By Dave Bloch (Second LIfe: Dave Irata)
Welcome to Summer Sailstice of Second Life, the Worldwide Celebration of Sailing ... Virtually!
We're bigger than ever this year. For the first time we are an official Relay For Life of Second Life team, helping to raise money as part of the American Cancer Society's real world signature fundraising campaign. Our "inworld" goal for the year ending June 30 is $500,000 and we are more than 90% of the way there (as of June 10). At many of our events there are donation kiosks where people's avatars deposit their Linden Dollars; at 250:1 these are, literally, pennies; and yet we are always in the top ten Relay communities across the country.
I know virtual sailing in SL may be hard to wrap your head around. But think of it as the world's best sailing simulator, a great way to keep your skills sharp in between time on the water. Our boats (from windsurfers, to sloops, ketches and schooners, to huge historic 3-masted galleons) follow all the physics of sail trim and our sailors adhere to the same Rules of the Road. And these boats and ships are designed and created by SL residents (not the company Linden Lab) and it's their creativity on display ever day.
So here's what we've got! The Festival of the Oceans Expo is our big annual boat show. We have the Tall Ships Parade on Friday, and the SL Coast Guard will be doing a simulated sea rescue from a burning barge on Sunday. (Not easy creating an exploding barge, even virtually!) Malolo Island Marina has three full days of entertainment which features DJ's in their homes streaming music, and live musicians performing and streaming their artistry inworld while people listen, dance and enjoy.
Connected with Relay is our first RUN FOR SEA Marathon Fun Run/Walk. Our big Relay weekend just happened, but some of those 1,100 folks just want to keep on walking! We've got a route more than 5 miles long; their up-arrow key will be very warm by the end.
Every year we also have an art exhibition. This year the InReal, InWorld, InArt Exhibition near the Marathon finish line will have a remarkable collection curated by the Museo del Metaverso in Milan, Italy.
ALL THAT plus our usual Sailstice Saturday of races, cruises and parties, including the 5th Sails & Tails Party with the mermaids and mermen of the SL Safe Waters Foundation.
REMEMBER, you can have fun at your local in-person Sailstice event, and then come enjoy ours before or after from the comfort of your sofa! Get all the info (and see our Sailstice 60-Second Video Challenge videos from the last four years) at https://sailing.sl ! If you've got questions don't hesitate to email me: dave@davebloch.com (or if you're in SL, IM me, I'm Dale Irata).
