Scenes From The Relay Flood Party

 

All good things must come to an end. And sadly so is the case with the Relay for Life Weekend track. But on the day before takedown, there was one final official event: the Flood Party. The Newser was there, and would take pictures of some of the fun that was had.

 

See the pictures in Events. 

 

The Bouncing Bunny Beach Club Gets "Waved"

 

There's a new club in the Sunweaver lands, the Bouncing Bunny Beach Club. Sometimes called the BBBC or "Beeb," this beach and bunny-themed club has events twice a week. There's been plenty of fun as people arrive to relax and dance to the music. Recently, a certain seahorse arrived, and brought some water with her, a lot of water.

See the pictures in SL Clubbin'

RFL Flood Party

At 5PM SL time, Wednesday June 12, there came a yearly tradition that began by accident in 2010, and has since become a last call for fun each year at the Relay track: the "Flood Party." While it's sometimes called other names, this year the "Sink the Sims Party," it still holds onto it's unofficial name year after year.

Once last lap, one last chance to see RFL and then we watch it sink @ The Annual SINK THE SIMS Party

Starting at 5pm All Aboard For A Cure will sink into the sea leaving us with Memories and the satisiaction of a a Job Well Done!

Join RelayRadio at RFL Research or on The Track for one last Party !

Taking place onto the bridge that separated the "Five Days of Relay" sims to it's east to other sims to the west, the water slowly crept up, and for the tinies there, it was time to get a floatie, or hold their breath.

People laughed, joked, and swam. There were also a few aquatic avatars that joined in the fun.

But it wasn't long before the water began to recede, and the Flood Party was soon over.

Although the camps didn't need to be cleaned up until the day after, some people began picking up theirs right after the party. Others left them up, giving Relay fans a chance to see one last look at them.

Today is the Takedown at the Relay track sims, and by tonight, the camps will be gone.

Bixyl Shuftan

Scenes From The "Raze The Relay" Party

"All good things must come to an end." And so after a few days so would the campsites on the track sims that the Relay Weekend took place on. But before the teardown, there would be one more party: the Flood Party. A Relay tradition in one form or another since 2010, a number of the Relayers gathered once again for a little fun in the water before, one last chance to have fun before the sad task of taking down the campsites.

Read the article in Events.

Flooding At The Happy Vixen, Club Zero Gravity

On Sunday November 19, the Happy Vixen beach club in the Purrfection Estates sim experienced some flooding. One moment the water was normal. The next, waves were coming over the dance floor. And soon the dancers were waist-deep in churning surf. But a few minutes later, the waters receded, and all was as before.

The previous day at Club Zero Gravity, a malfunction resulted in similar flooding in the space station. But somehow the water turned a shade of orange, then green. Geerkil Ziskey, whom was the DJ at the time, got up on the ceiling's gravity platform. After a few jokes about where the water might have come from, eventually someone turned on the drainage. And minutes later, the deck was dry again.

Two rare times when the situation at these two clubs was all wet.

Bixyl Shuftan

The Relay's Flood Party

Yesterday evening, the sims of the RFL Activities sims of the Relay for Life were looking a little damp. The water level had risen a few feet, covering the walkways and ground. It was the time of the "Flood Party."

The flood party isn't an official Relay event, but started in 2010 a few days after the weekend walk when a sim manager rose the water level in his place on a whim, and people flocked over, spontaneously starting a party. Since then every year, there's been a flood party around midweek after the Relay Weekend. And this year was no exception, people gathering at a spot in the RFL Activities sims at 5PM SL time when it was announced the water level there was rising.

There were a number of team captains and other Relay personalities there, such as T1 Radio's Trader Whiplash, Debi Dastardly, and DJ Madonna.

People danced in the shin-deep water, or floated on rafts and rested on the nearby purple couch.

With a number of shark attacks making real-life news, a few got nervous when one showed up at the flood party. But he just joined in the dancing, shaking his fins.

After a few hours, the party thinned out as people went to bed, or went to explore the other sims on the track a little longer before the teardown the next day, Thursday. It was a fun flood party.

Bixyl Shuftan

Relay for Life Flood Party Expected Sometime Today

The Relay in Second Life has a few traditions. Some are official, such as the opening and closing ceremonies and the awards given out. Others aren't part of the official program. This includes the "Flood Party."

In 2010 in the days after the Weekend Walk with people looking around the sims and holding impromptu parties, one of the track sim managers decided to have a little fun by raising the water level. People nearby noticed, headed over, and began swimming around in it. Word got around by word of mouth (or word of mouse), or people noticed the clump of green dots on the map, and headed over, whooping it up with inner tubes and swimmer AOs.

As this event isn't part of the official program, there's no set date. It could happen at any time today. And there's no guarantee that there will be one. Sometimes there are twists, such as the "drain party" last year as the Track already had a few flooded sims. But every year, there's been a flood party. So keep an eye on the Relay group chatter, and an occasional peek at the map over the RFL sims.

* * * * *

Some statistics about the Relay are available.  http://slrfl.maintree.com had the following

 Avatars:     1229
Laps:     2370
Distance:     20,016,523 meters
Minutes:     123,240
Course Length:     8,448 meters

There were also three lists of whom completed at least one lap, and qualifying for recognition by the Relay for awards. On the first list, yours truly was counted as having walked "2.33" laps, and a Turtle Award. Twenty-one avatars were determined to do at least twenty laps, including Newser writer DrFran Babcock, and will get the "Roadrunner Award." But only twenty will get awards. The one whom did more than thirty was disqualified from getting any official recognition.

 The date for the "Relay Wrap-Up" event was also released. It will be on Sunday August 16 from 9AM  to about 1PM SL time, with several more awards given out, including the Spirit of the Relay team and individual awards.

Hat tip: Daniel Voyager

Bixyl Shuftan

SL Video: "New Toulouse - After The Storm"

(Click here if the video fails to play)

From Natascha Randt, July 29, 2014, "Just an ad hoc video of the chaos at New Toulouse after the storm. A bit laggy because of the weather conditions. So it is just for the records"

New Toulouse Floods

By Bixyl Shuftan

Earlier this week, the sim of New Toulouse, made to look like New Orleans in the early 20th Century, experienced a rare event. The place was hit by a storm and a flood. The water level rose, making walking around a wet experience.

Dropping in on the sim on Sunday, on the streets, the water level had risen a few feet. This meant for a five to six foot tall avatar, they'd  be about waist deep in water. Buildings such as shops had less of a problem, the water level less then a foot. But they still made for a damp shopping experience. Fortunetly there were ways of getting about besides taking a bath. In some places, there were boats available for people to take a copy, rezz on the water, and get on and paddle away. in places there were items floating, such as crates and sections of tree trunk.

While going about, I came across a talk between Nikita Weyman, a menfolk, and Henri Godenot. Henri is the owner of the New Toulouse and New Toulhouse Bayou sims. The two were discussing something about a Kraken, or rather the lack of one. Henri insisted, "There are no Krakens in the Bayou!" He insisted "the weird noises over by the wrecked cargo ships are caused by settling. "

Henri stated the flood had been caused by a hurricane, "storm cane in on Saturday morning, and appears to be stationary." "The rain started Friday," Nikita told, "but the sky didn't get weird and all my stuff start blowing away until Saturday." She turned to the mayor, "I think my outhouse is floating out toward your houseboat, Mr. G."

Henri told me evacuation orders had been issued, but "People have been picking up stuff and throwing parties, the evacuation has been a complete failure. in fact I think there are more people here than before the storm." He mentioned there had been some incidents, "The water rises, stuff blows in, weird stuff happens. Like that Sushi Boat Accident by the Bridge." "Sushi boat accident?" I asked, "Sure, Sushi Boat accident, because  THERE ARE NO KRACKENS IN THE BAYOU!!"

More guests arrived and Niki wanted to swim elsewhere, so the rest of us took the conversation indoors. Henri stated hurricanes and floods typical are handled about once a year.It was mentioned a boatload of coffee sank, leading to a few jokes about wide-awake fish.

Before I left, Henri thought the flood would be around for at least two more days. Coming by on Thursday, the flood was gone, and the streets were dry again.

I never did find anything about a Kracken, though.

Bixyl Shuftan

Relay For Life: After the Walk

Bixyl Shuftan continues his coverage of the Relay For Life sims. Even with The Walk over, there are still things to see and do. The camps and builds offered plenty to see. And then there were the Relayers themselves, who were determined to have fun while the sims were still up.

Read more in People.

RFL Walk 2012: The Flood Party

On Wednesday, the final day of the Relay track before the takedown, people were going about seeing a few more sights, taking a few more pictures, and of course there was what's become a Relay tradition in Second Life since 2010: the "Flood Party." Group announcements from Trader1 Whiplash let people know.


Please be advised the grid-wide weather service has posted a severe weather watch for numerous RFL sims this evening, possibly around 6 PM SLT.

A severe weather watch means you can expect rain, possibly heavy at times, high winds, and localized flooding in low-lying areas of the RFL track.


People were gathering at T1Radio's Studio in the RFL Acceptance sim, the station playing music. And as 6 PM rolled around, the rain began to fall, and the water began to cover the road. DJ Madonna joked this was one reason why she wore a latex rubber suit. People danced away, some sporting ducky inflatable tubes. As time went on, the water got a little deeper. Fortunately for anyone without a swimmer AO, it didn't match the ten meters of the first flood party in 2010, but on the road it did get waist deep.

Eventually, the waters receded, the party came to a close, and everyone went their seperate ways, some going about the track for one more look at the builds. Thursday is the takedown day in which the builds come down. Come Friday or Saturday, the sims will fade away for another year.

Bixyl Shuftan

A Look at the Post-Weekend Relay Track

The Relay Track doesn't have much longer before it's down. Wednesday's the last day to get a good look at the place. And what awaits the visitor, quite a bit.

At RFL Reflections, the sim is mostly water. And there's a number of boats one can use, from a sailboat, to a kayak, to jet skis. There's also a jetski course to the south, though the slower boats aren't affected by the obstacles. To the north, the ocean floor has a bit of scenery, as well as an island with waterfalls. Going into the waterfalls are caverns, some with picturesque views. And there's a small Second Life Coast Guard station nearby, where one can look at the craft.

In the eastern half of RFL Overcome and the western of RFL Manage, there's a huge laboratory. Just about everything is built to giant scale, the tables, the equipment, making normal avatars look mouse-sized. For some Relayers, it brought back memories of the classic "Greenies" sim from the earlier days in Second Life.

Impromptu parties are still going on at the track. There really hasn't been any hard schedule for them, though occasionally one will see a star on the map saying there'll be an event there at a certain time. One can run into Relay noteables there, such as Trader1 Whiplash, Bain Finch, DJ Madona, Lomgren Smalls, and others.

There was one party for Wednesday I did hear the time for, though not the place: the Flood Party. It's supposed to start sometime between 4 and 6 PM SL time, of which one of the sims gets flooded. Residents are advised to bring their own inner tubes or swimmer AOs.

For screenshots of the Relay track check out the Flickr page Here.

Bixyl Shuftan