Everywhere we turn these days…the word “innovation” applied to all manner of things from kitchen sponges to plasma televisions. Everyone and everything is “innovative” no matter how mundane or, at the other end of the spectrum, technically complex. More often than not these innovative products and services in the marketplace are, in large part, derivative…they take a concept or a category already well on its way, put a twist on it and voila, innovation! An example of this formula at work is the iPod. My first Sony Walkman, procured one Christmas in the early 1980’s, performed essentially the same task as the iPod…piped music to my ears. Arguably the iPod does it so much more efficiently and, as its market success attests, has generated a great deal of value by taking an existing concept and laying a truly innovative twist on it.

But what about innovation in sailing? Nautical electronics get slicker and more complex (all the better to fail, my dear, in a bash to windward). The basic concept of a keel is ever refined (liquid ballast is a terrific idea till the pump fails). Sail design, digital charting, satellite positioning devices that can spot you in the head…the wheel of innovation chugs onward in sailing, as it seems to in most things these days. Better, faster, fancier, more prone to conking out or pitch poling or broaching and yes, innovative…dang blast it!

Which brings me to the picture for the first official “Now Picture This” column…a simple snap that speaks volumes about a new direction that innovation is taking sailing. There’s a course being charted in Second Life that could have never been predicted in the 1980’s when I unwrapped my first Sony Walkman. Here is the shot…click on it and take a glance.

The photo shows SL yacht designer, Mothgirl Dibou, posing next to her new dinghy, The Flying Fizz. She showcased the FF at the recent boat show in Sailors Cove during a scheduled event where she discussed the craft and its new features, took questions from the audience, etc.

There is no question that Mothgirl is iterating on an existing concept…most of us know the history with early pioneers like Kanker, JT and such. But taking the broad view, the one that includes the whole of sailing in SL - from SL yacht clubs to Tako races to wind shadowing to the latest classic yacht from Trudeau and everything in between - and now Mothgirl is (as we all are in our own ways) participating in a larger activity of almost pure innovation…extending the concept of sailing to a nearly brand new virtual world. She is an important part of a dedicated and driven community of enthusiasts who will, together, continue to develop an entirely fresh way to participate in the larger sport and past time of sailing.

It interests me that when I bring up sailing in SL to people who consider themselves “real” sailors the reaction is often one of modest disdain. How can you call diddling on a computer sailing or associate it with “true” sailing, they wonder? There is no wind on your face. No salt spray. No laying in the bunk off watch listening to the wind howl. No diving on the anchor to be certain it’s set. I typically reply that there are none of these things exist in true form in, say, a book. Ever read “Dove” by Robin Lee Graham, I ask. Cracking good read. Well, yes. Did you get slapped in the face by a boarding wave whilst curled up in your armchair reading about young Robin’s circumnavigational adventures, I ask. Well, no. All “real” sailors generally subscribe to their choice of sailing periodical, I mention. Heads wag in agreement. Did you, perchance, hear the wind howl in the rigging when you thumbed your SAIL Magazine on the john this morning? Ummmm…no. OK I say and shrug. We shift to other topics…

The implications of our budding community are too numerous to list. But they are very exciting indeed! This is a thrilling time of discovery with near limitless potential and opportunity. A brave new world of sailing limited only by our collective imagination and passion for innovation.

Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.

LL