Here is a video from the Connection event that took place on June 25, 2008. Watch in high resolution if your bandwidth supports it. Click on image to go to it. Please rate and comment.

In a few days MTW Productions will upload its coverage of the fleet sail and ribbon cutting in Union Passage from yesterday. Surfwidow has already uploaded her video coverage of that event here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ukEddASceRg

Here’s a video from the last couple of day’s activities as we await the coming of the connection.

Please go to the YouTube site and both comment and rate this video.

They are lining up in Osprey Reef and Bulia sims for the anticipated opening of Union Passage connecting the western and southern USS-SL. Photos in Bulia this morning show a growing tent city of skippers itching to be the first to cross the border. Likewise skippers in Osprey Reef are toeing the start line.

It’s understandable given the rewards at stake. MarkTwain White has declared that he will pay 5000L and give a special commemorative certificate to the first skipper who sails from from either direction across the sim, around Union Rock (just like the Passages Rocks in the USS-SL).

To win you must rezz a boat in Bulia or in Osprey Reef, raise sail in said sim, sail across the border, round Union Rock on it’s north side and cross the other border and moor. The deed must be proven to the satisfaction of MarkTwain White. It can be in the form of a witness in the SL Sailing community, in the form of photographs, or with a substancial bribe.

Those who can be confirmed as hanging out near the borders in anticipation of the opening will be given free T-shirts commemorating their participation. Just send MTW a photo of your rezzed boat at the border any time between now and the time of the appearance of Union Passage to get on the list for your special T-shirt.

Welcome to this new column devoted to the less well known world of the Big Cat Cup. The Big Cat Cup is a smaller and less well known cup than the Flying Tako Cup or the recent vast Flying Fizz World Cup each of which have legions of participants. Each series of the Big Cat Cup is limited to ten skippers who race in an eight week league. The number of racers is the only thing small about big cat racing though. These 40 foot beasts have twice the number of hulls and travel at twice the speed in twice the amount of wind. As such it is probably a good thing that the races take part in the less crowded waters of Sailors Cove where there is less scope for serious carnage! Despite the differences in the boat the similarities to other classes (Tako, Fizz, ACC, big boats, etc) are clear. In particular the skill and commitment of the racers is without question. The latest series was the spring 2008 series was no exception and was the most hotly contested series yet. Skill Apart from having a graphics card which updates fairly rapidly the other characteristic that big cat skippers have is skill. Hefting these flying machines around the race course as speed is not as easy as flicking a Tako about. Not only do they cross the sims more quickly but they have a larger turning circle (i.e. taking about 6 or 7 seconds to go about as opposed to 4) and so require a lot more forward thinking if you are not going to get pronged on a buoy or an opponent. Add to this the fairly unique aspect that, just like in real life, cat skippers do not have sail angle information displayed on their HUD (even gestures is a dirty word as far as some of the cat skippers are concerned) and the skill required to sail them quickly is increased further.

The series was an opportunity for the veteran skippers (most notably Bea Woodget and Skipper Nikolaidis) to continue to improve their skills. In doing so Bea set a new lowest ever score of zero points for the series (an improvement on her already stunning winter 2008 score of just seven points) and Skipper improved upon his own record as the only person to win a medal in every series. But it was not just the experienced sailors that displayed their skill in the series. The fresh faces of Alain Gloster and Johnnie Snook made their presence felt. Johnnie was dogged by connection troubles but still managed to take fourth in the series but it was Alain that was to make the veterans sit up and take notice. Even from day one of the series Alain was showing his potential as a force to be reckoned with as he beat the old hands in race after race, much to his amazement! Hans Zinnemann: How come you are beating the veterans Alain?Alain Gloster shouts: no idea!

Even the rough weather conditions that arrived on day two of the series along with Havoc 4 did little to cramp the style of the racers. Skipper and Bea were inseparable on the downwind leg as they passed the line with Alain and Ella Larson so hot on their heels that only five seconds separating all four racers. Even after rounding all the islands and returning upwind to the finish only ten seconds separated Bea, Alain and Skipper.

These skippers are putting in times that I can only dream of achieving… in my own boat!

Commitment

The skill of these racers has come about by their commitment to the class. For some time it has been obvious that Skipper is one of the most committed cat skippers. In the course of the last eleven months he has clocked up 19,000 kilometres in his cat. That is the equivalent of him sailing his cat continuously for more than two weeks without a single break.

The first race of the series coincided with a sticky week when Daylight Saving Time caused clocks in the US to go forwards at a different time from the clocks going forwards in Europe. This caught out a few of the European skippers off guard as they turned up fashionably late. If the clocks changing is inconvenient for most of us let’s spare a thought for our southern hemisphere cousins. Not only does the start of the summer in the Northern hemisphere mean that clocks at the top of the world go forwards but it also means the end of their long days and so they put their clocks back. This means a double-whammy for the likes of Australian Alain. Racing in the winter series would have been difficult with a start time of 7am (before he rushes off to his office) but because of the clock changes he gets up at 5am! With commitment like that it is little wonder that his times were so consistent and that he took second place in the series. He is not the only racer who is prepared to get up in the dark to race the cat. Grant Coen and Ahjep Kattun will also be racing in the summer series. Grant is from Australia but Ahjep is from Malaysia!

Their commitment to the cup is to be commended but take a moment to consider Johnnie. He takes a break at the pizza restaurant he runs to race in the cup and so has taken on an extra member of staff just for the Thursday races!

The Summer Series

The summer series starts at noon on Thursday the 19th of June in Plum Gut. Traditionally the Big Cat Cup has been won by a woman but with so many good racers taking part in the latest instalment this one can be won by either a man or a woman. And with one place still available1 who knows, it could be you!

Number of place available is correct at time of writing. Number of racers can go up as well as down. Your cat will not be repossessed if you do not attend races.

The Sailors’ Cove complex of 31 sims is about to join the United Sailing Sims of Second Life. The move will expand the USS-SL to 125 regions. The connection will take place when Union Passage region is dropped in north of Osprey Reef and east of Bulia.

The new sim, an open space sim, will be owned by MarkTwain White and Nber Medici. The sim is designed to facilitate not only race passage but a very pleasant passage area for cruisers going between the Sailor’s Cove portion of the USS-SL and the Southern USS-SL sims.

Even more exciting is that the entire 125 sim complex will be moved by LL to a new open portion of the grid where we will have room to expand.

The move could happen in a matter of a few days. We cannot say at this point just when the connection will be made. Plans are afoot for a grand boat parade thru most of the yacht club areas of the complex on Saturday June 28. More on that later. For now, Starboards Yacht Club is hosting a meeting tomorrow night to plan other events over the next several days as we celebrate this union. All clubs and SL sailing leaders are invited to send representatives to the meeting to brainstorm celebration ideas. The meeting will be at 7pm Thursday, June 19 at the Lounge in SYC.

Here is archival footage of the Gold Cup Quarter Finals of the World Fizz Cup. This is part one. What is archival footage? It contains the same great video coverage as our full coverage but at a medium resolution. Also there is no attempt to create pacing and/or use interesting special effects to enhance the viewing experience. It’s pure racing, again and again and again. Grin.

This video features the following skippers: Masahisa Greenwood, Liv Leigh, Odysseus Yinyan, Kei Choc, Max Starostin, and Julia Ceres.

Still in the Editing Room: Gold Cup Quarter Finals #2; Gold Cup Semi-Finals.

Over the past six weeks of Fizz Cup sailing, we’ve all watched as nearly 6 dozen sailors competed in hundreds of races spread over four large sailing communities. The size and global expanse of the competition truly merits the title of “World Fizz Cup.”

So much great sailing took place, that I fear many truly great races got blurred in memory as soon as the next start gun went off. One took place this past Sunday morning, in the semi-final match up of Stuart Choche, Yuu Nakamichi and Takeshi Schnyder.

All three skippers are truly excellent sailors and each had repeatedly proved it through the relentless series of qualifying matches that earned them a berth in the Gold cup Semi’s, which makes what happened all the more astonishing.

The semi-final races were in “expert” mode, demanding a high degree of technical proficiency from the skippers. The race was even more challenging, however, since the competition used a new course released just a few days before the race; the skippers had little chance to practice. Under those incredibly stressful conditions, Yuu Nakamichi proved flawless and overpowering in the matchup. His amazing performance not only won him a place in the Gold Cup Final… in my opinion it raised the level of serious Fizz competition for all future sailing.

But let’s back up a bit… That outcome wasn’t yet evident when the start gun went off in the first race. Stuart Choche actually led the pack off the line in Race One, crossing at +00:02, with Yuu two seconds behind him, and Takeshi bringing up the rear with +00:06. Takeshi had momentum, however and pulled ahead of Yuu into the middle spot behind Stuart as they continued on the first leg.

To reach the green mark however, the three boats needed to beat to windward and try to make a mark in only two tacks. In third position, Yuu made a daring move; he broke early from the pack, tacking south toward green by pinching windward on starboard. That bold gambit proved brilliant, as Yuu rounded the first marker well ahead of his competition. I was standing next to joepie Korobase for much of the race; joepie won the Silver Cup and will race for the Gold on June 8. As the crowd on the platform gave out a huge shout and people exclaimed “He must have a jet engine!” joepie smiled and cooly observed “(He) just sailed closer to the wind.”

Yuu never looked back, extending his lead to what joepie called a “comfortable‘ margin as he made it around the rest of the course. Yuu’s finish time was 04:34, a full thirty-six seconds ahead of Stuart, and more than a minute ahead of Takeshi! Mothgirl Dibou couldn’t hold back, exclaiming “YAY!!!! Thats how to sail this boat!!!!“ Joepie remained a bit more reserved as she continued to size up her possible opponent for the finals… “Big differences” she concluded.

In the second race, Yuu had a perfect start, crossing the line with a valid +00:00. Takeshi was on his heels with a +00:02 start, but Yuu was unstoppable. He relentlessly expanded his lead over the other boats, ending with a +04:17 finish, a full half minute ahead of Takeshi, and the fasted run by any of the six semi-finalists in the ten races on FFCB3 that day.

Takeshi and Stuart then rose to the occasion in Race #3, with the best start I’ve ever seen in SLSailing. It may be worth commenting that I’ve made a few posts here and in the Forum about pre-start tactics, noting that Fizz racers used them less than Tako skippers in my experience. Liv Leigh replied that, for a variety of reasons, she thought an aggressive start in a Fizz could be “suicidal.” Well, sportsfans, Race #3 began with Yuu and Takeshi simultaneously hitting the line at exactly +00:00, and both starts were valid. Stuart was hardly more conservative, crossing at +00:01!!! It’s mind-boggling to consider the skill (and, frankly, audacity) it takes to get a valid +00:00 start in such a high stakes race… but in this case two of the skippers did it… and Yuu in fact even did it in back-to-back races.

Stuart and Takeshi played the first half of Race #3 well; they stayed in front of Yuu on the first leg. Yuu again tried to tack early and beat them to the Green Mark, but the lead boats had learned their lesson and timed the tack wisely. First Stuart, then Takeshi rounded the green with Yuu two boat lengths astern.

That wouldn’t last long, however. Yuu relentlessly inched forward, and by the far mark was again in control. Takeshi fought back with strength and determination, but Yuu was unstoppable. In his worst performance of the day, Yuu finished first with 05:14, a scant four seconds ahead of Takeshi.

Race #4 was again amazing, but for a totally different reason. Just as the boats reached the start line, a powerboat came onto the course, cutting right in front of the racers. Stuart was closest to the griefing boat and ended up over-early; Takeshi however remained steadfast, slicing the line AGAIN at +00:00. Yuu held back with all the confusion, crossing at +00:06. Despite the slow start, however, Yuu relentlessly pushed forward. Continuing the pattern set in the prior races, he gained the lead while reaching for the far mark and built on it on the Run home to Hollywood. He finished with +04:46, again twenty-three seconds in front of Takeshi.

The Fifth and final race was a tribute to all three sailors. They crossed the line together with a mere one second separation, and for much of the first leg the three boats sailed in tandem, with Stuart and Takeshi holding Yuu sandwiched between them. It couldn’t last though, and Yuu finally broke out into clean air, taking the green mark in front of the other boats and never giving up the lead again. The race was wonderful to watch, however. Those of us on the deck saw all three boats appear on the horizon at the same time with their spinnakers flying and Yuu in the lead. It was a triumphant, confident lap for three of the best skippers in SLSailing.

Yuu’s incredible perfomance won him a spot in the Finals on June 8, where he’ll race against Kei Cioc and joepie Korobase for the Gold Cup.

As we watched Yuu’s semi-final scores add up, I turned to the person next to me at the viewing box rail and said “Joepie? You should be worried…”
With no hesitation she laughed and shot back: “Why? Girls are better sailors! EVERYBODY know that!”

A lot has been said about the 2008 World Fizz Cup in these pages.
As Rear Admiral MarkTwain White predicted long ago, Fizz ‘08 has turned out to be the largest and the best organized sailing competition — by far — in the history of Second Life sailing.

This past weekend saw an intense series of quarter-final and semi-final battles to choose the finalists for the Gold Cup, and the flow chart below shows the schedule of competition leading toward the final races that will take place on June 8.

As you can see above, On Saturday May 31, the 12 winners of the Gold cup qualifying rounds again met on the SYC Start Line in Hollywood to do battle. The fleet was divided into four groups of three boats, and each group sailed five races. The four winning skippers from those 20 races had little opportunity to reflect on their glory, however, since the very next morning they piled back into their sleek sail machines to fight in the semi-final competition. They were joined on the start line by Kentrock Messmer and Stuart Coche, who earned their spots by winning the Silver second and third place awards the previous week.

The six semi-finalists were again divided into two groups of three boats, and each group again sailed five races Sunday morning using a new course designed by Bea Woodget, the Fizz Cup Director. The conditions were good for racing. Few technical issues interferred, and the skippers were able to put on a pyrotechnic display of sailing skill and speed for the overflow, enthusiastic crowd in attendance.

When the salt spray finally settled Sunday, only two skippers remained standing: Kei Cioc and Yuu Nakamichi. They now advance to the final round where joepie Korobase, the winner of the Silver Cup Division, is well-rested and just waiting to take them on.

Make sure to come early to watch the finals competition this Sunday, June 8. It promises to be the most exciting sailboat race of year, and whichever skipper wins, the event will be a true landmark in SL Sailing history.

World Flying Fizz Cup 2008
Finals Competition:

Kei Cioc
Yuu Nakamichi
joepie Korobase

Sunday, June 8 2008 10:00am SLT
Starboards Yacht Club, Hollywood Sim

Yes MTW Productions knows they got it backwards. They released the Silver Cup finals video BEFORE the semi-finals. That’s indie film makers for you. Anyway, below is the newly uploaded video of the event. It also showcases some special effects. If you click on the screen (but not on the play button) you will go directly to the YouTube page where you can watch the video in high quality. Please rate and comment.

The World Fizz Cup Silver Cup finals was held on Saturyday May 24. We are uploading the video on the finals before the video on the semi-finals so that we can get it out before the Gold Cup competition occurs. The semi-finals will be the next video released by MTW Productions. Although you can click on the player button here to watch the video in this window, we recommend you click on the screen anywhere other than the play button to go directly to YouTube and click on the Watch in High Quality option if your bandwidth will allow it. It’s that much better. And, as always we encourage your comments, especially comments made on the YouTube page as those are read by many people outside of Second Life. Your comments there could begin new sailors into SL and SL Sailing.