might have helped A's case, but none of that was in evidence.

A clear awareness of relative position is vital, and I try to keep an eye on where the boats behind me. For instance, Case 15 states:
"In tacking to round a mark, a boat clear ahead must comply with
rule 13; a close hauled boat clear astern is entitled to hold
her course and thereby prevent the other from tacking"

There are scenarios on the race course where you can gain advantage even when behind by holding your course and preventing the boat ahead from going where they want to go, and that is fair and expected behavior, at least in the circles I sailed in in RL. Some interesting ideas for how the real pros use the rules to their advantage may be found here:

http://www.aboutvalencia.com/valencia/amcuprules.asp

see you on the water...

for snarky yet gritty details, see: the Second Life Sailing Federation forums!

I've called an SLSF meeting this Sunday, 30 April, at 11.00 AM SLT to discuss this year's SL Cup regatta series, culminating June 10th and 11th. We will meet at the Angel's Gate lighthouse in Hollywood to accomodate SYC's Sunday afternoon activities.

Please bring your ideas regarding fleet organisation, seeding, venues, schedule, rules, committee structure, trophies, etcet. This will be an open discussion with the objective of establishing the race committee and general guidelines to be developed therein.

If you cannot attend and would like your position represented, please IM and send me a notecard detailing your thoughts.

Vagabonds Yacht Club will again sponsor a custom pirate and sailboat boat show May 20 in Sanchon sim. Calling all customizers and builders! Get ready to show off your best work alongside a scurvey crew of SL sailors and pirates. The boat show format will be similar to our previous show with boats exhibited on the water for several days and winners decided by popular vote. Categories will include customized Flying Tako sailboats, and wind-powered pirate warships.

If anyone is interested in the unofficial notecard invitation to the VYC Boat Show, with crucial pirate translation, feel free to IM me in-world for a copy.

Some details about the boat show:
1. It's open to all to attend, and more importantly, all to participate. We all have builder friends who love to work on the quirky, yeah? The only limit is the Flying Tako sailing script needed to make your build sail like a Flying Tako. You can use the open source Tako 2 script found in the LSL wiki here or you can buy a copy of the Tako 3 (details here) which has a fully modifyable hull and sail design. This means you could build a giant teacup and call it your sailboat entry, so long as it sailed with the same controls as a Tako. Sure, you might have no idea what I mean when I say keep your sheet angle at half the wind direction, but building a boat isn't going to require such knowledge.
2. We're working on a 6 pm SLT start time for the boat show because I said so... and this was also the start time of the previous boat show. This is the time you can assume your boat can go down at the docks, as there's no guarantee there will be docks in place beforehand because the venue for the boat show is also the venue for sailboat racing, and racers hate docks. Also, your boat does not have to go down at the start of the boat show. It's a three-day show, so bring out the boat whenever you're able.
3. Voting will mostly likely commence at 7 pm SLT, after all the initial setup is done. Voting will most likely take on a format of people voting on what they think is the best three boats in no particular order in any one category -- your vote will not count unless you vote for three boats in each category. It is likely that you will be allowed to delete your votes and try again, should you change your mind, as was the procedure in the previous boat show. The categories will be at least for best sail, hull, and overall -- one grouping for sailboats and another for pirate ships. There might be a jury panel that votes separately from the public.

By now you might have noticed that the only thing set in stone is the Tako sailing script requirement. Times can change, though I doubt it at this point because I laid down my time with such authority, it must be true. But what will most likely change is the voting format and the categories. We won't know until we get closer to the day of the event. In fact, if anyone out there reading this has a suggestion, that would be swell. The competition is rather secondary to the fun in building new designs and thinking of oddball entries, though there is a cash prize to the winners in the end. Just, you know, concentrate on the fun rather than the complete lack of organization and think of winning as a perk.

If you still don't know where to begin in modifying your Tako, which is like me oddly enough, feel free to join the Second Life Sailing Federation, Vagabond Yacht Club, or Starboards Yacht Club and ask around the group for a bit of help. A good place to look at some modified boats on display already is the home venue of the Starboards Yacht Club, in the Hollywood sim.

Have I left out anything? Questions? Answers? Get typing.

Oh, and more information about sailing can be found at the Second Life Sailing Federation forum.

Pacifien Massiel will run tonight's Vagabonds Yacht Club races. We'll start with some short courses in Sanchon, then try out a cool new mainland venue that Pacifien has been putting together up north.

Join us in Sanchon at 7 pm... for a sailboat racing adventure

Huh?

Last time we talked, you said keep it at 1/4 wind direction.... I'm confused...

--Faykin

SHHH! Man, what's the point of giving you the cheat codes if you go blabbing them in a public forum like this?

HOLLYWOOD May 7, 2006 -- Save for crashing in the first race, Suzanne Zeluco would likely have taken another weekly regatta trophy today. As it turns out after a long dry spell MarkTwain White came out on the top of the heap. And Nber Medici, who continues improve and sail consistantly, took second.

Hollywood and the Channel Island sims are being modified to incorporate a nine hole golf course. The added islands increased strategic and tactical options. Some of the changes took place the day of the race and a large sign was posted indicating the changes. Neither MarkTwain nor Nber ran the course before the regatta although some got to make a loop.

Unfortunately Noland had trouble getting into SL and so actually rezzed his boat during the final seconds of the countdown and was unaware of the posted changes. Poor Noland roared up the west side of Santa Cruz as in the past only to find the rest of the fleet bearing down on him from the east side. Noland would surely have placed higher had he not been caught by this unfortunate string of events.

Everyone should come to Hollywood and practice before next Sunday as we have set up the most exiciting course yet, the new Trade Winds Course.

Note: There was no regatta on April 30 as SL was down.

Regatta Results
1. MarkTwain White 7.75
2. Nber Medici 9.00
3. Suzanne Zeluco 10.50
4. Static Sprocket 13.00
5. Noland Brokken 17.00
6. Al Kaiser 18.00
7. Pacifien Massiel 19.00
8. Polkerface Mahoney 20.00
9t Jamey Sismondi 24.00
9t Mannie Madonna 24.00
11 British Knight 25.00

here is the challenge (first issued two sundays ago in-world, issued again in-world last sunday, and posted last sunday in the SLSF forums as well) :
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The VYC-SYC challenge I issued last week still stands, if SYC someday wants to entertain the possibility of working with another club as equals. This woud be much more in the spirit of the America's Cup, which is something I would love to see in SL. I would structure this with each club stating what its selection process would be. People keep pointing out to me that we are one community, so I'd expect each club to allow ANYONE to sail in their selection races, (and most serious sails would sail in BOTH club's selection series to improve their chances of getting to the finals and practice). Clubs would then offer the top 3 sailors from each club's selection process the opportunity to represent that club, and the sailors could decide if they wanted to represent or not. We'd then run match race between the representatives from each club to determine the winning club. In the event one or more of the representatives of a club were not present at the finals, one of the other representatives would take their place. Finally, we would hold the finals at a neutral site (probably the big area of void sims connecting the mainland to the bulk-purchase sims (near picasso sim) so that this would be seen as a scrupulously fair and neutral venue. I'd use this event to agitate that the Lindens allow for a permanent set of bouys in this area, and a permanent SLSF starting line as well. Oh yeah, and I'd sail my heart out to get to represent SYC against VYC. What a great heart warming story that would be... and no matter what happened I'd be happy