Setting sails the first time
From SecondSailing
Well. Now you have prepared your boat and are eager to try things out. Understandable :-)
The next thing to do is.... well get your boat to sailing.
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Raising the sail
This is easy. Just say "raise" in open chat and there you go.
The next thing you need to do is press the "up"-Cursor key twice. For the moment, just believe it, do it. It will be explained later.
You if you now wait a few seconds, the boat should gain speed and you are SAILING. If for some reason this isn't working (for experienced sailors: Your bow might point into the wind), go to the next chapter and try to move the boat around for maybe 90° to any direction.
Controlling the direction
Another easy thing to do. Use the "left" and "right" cursor keys of your keyboard. If this doesn't work.....do you still have any other window open that holds the focus?
You can now sail around and get a feeling for the boat. Have fun.
Two words to the wise:
- It is not possible to cause any damage with your boat in SL (well maybe beside the blown up ego of some other sailors who's way you cross and who never were beginners).
- If you happen to come near an ongoing regatta, stay away or you might be the target of a lot of curses.
Another hint: You will find, that some directions aren't working although there is no obvious reason for that. You might be "in irons" or you might have hit "End of World". These things and how to avoid them will be explained later. For the moment just try to change the course, if this happens.
Braking and parking
Braking? Parking? Behold, this is no car :-)
One good way to slow the boat down is to lower the sail. This is done by the chat command "lower". Just say it in chat. Try it out, before you run onto ground or into any other boat. Not that you will damage anything but you want to sail, not to go on any "rambo" trip, right? This command will not stop your boat dead track. It will just send it into a long decelerating glide. A good way to go near a dock and prepare for mooring.
The next important command you should know is "moor", also said in open chat. This will stop your boat dead in the water immediately. Type "raise" to resume sailing after mooring.
Cleaning up
Well. If you are done with sailing, it is good style to clean up the mess you made. Delete the boat. Leaving the region and/or Second Life without having done so is usually rated as littering and not well liked. It's just a sign of politeness and respect to those who pay for the sims to make their life not any harder than necessary by making them clean up for you.
Homework for today
Have fun, sail around, get familiar with the boat. But please consider the following: You only have learned basic control of the boat now. You will find, you are very slow in some directions, unable to go in others. And you might find, that in one or two directions you are surprisingly fast. Don't get frustrated by that. In the next chapter we will cover the reasons for that and show how to sail reasonable fast in all (well, nearly) directions.
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