How to start, I always hates that part with texts. The middle is easy, beginning and ending.. my personal horror show. I could start tho, with the bees and the flowers... but that would be a bit too far streched out. So I will start with, girl meets boy. Girl likes boy, and boy seems to like girl. It felt like a hundred cups of coffee later, that boy, takes girl out on the first date.
So we did a little tour, all through the Sailors Cove South, starting at Mount Cooper, ending at Cooper Creek. We didn't wanted it to end premature, so we took a hike. I was not so fond of a hike with flipflips, but he was a gentleman and helped out whenever it was neccessary.
The first way took us to the dock in the north, where we grabbed a duo-kayak to paddle all through the small streams. At one point, we switched into a pedal boat, and had a great laugh, just until an aligator slided into the water just a few meters next to our little swan-boat.
Working hard to get my fill
Everybody wants a thrill
Payin' anything to roll the dice
Just one more time
Some will win, some will lose
Some were born to sing the blues
Oh, the movie never ends
It goes on and on and on and on
~Don't stop believing - Journey
Finally the swan boat was passé and one of the walkways let us up to the butterfly house, to relax and have some cuddle time. But just a short while, because a zipline took us almost all the way down back to his Destino, to take us back home, where I stayed the night. Tell me, shall I keep him?
Those of you how read my blog frequently know, that I have a knack for meaningful boat names. The Ushuaia was released right after I met Marty, and even tho I know it is early but I think I can call him the man of my dreams.
After getting the thought that there might be no one out there, who can "stand" me for more than 5 minutes, this, meeting him, was like getting the second chance on living a happy life.
So, since we share this feeling, about the second chance, it became the name of our new boat. I proudly present the first pictures or the 'Second Chance'.
It took me quite some time to find a name I like, and a theme. After I finished the Wombat Dreaming - the Catamaran scheme I painted for Jasp, I thought it is actually a nice idea. Tho he is from down under, it is something like his national art.
I thought bam thats it, but how to put it for me? I am from Germany, and germanic tribes moved, got mixed up and never really were much into arts .. more into fight and war.
After some research, I decided, to go with a very common theme, dragons, but with lots of celtic knots, everything painted with chalk-technique, tho I just needed a few colors, and could build them up nicely. Plus this way, even if it was a lot of work, one can see every single brush streak. I am very proud of myself with this one, and I a quite happy that my dear Jaspar is a tiny bit jealous, because he thinks, the Dragons Touch II looks actually better than the Wombat Dreaming II.
On the pics you can see us, on the first official tour, just around Fastnet Rock and back. Next thing on my list, matching WetSuits XD .. yeehaw!
My dear friend Jaspar asked me to paint his Flying Shadow in the same colour-scheme like I did his Nacra17. Caused by a sore thumb on my right hand it took me a bit longer, but today I was finally in the right place, to finish it.
I am so happy that its done, and that Jasp obviously likes it. Yay!
I already wrote about the Flying Shadow, but I have to write again. Hera a close friend of me loves catamarans, and she was already so in love with the Nacra, that I decided to take her for a spin in the new Flying Shadow. I usually don't post so many pictures of my boats before they got their unique paint job, but I couldn't resist. This one is awesome. You actually feel the rhythm of the waves, the water spray, the wind.
And Hera told me, that the copilot feels it too, the way the wind gets into the sails... its amazing.
Yesterday was more than just a "what shall we do day!" but more of an "let's see the news at Dutch Harbor, and snoop around a bit"-day. It was the best decision we made in a long time! If someone things, that Analyse and Dutch are out of ideas or lazy, they are SO wrong!
The first discovery was the water lock that finally is ready to use. I thought month ago, dang is she building a water lock there and hell yes! They did it, and its amazing. The sounds the sensation. Sure the linden water doesn't has the ability to rise but heck.. it's a working water lock! Here at Dutch Harbor, I am so in love with it, I could keep writing about it all the time, but it's not what I wanted to ramble about.
No, it's the Mary Celeste ... and that girl stole my heart! Is she big.. of course, does she have a belly.. heck yeah.. but no one has ever seen so lovely ropes! The first thing we did after walking all over those amazing planks and snooping it all out, was .. Jasp and I having our Titanic-Moment!
Now lets talk about the ship. There was a main cabin, and a second one with 6 bunks down up front in the hull. it has a moon-pool and several hatches. TWO!!! masts and so beautifully closed sails, like if she is sleeping and just waiting for the perfect crew! And of course, It's another Analyse Dean - Miracle Child!
You may think, ok.. that was Analyse, but she mentioned Dutch earlier as well. You are right, I did, and I am not promising too much, when I tell you about the latest Darling in his fleet. Just two days to go, and this beauty will be up for sale.
The "Flying Shadow" a foiling catamaran, another RL-rebuild here in SL .. the original is the "Flying Phantom" and just watching this video gives me goosebumps all over. And now we will have that adventure finally in here too! I am in LOVE!
Tho people, get your wetsuits out, put some helmets on and PFDs and lets FLY sailing!
Like little drops, of red and yellow,are you my friends, the fairies who call the autumnal falling. The time of rain, of storms. The time of snuggling in front of the warmth. I don't want to imagine a fall, without someone to hold on to.
My fall this year is great so far, and like someone, keeps warming my heart, in his.. very own special way, the warm colors of the fall, wrap the world in a cozy blanket, to get ready for the long sleep of winter.
Today, I spent a lot of time with preparing my home. I got rid of all the summerly fresh things, and went for warm reds and yellows, to make the autumnal feeling complete. The only thing I could miss now, is a partner by my side, but I think that's just a formality.
To get out of my four walls, I took a tiny cruise, to Eagle Mountain. One of the new tenants there, approached me earlier today, about how impressed he was with my place and landscaping. We kept talking for a while, and he told me, where he lives, and.. it was near by. Another reason why you gotta love the Sailors Cove. You meet new friends, by just sitting at home, and all of them, have the same interests, and often similar opinions about land design.
A week ago, we all got the message, that autumn spreads its wings, over the Cove, and I don't know what I thought might happen, but what I saw today, was just amazing. I really felt the cold air burning my cheeks, the raw fall wind, brushing my hair, like a steamy lover, and the waves, spraying my not water proof clothes. I am writing this, while I sit in front of my fireplace, holding a big mug of cocoa, while a fall storm is roaming around the Isle.
If you feel bored... and if you don't know what to do, put on some warm clothes, and visit us in Sailors Town, rez a boat, and roam around. My last words for today, are part of an initiative on Flickr. "Mainland Matters!"
Today was an almost ordinary Saturday in good old SecondLife. I got up, checked the Cruise, and was happy to see, what I can use my IF for once. We had a nice, small cruise, with slow wind settings around the Sailors Cove, and guess what, nothing out of the ordinary happened.
You may think now, nothing did happen? Heck why should I keep on reading?! Let me tell you why, cuz you like reading, you enjoy sailing, and probably you love pictures of it, or just simply all together. This cruise was great even for beginners, no active zickzack tacking, but some tacking had been there ...
The most important part of this cruise was, that Jasp and I was able to team up again, for real this time, and not just on paper. I had a surgery in RL, and needed to take a slight break from Second Life, blogging and all this, so this is me being back, and just enjoying my time. And spending it with one of the most important persons of my SL, makes it even more worthy of a blog post.
It was a bit foggy today, and cloudy, but the wind was amazing, 15 knots from northwest, and Jaspar and I were in a really good mood, sailing together.
The king and his men stole the queen from her bed and bound her in her Bones. The seas be ours and by the powers where we will, we'll roam. Yo, ho, all hands hoist the colors high. Heave ho, thieves and beggars, never shall we die.
Today started casual. Jasp and I met and decided for some chilling and a coffee. While he was still thinking if he shall take milk, sugar or both, I went online-shopping and got him a wet suit and matching shoes, because, I planned another adventure ...
You may start guessing, why the heck do we need a wet suit. Let me tell you, it's all about the kinks! And.. in this case, not getting a cold from the autumnal fresh water and wind, blowing from the south.
After fitting and getting dressed we were ready to roll, our plan, doing the latest Brook Hills Yacht Club Cruise (#04)!
In the spirit of the new boat, we decided to take out Jaspars Nacra, this way, we havent put on the harnesses in vain. But maybe with some vanity, it also starts with a "v". This boat is hella fast, and like with every other boat you need to learn how to sail it, to feel its groove, and get into it. We already hit 16 knots, when we met Kovu and Seb in their 12M, while they were secretly training for the Commodore's Cup in Sunday.
The cruise took us through the Columbia River, and honestly, I have never been through there that fast! It was amazing how great Jasp and I work together by sailing those boats. But that wasn't the adventure I wanted to tell you about. No, we actually saw The Blake Pearl, and live to tell the story! While we were passing the Pirates Cove, there had been an attack, and one ship, made us shiver in respect. A huge black ship, known as .. The Blake Pearl.
To all of you who has no idea what I am talking about, I will try to explain. Almost everybody knows the movies "Pirates of the Caribbean" and the famous ship The Black Pearl. In here, the sailors of Second Life, live and sail in a place named Blake Sea. Sure there are many other places, but it is the beating heart, of the sailing community.
Jasp and I bow our heads, before The Blake Pearl and it's crew. Never shall you die! Yo Ho!
You may ask yourself, what this song has to do with adventures or boats, but in this case, a lot! My good friend Jasp put his Nacra 17 into my hands, with the request for a crazy, out of the box paint job. And with my RL and other work, I had a lack of ideas, so he came on to me, and said, aboriginal artwork would be awesome.
There we got the problem... I am neither an Aborigine nor from australia, how shall I get this artwork done with my limited talents. Tho I started studying, Aboriginal artworks, the written language, pictures of animals, to get into a groove, into the right.. language to understand this special boats needs.
I ended up, painting the tramp all by hand, cuz of the lack of wombat paintings i could have used. But it was worth it, Jasp just loves it, and that's all that counts!
The ship navigated through the sea without a sound
The navigator saw nothing anymore
The crew was full of fear
And they all drank too much rum
So that no disaster would happen today
They sang this old song:
Hey hey hobgoblin - our ship is your home
Huh huh and if you want to we'll all drown in the sea
Hey hey hobgoblin - another glass of rum on this
Huh huh take our word a sailor won't be knocked for six
A sailor won't be knocked for six
As you can see, this lyrics are originally in german, it is a really old song, but by the lag I had today, I guess it must have been the ship's kobold! My day was all about boats, what makes me now just snuggle on my couch with my notebook on the lap, writing out of the coziness of my house while the fireplace warms everything. But let me start at the beginning.
I started my day with a short tour to Vindar, to get the cruise details for this weekend. I decided to pick the Madpea, because .. damn.. she needed a run, and I could do some relaxed sailing.
When I arrived at Vindar, I met Kovu while he was just putting up the new cruise vendor. I grabbed the notecard and made my run back home, just enjoying the smooth waves and the nice fresh wind. Sometimes.. I could swear.. the sounds and the view .. I can smell the water and the sea breeze.
Back home I took the time to inspect the cruise details, and was slightly shocked. A cruise with almost just tacking.. nothing else, tough nut to crack. But what boat shall I take? Bandit IF fell through the cracks cause of the tacking. Almost every other boat was sailed recently by me. Tho it was a tie between Madpea and Loonetta.
My Loonetta won. She got the sweet name "True Love" and yes I know, totally Dawson's Creek! We sailed today with a big fleet, something that told us before we started, that it will be laggy as hell. But we all know, lag is nothing else as the ship's kobold!
Second Life was very kind, by messing some of the boats up. This way some were hella faster than others, and the fleet got separated. When I finally arrived the first rendezvous point, I moored my >True Love< and joined Jaspar on his >Thelxipea<, I decided, to be his ship's kobold!
But Jasp knows how to deal with little critters, tho he kept me fed on Banana Split and whipped cream, and the lag was almost gone. this way we arrived at Vindar safe and sound, where I took an old harbor boat and drove relaxed back home.
A huge thank you to Tad Loony for this loony cruise. It was.. something else, and for sure NOT boring!
Instead of a joke I will quote something.
Xsenia Silverfall: maybe i do madpea
Kovu Kumel: mad pee?
Xsenia Silverfall: yah i got mad pee suck it up lol
Kovu Kumel: if you use the mad pee you need to drink less ;P
Tho first of all i gotta kick that person to mars who is writing in my name, and being so dark and crushed down in spirit lately. But by a look in the mirror i saw, it was me. I don't want to be this person, feeling all bad and sad and roasting in self pity.
I am a Gemini tho its part of my personality to be able to flip a switch, and let my other half rule for a while. I did this today, because, I wasn't recognizing myself. I started crying by the slightest nice gesture of a friend, as if I am not deserving him liking me. So this ends now! ... At least for a while.
I am one of these humans who works best with music. Play sad music, and I will get sed. Play fun music, and my mood is brightening. This time it was my creativity that pulled the plug on my sadness again. I finally refurbished the Chariot - that's my Boss 225.
When I first rode the demo of this boat, I felt... like this one song I enjoy so much. The song I am sharing with you in this post as well. And like so many times before, this song, brightened my day, lifted my spirits and scared away all the bad thoughts and tears, which are lurking in the shadows of my personality.
With this new spirit, i asked my bestie Jasp for a cruise today, and we decided to do the latest Brook Hills Yacht Club Cruise (#03) today. A bit late, but hey.. the day has just so much hours, right?!
It's been a while that we sailed the Bandit IF, but its a favorite of us, tho we grabbed the Faith - that's my IF - and took on this cruise, even with the long starboard tack back home. We are always trying our best, tho no autopilot, but keeping all the lights neat green. No faking there.
The cruise was short and very nice, we had surprisingly rare problems with the sims or sim crossings, and this time there was no rain in Sailors Cove South, means, we stayed dry, at least untill a wave hit the boat, it heeled very much and.. you can imagine the rest.
We skipped a short part on the end, but went to my place, where my other good friend Claw was waiting for us. He was curious about the paint job on my Chariot as well, and offered me, to make a sweet little flag for it. How can i say no?!
After some chatter, I took Jasp and brought him home, using the Boss 225, and got another great look at his Thelxipea, his B55 that just left my berth for refurbishing.
Thank you for this lovely day Jasp, and thank you for every thing else as well. My adventure ended, with me driving home, and getting all warmed up again, at the fire pit on my beach at Hay Harbor. I will not forget this day, and how good it felt and feels.
