Gimme Six: The Blake Sea - #6 - I Rez, Therefore I Am

This is the Six of my Gemme Six series. It’s about the Blake Sea but before you think you can’t go boating because of those darned Second Life sim crossings, I want to tell you something wonderful.

6) Somewhere Beyond the Sea

Many people in Second Life eventually try their luck on waterways, some even make it to the Blake Sea. For most of my time in Second Life the boating exerience was frustrating and often resulted in crashes. Nonetheless, the boating enthusiasts have persisted though the years and with the help of SL creator Linden Lab, they created The Blake Sea. Today the main body of the sea is 60 water sims open to the public.

Then something wonderful happened. At the end of March 2012, Linden Lab release a new technology called Bluesteel featuring “threaded region crossings.” A few days later, I was carefully wending my way throughs Blake Sea sim when I noticed crossings seemed smooth, so I gave my speedboat a little bit more throttle and started sliding across sims effortlessly. So I opened up the throttle and sped across over 30 sims. Within a few minutes I was beaming with excitement, zooming around like a clown. I’d never experienced this type of freedom in my five years in SL. I was so excited I wrote a blog post called “YAY! Linden Lab Stop at Once!” Easy sim crossings made it possible for me to begin exploring and taking my friends exploring out on the Blake Sea and environs.

Depending on how you account for the private estates of the East (waters also open to the public), the water sims surrounding Nautilus Island, the waterways through the North Eastern sims, the Bingo Straight and sims in the deep West, this is a vast region. And when you take into account the passible coastal sims of connected to the northern and southern continents, you have literally hundreds (200+) of water sims to explore. This may or may not be Second Life’s greatest treasure, but it is unquestionably its biggest.

So, put on your life jacket because I’ve been told I’m a speed demon. Then come aboard The Sea Gal with me and I’ll take you on a quick ride through the waters of the Blake Sea.

Yordie Sands Speeding Across the Blake Sea 2012 — This is The Blake Sea, vast and deep, and this is a place
where you can zoom across the water at high speeds.
That’s me in my speedboat with throttle “wide open”
and being in a boat like that is exhilarating.

Hona Lee Field on the Blake Sea 2012 — Hona Lee Airfield is much more than an airfield.
There are some great docks to rez your boat and
head right out into the heart of the Blake Sea.

The Lighthouse - Crows Nest on the Blake Sea 2012 — This is the biggest lighthouse in the open waters of the Blake Sea.
This is the Crows Nest at the heart of the 60+ sims.
You can hangout and you might find the SL Coast Guard
come to check on you, see if you need help.

Windlass Resort Island on the Blake Sea 2012 — Linden Lab’s workers created a string of islands for you
to discover, dock at, wander around and even relax at
like this resort on Windlass Island.

Half Hitch Harbor & Lighthouse 2012 — Half Hitch sim is a little port island in the Linden chain.
This is a spot most boaters eventually are drawn into by curiosity.
There’s a lot of not-so-usual things to discover here.
Also, you can get free boats here if you don’t have one.

Yordie Sands @ Sirens Isle — That’s me idling my big speedboat at Sirens Isle.
This little isle is a few sims west of Hona Lee
but it has features that make it one of my favorite.
That still water ahead of my boat is great for scuba.

What do you think? Are you interested? Do you want to get a boat and get out on that sea? Are you saying, I don’t know how to pilot a boat and don’t want to spend a lot of money to learn. Are you saying, I prefer to sail? Do you wonder where you can begin? Are there boating clubs? Are there instructors? How about this, just give it a try and see if its for you. I’ll suggest two ways to go about becoming involved in boating, but will be happy to answer your questions.

If I were starting out, I’d want to begin exploring the Blake Sea from the scenic and wonderful Hona Lee Airfield. I’d want a nice little speedboat, something a little easy to handle and I’d want the free Street Dancer 35′ available on SL Marketplace. Btw, if you prefer to try flying or ballooning, you can do either of those activities right out of Hona Lee too.

If I were going to begin experimenting with a sailboat, I’d start at the Rez Zone on Nautilus Island. There’s a vendor stand right there that will dispense you a free Nemo sailboats. If you are a premium member of SL, you can get a much bigger sailboat for free.

Regardless of how you choose to experience the Blake Sea, I want to encourage everyone to look into it and give it a try. This is one of SL’s truly immersive experiences. Be sure to wave to me if you see me zooming around out there!