New Expansion in Eastern Bellisseria Allows Travel By Boat To Blake Sea

 

 

 With the Second Life Birthday behind them, the Moles have gone back to working on new Linden homes on the land of Bellisseria. Among them are a number of sims just west of the southern tip of the continent of Satori. The bulk of these sims look like they're designated to hold houseboats, though the sandy area on the very northern tip are for something else and there's an empty space that for now doesn't have any sims. 

But there's a little something that makes this expansion different, especially if you like boating. Two all-water sims, SSPSteady On and SSPDeep Anchor, connect these sims, and the rest of Bellisseria, to the older mainland continent. 

 

While there was a connection several sims to the south a year ago, the way the sims were built didn't allow for boat travel further up the coast, even if ban lines weren't a problem. With this new waterway, this time boating can be done up the Satori coast, and go east to a favorite area of sailing fans: The Blake Sea.

While someone else was the first to tell the Newser about the connection, SarahKB7 Koskinen would later do so to announce an accomplishment, being the first to document sailing from Bellisseria to the Blake sea (image from Sarah).

A little something that weekend sailors and serious boaters will enjoy.

 

Bixyl Shuftan

 

Cartoon of the Day

 

Taken at the Blake Sea at a Safe Waters Foundation meeting. Among the mermaids and mermen there was this tiny, wearing a large hat. So it didn't take long to come up with the pun.

By Bixyl Shuftan

 

Reader Submitted: SL Video: "A Blake Sea 360 in Second Life (built by LDPW)"

 

 (Click here if the video fails to play)

 From Erik Mondrain on March 22, "As yet another experiment in virtual cinematography (and as a nice way to relax), here is a leisurely, 360-degree panning shot that I did while floating in Second Life's Blake Sea—with my draw distance cranked up to 600 meters. The EEP Sky preset that I used while filming was [TOR] HORROR - Bloody moon. I also tweaked things a bit in my video editor, mainly in order to reduce color banding and to make the sky feel a little more vibrant, and a little less grim, than the name of that aforementioned preset would suggest. Located in Blake Sea - Hawser: (169/228/21). For more info about the LDPW (Linden Department of Public Works) and about the Blake Sea, check out the description for "escape," the second video in my MFA Thesis series: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMdXU...​ My fox avatar was designed by Liam Roark of Luskwood (https://en.wikifur.com/wiki/Luskwood​) and is sold by Luskwood Creatures.​ And it floats thanks to Conrad Aluveaux's indispensable Swimmer HUD.  Filmed on Linux with the Firestorm Viewer and SimpleScreenRecorder and using a SpaceNavigator 3D Mouse. Edited with Kdenlive."

Second Norway and Sailors Cove on the Rebound

In late March, the Newser reported the Second Norway estate sims were in trouble. Not long after, Patch Linden informed that Linden Lab was in talks with it's owner, Ey Ren, whom also owned much of the Sailor's Cove area, about the future of the areas. Ey would also start posting updates on the situation in his Bald Elf Blog. Patrick Leavitt would come forward to take ownership of the majority of Ey's Sailors Cove East sims. But 17 could not be saved and were slated to fade away.

Of Second Norway, Vanity Bonetto came forward and Ey would transfer ownership of the estate to her. Inara Pey would describe Vanity as having a history of being "able to take over a number of smaller SL estates that have got into difficulties over the years and then turning them around." Ey will remain as the manager of the "Second Norway Lufthavn" group. And "the legacy content on the present Second Norway region (Bryggen, the stave church, etc) will remain." But Ey would tell his readers to expect a number of changes in the landscape of the sims.

I hope that before long Mialinn, SlaYeR and me can invite people to fun nights in the SN club with DJs, quizes and general jibberish talk, just like in the old days.

I am sad to let go of the ownership of what has been a dear project of mine since 2008. But as things are, I am thrilled to see Second Norway survive and be developed by professionals. I am very confident in Vanity Bonetto and her ability to bring Second Norway onwards in a good way. We have had a lot of talks, and I am pleased to say we see eye to eye on all the important parts of this deal.

And to my joy, I will still be able to tag along and make sure that Second Norway will still be that unique and special Nordic part of Second Life. That is a lot more than I could hope for a few weeks ago.

While a few of the sims have gone away, most will remain. While the final word has yet to be written on the situation, it looks like it will be overall a happy ending.

Sources: Bald Elf Blog, Modem World 

Bixyl Shuftan

SL Video: "Come Sail Away"

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From Airene Rene on Jan 27, "Simple video only coz unplanned . Thank you Blake Sea."

Update on Second Norway/Sailors Cove

About two weeks ago, word started getting around that the Second Norway sims, located at the eastern part of the Blake Sea, were in trouble. Soon after at the VWBPE conference, Patch Linden stated that Linden Lab was in talks with owner Ey Ren, and was confident of a good outcome. Since then, starting on April 2, Ey began posting updates of the situation on his "Bald Elf Blog."

For those in Second Norway, Ey has stated no one there has to pay tier "until further notice. ... No regions will be taken offline without prior notice in due time. Tier payments will however be a matter between tenants and the new owner once region ownership has changed. I will research how to fund regions not changing ownership. Eventually, I will start removing regions which I am unable to keep or get new owners/sponsors for. All removals will be announced well before they happen."

For another estate of sims to the south, Sailors Cove, Ey announced that 24 of the 45 sims were being handed over to Patrick Leavitt. Of the sims left, four would be taken down, "This is to avoid entanglement with Patrick's regions and allow for eventual expansion."

A lot of infrastructure and rental equipment will have to be replaced and change hands over the next couple of weeks as we help Patrick and his estate managers get in control over the areas. Tenants will be contacted and given info on how to proceed under new ownership.

Stay tuned for further updates.

Hat tip: Inara Pey

Bixyl Shuftan

Second Norway In Trouble, Economic Effects of Coronavirus Blamed

Sad news. It appears the Second Norway area, the easternmost part of the Blake Sea could be closed soon. The Newser was tipped by a user on Facebook, Karasu Ravinbyrd Tori, whom stated she received the following notice in one of her groups.

I am sorry to inform that due to year of deficit and the current corona crisis, job loss and failing krone exchange rate, Ey Ren are no longer able to keep the ship afloat. LL has closed his account. Ey has contacted LL and the other owners of Blake Sea in hopes of reaching an agreement for further existence of SN and SCE. Make sure that you pick up your no copy objects. I don't know the timeframe when the region goes offline. Unfortunately, I have no more information at this time.

Checking the Second Norway group, there was a similar notice:

Hello everyone, as you might have heard the SN estate is closing. This is mainly due to the current financial situation you see all around now a days. The owner is in contact with LL and other estate owner around to see if there is a possibility to keep some regions down in SCE, We do not have an exact time frame when things will go down yet. We will give out more information as we learn it.

I would like to thank everyone who has rented and enjoyed the estate, we have had a blast hosting

As it turns out, the value of Norway's currency has gone down quite a bit in the past few months. According to Wikipedia, "as of October 2019 is worth about 9 NOK. During the corona crisis 2020, the NOK fell heavily, making one USD cost 12.00 NOK on 19 March 2020."

Second Norway is located at the east end of the Blake Sea area, consisting of a little more than forty sims.

Tori wondered that it might not belong before there would soon be more estates closing, "My advice is... DO NOT pay your tier more than a week or two ahead at a time so as to cut your potential losses if they tank on you." With the shutdowns around the world due to the Coronavirus, with people out of work and businesses closed, this very well could start to happen in places in which the owner was already in trouble or didn't plan ahead.

Bixyl Shuftan

Reader Submitted: Sailboatin'

From Curzan Marikh Alexain (Curzan Marikh). He and his lady friend doing some sailboating across the Blake Sea.

At the RFL Black Sea Raft-Up

On Sunday June 24 from 9AM to 3PM in a four-sim area in the Blake Sea was the "Raft-Up" event. This was a six-hour Relay event held by the Sail for Life team. There was music, dancing, and lots of boats of all sizes.

Besides the Relay kiosks, one could also donate by purchasing tickets to a raffle. One would "add" the ticket, then touch the raffle drawing they wanted to enter. Single tickets cost 100L each, with larger amounts costing less per ticket. Among the prizes available were boats and sailboats.

The event was packed, and yours truly crashed a number of times, so I didn't stay long. Sail for Life has been a long-lasting team in the Relay, having been around for a number of years. Their team page shows them as having raised $1015 US dollars, or a little over 250,000 Lindens, Platinum level fundraising.

Image Credit: Debi Dast

Bixyl Shuftan.

Announcement: RFL Blake Sea Raft-Up At 9AM

Come down, sail down or just TP over for the 6th Annual Blake Sea Raft-Up.  Raffle prizes, live DJ's ALL day and of course boats and more boats.  All proceeds benefit RFL and Sail4Life.  It's a HUGE four sim party.   Look forward to seeing u there.

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Blake%20Sea%20-%20Crows%20Nest/128/128/24

Reader Submitted: Brazilian Air Force at the Blake Sea

 July 4th saw a number of events across Second Life. Most were associated with the USA's Independence Day. But a team of pilots calling themselves the Brazilian Air Force stole the show at the Relay for Life's event at the Haggerty sim in the Blake Sea. Cynthia Farshore was there, and sent the Newser some pictures.

 The pilots did both formation flying ...

And some fancy flying, leaving colorful streams of smoke behind.

But not everything went as planned. One guy ended up making a bad landing. Fortunately in Second Life, one just has to tip the plane back up and take off again.

Pictures from Cynthia Farshore

Announcement: First Annual Blake Passage Christmas Lights Boat Parade

MarkTwain White posted the following on the Virtual World Sailing Forums.

"Be sure to put this Saturday, December 12 on your calendar. At 10AM  the 29 region Blake Passage area will host first annual Blake Passage Christmas Lights Boat Parade.

"The residents of Blake Passage are working on getting their homes, docks and boats decorated to welcome all of us to join them for this special holiday event which will become an annual tradition. Get your boats decorated for this special night time parade as we celebrate the holidays with our festively lit boats and cruise from Skagway (the heart of the Blake Passage regions) down to the Hollywood sim where DJ Benny the Boozehound will rock the Bowl with music to listen to while lined up to get under the mistletoe.

"Please decorate your boats responsibly avoiding adding any Grinch inspired lag to the event. No Mega Yachts please. Sailboats will proceed under power with sails down. This is a cold evening event based in general sims. We ask that our topless cruising friends bundle up on this one special night and dress for the season."

MarkTwain would later state, "The inspiration for The Blake Passage Christmas Lights Boat Parade is the Newport Beach Christmas Boat Parade which will be holding it's 107th annual parade later this month."

Happy "Talk Like a Pirate Day"

Arrrr! Shiver me timbers! Tis be "Talk Like A Pirate Day." An' time ta takes a look at a few pirate-themed places in Second Life. First, if ye wish ta catch up on yer pirate speak, be checkin' our old article on th' lingo.

In the past, we wrote about a detailed pirate themed area "Morgan Straits." It's no longer around, but there are other places one can engage in a little swashbuckling. One place you'll be wanting to check out is the Blake Sea. This is a HUGE area of water and islands east of the Second Life mainland. To join up with the Blake Sea Battles Group, head to Blake Diego (215, 45, 36)


There, one can get information about the group, in addition to a couple freebie craft, and one demo of a small armed ship. You can also find schedules of events, such as the sea battles.

Typing "Pirates" in Second Life search will get you a number of adult-themed roleplay areas. Near the top of the list were a couple that weren't, Trade Winds (51, 139, 22), and Pirates Destiny at Nassau Stronghold (126, 119, 25). But these places may not be friendly to nonhuman avatars, except merfolk. They have some freebie items, such as clothes, swimmer HUDs, and a merchant at Trade Winds had a freebie vessel, but while they may not mind a furry tourist walking around, being welcome in a combat RP may be another matter. This is too bad, as going about Trade Winds, there was some good scenery. But looking at Blake Sea Battles Group, the charter doesn't say anything about problems with anyone having a tail.

Besides these places, no doubt there will be a lot of venues holding pirate themed events, such as Club Cutlass near the SL Newser office. But to enjoy pirate-themed fun all year round, the best place in terms of volume of water and welcoming of one's looks is the Blake Sea.

Happy Talk Like a Pirate Day Mateys.

Bixyl Shuftan

Press Release: Sail for Life and SLCG Blake Sea Ball

Our last event before relay weekend  is the Blake Sea Ball.  Please join us for this event celebrating all we do to support Relay for Life through Sail for Life and SLCG Teams. 

Details:

When July 11 from 2:00 to 5:00
Where:  The Hollywood Bowl
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Hollywood/144/71/24
Who:  Music by  by BennyThe Boozehound
What: Dancing, Awards for our Triple Crown Winner and, fight Cancer

So get dolled up, come celebrate

Grace Wrigglesworth and the Safe Waters Foundation

Yours truly recently had a chance to interview Grace Wrigglesworth, the head of the Safe Waters Foundation. To those who don't know, Safe Waters is the largest organization of merfolk groups, fans of mermaid, merman, and similar avatars such as sirens and anthro sharks. We talked some about how she came to Second Life and how the Foundation started.

Read more in People.

Presss Release: D-Day Re-Enactment Planned

D-Day C47 Blake Sea Fly-Over Information

What: C47’s will fly over a prearranged course and drop paratroopers in a simulated D-Day airborne assault. Once on the ground paratroopers will form up and mount a simulated  amphibious assault on Honah Lee Trudeau and Hollywood/ Hollywood Airport.

Where: C47’s will fly a predetermined route to the drop zone, passing several major airports in the Blake Sea Region. Once they have delivered their payloads, C47 pilots will fly to Foliage and land. (Providing they have not been too badly damaged in the assault Downed pilots may join up with paratroopers and participate in the amphibious assault)

C47 Staging Area - Aleksandar International Airport
prim reserve FFrendz Aviation @Aleksandr , Aleksandr (185, 36, 55)

Drop Zone- SL Marine HQ and Blake Sea Airport
Blake Sea  Airport, St Diabloux (204, 182, 47)
Second Life Marine Corps MCAS Chase Field, Fridericus (111, 54, 47)



Amphibious assault planned

Landing craft available upon request. Contact LukeFlywalker Fittinger

Who: Any individual may participate but group participation is encouraged. This can be either an already established group or an ad-hock group of friends who come together just for this event. If you are not in a group don’t worry, you will still be able to participate.

Best in Show Contest: The group with the most authentic WW2 Paratrooper/Air Crew dress will receive $10,000L and a special commemorative certificate

When: 7th June 1100 SL (11:00AM SLT)

Special Considerations: 

1) This is not a combat activity, however there will be ground fire, AA, flack and exploding  aircraft and landing craft.  

2) This event will be recorded and shown in an upcoming Issue of SL Aviation Magazine. We ask that all participants sign an SL Aviation Network release form. If you have signed a form on past video projects you do not need to submit another.

3) Please fill out the entry form and send to LukeFlywalker Fittinger

4) Its advisable the teams practice prior to the event. There are several C47's on the market. Pick the one that works best for you.

D-Day C47 Fly-Over Plan

1) C47 Airborne stage at Aleksandr Airport

2) Pilot and paratrooper briefing

3) Paratroopers assigned planes. (Plane assignments can be prearranged)

4) Take -off maintain 1 sim spacing between planes

5) Follow flight plan north of Nautilus maintain 300m altitude

6) Fly into  “Fredercius” (US Marine Corps HQ) 

7) Green light for jump in “Fredercius” and “St Diabloux” (Blake Sea Airport)

8) C47’s with damage effects crash. All others Fly to Foliage and land.

9) Paratroopers form up and board landing craft. 

10) Landing craft proceed to Honah Lee Trudeau and make a simulated beach landing.

11) Paratroopers walk to east side of the island and re-board landing craft.

12) Once all participants are staged everyone board landing crafts and proceed to “Santa Catalina” (Hollywood Airport)

13) Make simulated beach landing at “Santa Catalina” and proceed to staging area for Part 2

Part 2 – D-Day Planes Grid Flight

Details forthcoming

*  *  *  *  *

Vickster Khun told the Newser, "WWII Players Group and New Bastogne admin group are throwing in their lot with Dogs on the Run, the idea will be for WWII players to provide paratroops and landing troops, and DOR will provide air transport in C47s or facsimiles there of. WWII players will be providing uniforms and equipment to any player who agrees to portray an American soldier, both paratroops and amphibious invasion units, they will have to do both for this. German force players will be invited to either portray Americans or German defenders. The goal will be to make a nice youtube film commemorating the milestone in human history, the D-Day invasion of occupied Normandie, France, on June 6, 1944. And forces representing Free France, Free Poland, Free Greece, and others were present. No reason a person can't portray this."

Cartoon of the Day

Taken at the Blake Sea while doing the part of a "pie rat" in a ship battle.

By Bixyl Shuftan

SL Video: "Second Life History: Blake Sea Opens"

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From Surfwidow Beaumont, a video about the opening of the Blake Sea region on Jan 25 2009, "This is kinda what happened from my point of view."

SL Video: "The Blake Sea Triangle"

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From Gib Niekerk, "A Second Life adventure through the Blake Sea. Watch out for pirates, they are unkind."

Trade Winds Ship Decorating Contest

The Trade Wings group, noted for their Pirate vs Royal Navy wooden ship combat in the Blake Sea, recently held a contest for Christmas, for the best decorated ship.

Our judges had their work cut out for them, all 3 of the ships were amazing.  Congratulations to GM Nikolaidis for his first place ship.  He won 500 L's and a cute trophy!  Blithe Binder and Juliet Darkfold tied for 2nd place, both winning 250L's each and cute trophies.  Thanks to all that entered and all that came to watch.  Thank you also to Reggie and Tinka for judging and to Dog for putting up the prize money!

The pirates will next be decorating their ships for Mardi Gras 2014.