The weather for sailing hasn’t cooperated very well these past two weeks, but the Fizz fleet’s been out there nonetheless, fiercely competing in the World Cup 2008 qualification rounds.

After five rounds, Masahisa Greenwood’s pulled ahead of the fleet, with Yuu Nakamichi just astern. Here’s the full skipper ranking after the conclusion of Saturday’s competition at NYC:

1. Masahisa Greenwood
2. Yuu Nakamichi
3. Liv Leigh
4. Max Starostin
5. Toru Bracken
6. Heidi Stiglitz
7. Kei Cioc
8. Hypathia Rieko
9. Julia Ceres
10. Kentrock Messmer
11. Takeshi Schnyder
12. Odysseus Yiyuan

Round Six takes place today (Sunday May 11) in Boogdolt!

Don’t miss it!

The Great Exodus and Raft Up
(The greatest photo op in SL Sailing History)
May 10, 2008

[Cross posted as SLSailing.ORG]

As fans of the great SL precursor Snow Crash are aware, The Raft is a huge group of boats and boat people who have lashed up to an aircraft carrier in the metaverse of Snow Crash. Now in Snow Crash the FIRST “Raft” is not a positive thing. However in SL we are going to make up the SECOND Raft, and it will be positive symbol of the good association we have as a community of sailors in OUR virtual reality.

As we take steps to move to the “SL Sailing Association” group (see below for the reasons why) we are going to hold the GREAT SL SAILING RAFT UP this Saturday in Gizo Straight region in the United Sailing Sims of Second Life.

Time and Location: 9AM Saturday May 10 in Gizo Straight region in the USS-SL.

What: A raft up of each class of boat we race in SL. A great photo op. One or more of which will be used for “promotional images” for the group.

The Particulars: After a brief ceremony and invitation to move the “SL Sailing Association” one boat from each racing class will be arranged in two separate raft ups. In the first raft up the boats will be lined up side by side in a line. There will be markers placed with the name of each class of boat. Where possible we would like the original designer of a boat to place his/her boat in the raft-up. Where that isn’t possible we will take volunteers.

In the second raft up we will arrange the same boats in a complete circle.

In a third raft up all attendees will be invited to rezz a boat, any boat, (sim permitting) for an the Uber photo opt. Does anyone know of a huge aircraft carrier out there we can bring in for the shot? Note: this shot might need to be moved to a full sim. We will plan for such a contingency.

By Whose Authority?: MarkTwain White and Nber Medici will coordinate the event but it is not a yacht club event, it is an event for everyone in the sailing community.

You will not need a landmark. Just look for Gizo Straight on your MAP and TP to the mass of green dots.

================

In order to conform with Linden Lab’s new, restrictive trademark policy, many groups and web publications will need to change their name. “Second Life Sailing Federation” is one of those groups. We can argue until we are blue in the face about the legality or fairness of this policy change, but the reality is that if LL wishes to enforce this policy they have many ways to enforce it that has nothing to do with legal challenges. Without rehashing a whole lot of debate in a whole lot of places, Linden Lab can shut down any group within SL that it chooses to based on TOS. It is clear that “Second Life Sailing Federation” is one of those groups that falls outside of LL’s new branding policy.

SLSF needs a new name.

The name Second Life Sailing Federation was originally chosen because the name sounded important, and the founders of the group thought it would bring sailors together to share information and discuss common issues. There was never a view that the SL group “SL Sailing Federation” would be an authoritative body that dictated SL sailing policies and restricted activities. We know this for a fact as Mark is a charter officer of the group.

Unfortunately others used the name in a way that suggested that the SLSF was indeed an authoritative group with the power to give its blessings or withhold them from sailing activities. As many know, this lead to argument and discord within the sailing community and it sadly damaged the cooperative spirit that SLSF was initially designed to encourage. In retrospect, the SLSF name may have been part of the problem. The very nature of the term “Federation” suggests a legal relationship between groups. Over time many have interpreted SLSF as a federation of yacht clubs.

After much thought and many discussions, it’s clear that should not be the intent nor the nature of SL Sailing. SL Sailing is a loose knit group of freely associating SL sailing enthusiasts. The existence of yacht clubs is really little more than a way to characterize leadership styles among the overall community. Most all of us are members of nearly all yacht clubs in SL, which is as it should be. The regular members of the community give little consideration to distinctions in the clubs. Which is a healthy attitude. In the brief but tumultuous history of SL Sailing those times that emphasized differences between clubs were times of turmoil, pain, and hard feelings. But those times that celebrated our unity as a group (even in the context of the existence of multiple yacht clubs) have been characterized by positive feelings and rapid growth in the community.

We are a free association of sailors. Let’s let that be our name. So since we have to change the name anyway, let’s change it to be a better reflection of what we are as a group. Let’s become the “SL Sailing Association”.

 The SL Sailing Association group is now available. It’s open enrollment of course.

Cinco de Mayo, 2008
MarkTwain White
Nber Medici

In a surprise announcement, SYC Commodores MarkTwain White and Nber Medici this morning discussed their plan to transfer the management of Starboards Yacht Club to a newly appointed SYC Steering Committee headed by two new Commodores, Chad Sawson and Aislin Keynes.

Explaining this change, emeritus Commodore White briefly detailed the remarkable history of SLSailing’s success over past year and the explosive growth of both the USS estates and its flagship yacht club, SYC. He went on to say that the expanding community brought new challenges and responsibilities, so Commodores White and Medici felt this was the time to expand and diversify the Club’s management structure. Although they are stepping to one side, there was no suggestion they were stepping out.

MTW comments today made it clear that the change in management was a prudent response to SYC’s tremendous past success, and it is likely a key part of the club’s future vision. MarkTwain and Nber will now take positions as Rear Commodores at the Club, focusing on innovative projects and areas that they feel are important for the SYC’s continued growth and expansion.

Although the announcement this morning was less than five minutes long, the change in organization and management for SYC may have a major impact on the Club’s day-to-day activities and future planning. Over the ensuing few weeks, SLSailing.Com will attempt to interview the new Commodores and steering committee members, and attempt to provide an open format where sailors can discuss where SLSailing is headed during winds of change.

Today’s announcements made it pretty clear that, no matter what happens, SYC is going to have a clear eye on deck and confident hand on the helm.

Here is an edited copy of this morning’s transcript:

MarkTwain White:

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, IF I COULD HAVE YOUR ATTENTION PLEASE.
Welcome to Starboards Yacht Club. In just a few minutes we will begin our weekly broadcast of SAIL ON on SLCN.TV, but first Nber Medici and I wish to share some exciting news with all of you…
[Read more →]

Anyone who looks closely at the “big map” on SL while in USS in recent days will notice just a little south of the southern sims some new ones are popping up. One in particular is Artificial Island where I recently enjoyed an exciting tour by the fascinating ZATZAi Asturias. This is the conversation that followed.

Delinda Dyrssen: I understand your bringing some new additions to USS. Tell me how this came about?
ZATZAi Asturias: Well you can blame MarkTwain White actually, we’ve known each other casually for a good while and I was asking his advice on something (telling him my plans and so forth) when he suggested the connection. I’d always liked what Mark and the others had done with the USS and had always wanted sailing to be a part of my own efforts so I was of course fine with the idea. Over the course of several weeks we met and talked about what I could expect and what would be expected of me, as well as meeting with the current USS sim holders.

DD: Tell me a little about the sims you will be bringing in .. Especially the Artificial Island Sim and how it will integrate with the Sailing community
ZA: There will be five sims in all, mostly ocean sims, three of them will be open space class 5 sims, and two will be full class 5 sims. Artificial Isle is my main sim, it was designed to be an event host and we’ve played home to several events since its inception in early 2007. We’ve hosted the home grown Second Convention which shows twice yearly, as well as acted as the inworld hub for SLCC 2007 and a few small conferences and events for other groups as well. We also put on regular events of a smaller nature of course, such as live music, games, and sporting events. The plan is to begin having regular sailing events, as well as other sporting activities like submarine races, tugby and aero racing (Hoverboard racing). The Artificial Isle sim is a single island, with plenty of surrounding water to sail around, as well as a interior bay. The Passages sim to the southwest will be a beach property that is 2/3rds water. The other three Open Space sims will be predominantly or completely water. With one have a few residential spots (Two Actually), the other playing home to our sporting club, and the last being open water.

DD: Well as you probably already know, people involved in sailing are always very concerned about lag.. I understand you have done some things to combat this… care to elaborate?
ZA: For SLCC we had 2,499 people come through in three days, for SecCon (Second Convention) we regular maxed out the sim (65 people concurrent), so we have a lot of experience with sim lag and how to manage it. Having the sims be Class 5 helps a lot, but the way we combat it is is with careful design, there are actually very few textures in use on the surface, and the prim geometry is relatively simple as well. There are also several visual blocks so people’s occlusion culling can do it’s job (You don’t render what you don’t see), that and careful script management has done wonders. We’re a relatively full sim, but our performance stats tends to be much better than other sims, we also helped beta test Havok 4 so we could know what to expect as it was eventually deployed. I’m happy to say we’ve never crashed during a large event, and sim stats have almost always been stellar, any lag tends to be strictly on the client side, which is dependant on the speed of the users computer.

DD: Tell me more about the sort of event you do here on AI sim? What is SecCon all about?
ZA: We host several events, not just our own, but SecCon in particular is a convention of my own creations. It’s a virtual convention, for the virtual world of Second Life. Its traditionally been a three day event with several events a day. The events ranging from discussion panels about issues that affect Second Life and the Internet at large, as well as sporting events, a party or two, and even fashion shows. Perhaps the most fun event though is the “Slebrity Roast”, were we pick out one well known individual in Second Life and get their friends to come and poke fun at them, much like they do on Comedy Central. Our next convention is coming up this May, and will be announced shortly, we have discussion panels on Net Neutrality, the future of Second Life grids, a Slebrity Roast and fashion show of course, as well as sporting events like Tugby, and a sailing regatta just to name two. There will be around fifteen events this spring, and it’ll be hosted concurrently in other sims around Second Life for those who can’t attend in person (like if the sim fills up) but want to listen/watch the live stream.

DD: It sounds like you will be exposing many people to Sailing in SL simply by the events being held in USS. I know you originally designed your sims with sailing in mind… tell me more about your experience with sailing in SL.. or in RL if you want.
ZA: I actually don’t sail in real life, I kayak. As far as Second Life is concerned, I was introduced to sailing way back in fall 2005 when Pixeleen Mistral was just getting things going in Sanchon. I would sail around the Korea mainland from my property in Seonhan to her sim and back, back then you could circumnavigate the continent, but there’s far too much litter now. I had a great deal of fun with her and the pirates but I never got into competitive sailing, because it was just too competitive! But I also took a lot of inspiration from the young Hollywood sim, and I really liked how you could sail all the way around it back then, and I followed a similar design with my own sim, but also adding a bay you could sail in and out of easily.

DD: Well it looks like it will be a major attraction to sailors everywhere in SL. I can see from the amount of effort you put into SL that you believe there is a bright future in Virtual Worlds. Can you tell me more about where you have been and where you see it going?
ZA: I remember reading “Snowcrash” years ago and thinking what a great idea Stephenson had, the Metaverse. I’ve seen a couple places try to pull it off without large success. I even remember seeing Second Life on display at E3 (Electronic & Entertainment Expo) several years ago, I thought it had potential but wasn’t terribly impressed. Second Life hasn’t changed too much since then, though it’s nice to finally be getting Havok 4, Windlight etc, but it’s fundamentally the same. Second Life is a platform, and it succeeds or fails based on what its user-base does with it. We’ve certainly seen individuals and organizations alike succeed and fail in this realm. I think the largest mistake some outfits make, is treating Second Life like a billboard, they treat it like a website. A place where you say who you are, and what you do, and that’s it. And that’s fine if you just want people to know you exist, but if you want to build word of mouth, get people involved, you have to be interactive. You have to take the approach you would in real life, if a company was to build an embassy of some sort to explain who they are and what they do, or like when any organization gets involved in a local community. It’s not an easy thing to do, but if you can pull it off, it can be very rewarding. I think there is still much potential to Second Life and other virtual worlds, each world having its own advantages and disadvantages. But Second Life is certainly poised with its recent technological advancements, the pressure Linden Lab is exerting on their Congressional contacts to become the ICANN of the Metaverse, and the coming of Open Source options from within and without Linden Lab.

DD: I understand you have been working on some things that can improve sailing?
ZA: Mostly pet peeves really, and things to help out friends or situations. A number of people are familiar with the composite calendar I created thats available open source on the SLSF forums. It basically makes it easy to combine and display google calendars from multiple sources on a single page in a browser or in Second Life on a prim. I’ve helped some with terraforming the new Balboa sims with Mark and Transparent, as well as the Newport Bay sim’s new look, so you can blame me for the idea of those giant rocks if you hate them. :-p Beyond that I’m working on some pet peeves, a way to ease communication during a regatta, perhaps a new start line of my own creation (If people prefer it), and I’m sure a few people were witness to our testing of a radio commentary of a sailing regatta the other week. There will be more work along these and other lines as time allows.

DD: Here is a question the boat builders out there will want to hear your answer to. Which is you favorite sailboat on SL?
ZA: For a long time it was the Trudeau Sea Sharp, and that still holds a special place in my heart (I have one permanently moored in my sim). But currently I enjoy sailing about in my Tetra 1.2, and I can’t wait for Verkin to release the 1.3 model he teased us with on the forums.

DD: The name ZATZAi… not common at all.. there must be a story behind that?
ZA: Not a terribly interesting one really. Years ago I was tired of having a different sign on every place I went, so I sat down and decided to come up with a unique word. It had to not exist in any language, be pronounceable with standard english grammar, be exactly six characters long and easily shortened to three letters. I came up with ZATZAi, it’s pronounced ZAT like CAT and ZAi like Hi, just two syllables. There is actually a zatzau root in Germany I later found out, and Ai means love in Japanese, but I was shooting more for Artificial Intelligence with the Ai reference (This was LONG before the movie btw). Why is it capitalized the way it is? Because it looks good that way.

To learn more about ZatZAI, AI sim and Second Convention, you can follow this link http://www.zatzai.com.

The Fizz Cup opened at full throttle this past Friday with Round One of qualifying races at Fishers Island Yacht Club. Nearly 70 skippers signed up for the event, so the large race fleet was split into five separate groups that each competed at different times on the FY04 course. After a full day of racing, MayoldeLupe Schism held a slim lead over the large pack based on cumulative time scores, and Skipper Seiling came in close second.

There was no time to rest and celebrate however, since within a few hours of the final race in Plum Gut the whole process began again with Round Two. This time USS’s Nantucket Yacht Club hosted the competition on the Manning Strait Raceline, using the well-known Hotlaps 2008 Course.

As the final horn sounded the official end of Round Two on Sunday, a total of more than 50 separate qualifying races had completed, and the results of the two days proved remarkably similar.

Combining the official time scores accumulated to this point, Skipper Seiling has moved into first place ahead of MayoldeLupe Schism; however, the cup qualifying races are hardly just a duel between these two skippers. The competition is proving to be extremely tight, and there is an Armada of strong skippers right in the wake of the lead boats. Many of the races ended with true photo finishes, with a scant handful of seconds separating nearly the entire group as they crossed the Raceline.

Here is the present ranking based on completed races for Rounds One and Two:

1. Skipper Seiling
2. MayoldeLupe Schism
3. Yuu Nakamichi
4. Masahisa Greenwood
5. Kentrock Messmer
6. Liv Leigh
7. Max Starostin
8. Toru Bracken
9. Kei Cioc
10. Gemma Vuckovic
11. Odysseus Yiyuan
12. Joepie Korobase

Please note: Due to Grid issues and individual scheduling conflicts, some skippers were unable to finish their Round One and Two Qualifying Races. If that sounds like you, please contact Cup Director Bea Woodget. She is scheduling make-up times so sailors can catch up with the rest of the Qualifying Fleet.

Round Three will take off at 7:00AM this Friday, May 2 in Boogdolt. See you there!

Go Fizz!!

–WORLD FIZZ CUP —

IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR CUP SKIPPERS

Introduction

I would like to take this opportunity to clarify things and to put an end to some controversial discussions. I am of course talking about the “pumping” effect or “Fizz cheat” you have heard about — decisions must be taken quickly, and here they are, I will assume all responsibility, so please read on.
One third of the Fizz Cup Qualification Rounds were held, and so I will clarify some points and answer a few questions.
But first of all, let me also say thank you to the many participants for their behaviour and discipline and to all the Yacht Clubs and their teams involved in the organization of this big event. Bravo to everyone! Thanks also to all those who offered me their support and advice on many crucial points.
Now let me get to the heart of the matter without wasting your time further, training/practicing await you… “To pump or NOT to pump?”

Background and Definition

Beginning with the very first race, the lap times and points of sail of some competitors raised eyebrows, aroused suspicion.
The Race Directors, Mothgirl Dibou and I immediately analyzed the phenomenon and concluded that these competitors were using (abusing?) a particular feature of the boat. Let me explain:
The Flying Fizz incorporates various features to reduce the computational cost to the Second Life region (aka “lag”), and makes it more pleasant to use even under difficult conditions. You all know the command “reduce lag” for example. One of these (intended) features is that the boat retains its initial speed for 2 seconds while steering. I remain convinced that this is a very good feature of the Fizz, and we all benefit even without knowing about it.
One side effect (the bad one) of this feature, when abused in a certain way, is that the boat will retain its speed whatever the wind direction, wind speed and wind angle if you just keep changing the steering. When used in this way, this “trick” can provide a considerable advantage as it has been demonstrated during the first two Fizz Cup Rounds (and as described in a number of posts on .ORG).
In RL, this behaviour can (probably) be treated as a violation and fall within the scope of ISAF Rule 42. Opinions are divided on this point and we talk instead about “types” of behaviour: “arcade gaming” / “reflexes” versus “realism”… a long debate, as you can imagine.
No rule other than one concerning the sportsmanship of competitors has been published and is currently in use in the SL sailing community regarding this “trick” — the problem had not come up before.
A large number of exchanges took place on this subject over weekend; Against the rules or simply unsporting, a lot of sailors feel they were cheated by a few. This document aims to move us forward from a difficult situation. They are documented below.

[Read more →]

According to Bea Woodget, a review of the initial qualification races in the 2008 World Fizz Cup reveals that some skippers are using “pumping and rolling/rocking” to increase their average lap speed. Director Woodget thinks this is clearly illegal, though not explicitly covered in the present Rules set. What’s “Pumpin’ and Rollin’,” you ask? Well… read on…

The Flying Fizz mantains boat speed for two seconds while a skipper steers to adjust course. A skipper moving upwind can take inappropriate advantage of this feature by accelerating on close haul and then turning sharply windward toward the mark while flipping the tiller back and forth (hitting the left/right arrow keys). This potentially allows the boat to continue toward the mark at the same high velocity even though the boat is “in irons.” The same thing happens sailing downwind; a sailor can sail at 19m/s with a 100° apparent wind, even when running downwind with a 180° true wind.

Bea has referred this issue to the Fizz Cup Committee for a definitive ruling, but for the present qualifying races she has decided:

1°) Although this issue can be easily fixed with a Fizz upgrade, the ongoing cup races will continue with the current boat version (which is Fizz v2.02).
2°) Bea will write a notecard fully documenting this issue, so all competitors have the same knowledge base. In her opinion, the tactic described above is prohibited by at least two ISF Rules.
3°) Bea will mention this problem before each event during the qualification phase, but will not establish a new rule covering it. In her opinion, using the ‘pump and roll‘ technique is illegal, does not constitute ‘sailing,’ and is an example of poor sportsmanship. Bea will “call for fair behaviour” and request skippers not use it. She will talk with the two or three sailors presently using this strategy.
4°) As the cup committee comes to a decision and the finals phases begin, the rules pertaining to this and other questionable strategies may change and be more strictly enforced.

Here is a video from yesterday’s World Fizz Cup action in Sailor’s Cove. If you click on the screen (not on the arrow part) you will be taken to the YouTube page for the video where you can click on “watch in high quality”.

2008 World Fizz Cup - Qualification round 1 of 6- FIYC - FY04

Description: “Cruising in Sailor Cove”, very first race of the 2008 World Fizz Cup. Easy start for this very first race, a way to learn Fizz handling, sails settings, and get used of high speed (on this course, Fizz will go at more than 19 m/s !). No capsize in Novice mode, enjoy…

Boat settings: NOVICE Mode, CURRENT OFF (will be checked and enforced by Race Directors)

Course characteristics:

WindSetter (FIYC group): /44 predef standard (dir 90 spd 11 dir+- 15 spd+- 2, rate 1)

Schedule - 5 timeslots are proposed:
- April 25th - 7 AM SLT + 8 AM SLT
- April 26th - 1 AM SLT
- April 26th - 2 PM SLT + 3 PM SLT

[Read more →]

A sharp warning blast broke the early calm that usually characterizes Plum Gut this morning, as all eyes turned toward the race course to watch the opening Fizz Cup 2008 qualifying fleet explode across the Start Line.

Taku Raymaker was today’s Race Director and handled things flawlessly. Of course Bea Woodget, the Cup Director, was also at hand to coordinate and supervise the event.

Since the first round is still in progress, I can’t tell you very much about the results yet… but hold onto your sailing caps and grab your hiking harness! These races are incredibly exciting, and you should check the calendar and stop by when you can to cheer the contenders on.

An when you show up… give a HUGE round of applause to Bea and her crew for organizing what proves to be a phenomenal, landmark setting event!

GO FIZZ 2008!!!