Anyone who has followed the SL sailboat racing scene knows there is an avatar out there who wins a whole lotta races. After talking with Armchair Binder I think I now understand why.
Delinda Dyrssen: Armchair I understand you have a RL sailing background, tell me a little about it.
Armchair Binder: I have lived near the water since I can remember. When I discovered sailing, it took all of my interest and I found it very fascinating how in depth it can be. With sailing, you keep learning more and more about what makes a sailboat move, and for me, this turned into how to get every ounce of speed out of it. As you keep progressing into the workings of the sailboat, you start learning about very technical aspects of aerodynamics, hydrodynamics, meteorology, and various other physics related dimensions. Aerodynamics and hydrodynamics are obviously applied, but to get to the next level, you need to be able to figure out which direction the wind will shift next. With some knowledge of the weather system in the area, a person can look up at the sky and read the clouds and the sun to have a decent chance of predicting what the wind will do next, which gives you an obvious advantage, hence I studied aspects of meteorology to gain a greater advantage on the race course. I find racing sailboats extremely interesting, it is a way to apply my knowledge of the aforementioned dynamics of what makes one boat get to a point before another boat.
DD: So you race in RL too.. care to elaborate?
AB: I have a very extensive sailboat racing background. I have been involved in America’s Cup campaigns and personally have won or been crew for some very prestigious regattas. I have many professional sailor friends that participate around the world in all kinds of racing events. I have been a semi-professional sailor, which means that I get paid to sail on a boat, but that income is not my primary source. I remember one instance where the owner of a boat that I was to race on had to get a lawyer to verify that I was not a full professional because only a certain amount of full professionals were allowed on each boat. As a semi-pro, I have been flown all over the United States just to race for an owner at different regattas.
DD: What is your favorite kind of racing?
AB: I enjoy racing one-design boats (where boats are identical), rather than participating in races where boats are given a rating for their predicted performance. I have taught strategy and tactics for sailboat racing and have been a sparring partner for people preparing for match racing (one on one, 2 boat) regattas.
DD: What are your views on The America’s Cup?
AB: I do not have much respect for the participants in the America’s Cup races, UNLESS they have earned their way onto a boat for being the most talented person for the position. I know of several cases where a person was crewing for a boat because his wealthy parents donated a lot of money to a syndicate. Also, I have personally seen where the helmsman in the sparring boat was consistently beating the main boat, but was not doing the starts for the boat in the Cup because he was not politically connected to the heads of the syndicate. Also, with the America’s Cup, it is the designers and the meteorologists that play a pivotal part in the outcome. Usually the boat that is built and optimized for the prevailing conditions wins. I have an immense amount of respect for the average sailor who accomplishes great winnings in major one-design regattas; for instance, the Olympics or some other regatta where sailors have gathered from more than a local area.
DD: Your undoubtedly one of the most accomplished racers in SL, what about RL?.
AB: Some of my personal achievements would be winning a 44 boat one-design regatta, a 35 boat one-design regatta, a 28 boat one design regatta, and was the tactician on the winning boat of a 50 boat one-design regatta.
DD: Impressive! Why have you stayed semi-pro and not just go at it full time?
AB: There are many parts to the answer. One major part is that on a boat at a professional level, overall there is not much camaraderie. You are there for one purpose, to make the boat win. The crew on such boats would get off the boat and go in all directions. There was not much of a sense of bonding between the crew members. Currently, for the most part, I sail with people that I like to hang out with off the water as well.
One wonderful experience that I had was sailing for a Japanese syndicate. It was very interesting to see how a different culture applied their beliefs to sailboat racing. The Japanese that I sailed with would never protest another boat. They felt that the dishonor of not exonerating the foul was more than the punishment that the judges would hand down for losing the protest. Their desire to pull me into their crew as almost a family member was somewhat awe inspiring because of the language barrier. Another factor is that while I was consumed by the racing scene, it consumed a lot of time away from my loved ones, and I was spending my vacation time doing these races and not with them. And unfortunately, most up and coming professional sailors have some kind of monetary backing from family or trust funds to allow them to pursue such ventures, and I did not fit that category.
DD: How did you learn about Second Life and the sailing here?
AB: I learned about Second Life through the America’s Cup website, it was a way to follow the America’s Cup aces in real time. I quickly signed up for Second Life and jumped past all the usual Second Life orientation tools and went straight to Americas Cup Anywhere where I met Florencia007 Czak. While doing so, I became quite interested in the dynamics of the community and events. Meeting the people of the SL sailing community has been wonderful, it has kept my interest well beyond the ending of the America’s Cup.
DD: How were your first experiences sailing in SL?
AB: I asked around and found the major sailing areas, and wanted to buy a boat to try out in a race, of course a Tako, which was 100L at the time for a person less than 30 days in Second Life. I was too much in a hurry to figure out how cheap it would have been to buy one with RL money, because I had no idea of the Linden/Dollar exchange rate, and I was in too much of a hurry to look into it, so I went dancing for cash. I met great people and had a fun time while doing so, and learned a lot talking to them while dancing for cash. When I had my 100L, I came back to the Tako vendor and the special deal no longer existed. Nber Medici explained that people were making alts to get the boat at the reduced rate, so off I went back to dancing for cash. Finally after purchasing my Tako, which became more of a quest, I was off to try it out.
DD: And how did that go?
AB: Since I skipped over most of the Second Life orientation, I had no clue how to rez the boat into the water properly. I tried by myself for some time and the boat kept sinking. After a Sunday class at Starboards, my coach, RnSdriver Lane, showed me how to put the boat into the water properly, and off I was, diving into the world of SL sailing. It was quite a struggle to try to bridge the gap between RL and SL sailing and all the technical aspects that make SL sailing easier and a better experience, and without the helpful assistance of the members of the SL community, I am not sure that I would have stuck around. For this reason, I created my Sailing tips notecard, which I try to make available wherever people are trying to learn. I am somewhat concerned about the pattern, where a person gets so far and is not improving, learning, or having as much fun as they once did, and as a result they do not keep their interest in SL sailing. The SL sailing community has been wonderful, so currently I am attempting to give back what I can by hosting events.
DD: Do you have any suggestions for someone who wants to become a better sailor?
AB: Some great books that I have read for learning more advanced sailing aspects are “High Performance Sailing” by Frank Bethwaite, “The Art and Science of Sails” by Tom Whidden, “North U Racing Tactics Coursebook”, and “North U Racing Trim Coursebook”