Welcome aboard to our virtual ambassador Dave Bloch. Dave represents the virtual sailing fleet in Second Life. Last year Dave coordinated the largest Summer Sailstice event, with 300 people participating in virtual sailing. Dave is also a real life sailor, formerly of the Bay area, now enjoying life down Mexico Way. We are excited to see what 2021 has in store for virtual Sailstice.
Tell us a bit about yourself!
My Real LIfe sailing history runs through about ten years in northern California, from a small mountain lake in the Sierra Nevada to 3 years living on board a sailboat in Alameda, California. But now I live in the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico, and from here I started and ran the first Virtual Summer Sailstice in Second Life. Our virtual Sailstice enables anyone who COVID (or any other reason) is keeping off the water to get out and have the most realistic and fun sailing experience anywhere. And if you're still learning, there's no better way to get the concepts of steering, wind and sail trim, with the added challenge of dodging the occasional mermaid swimming across your bow. Come join us!
What is your favorite color?
Blue
Preferred type of sailing:
Virtual
Boat Make:
I own several with names like Endeavour and Bandit
Boat Length:
12 to 60 feet
Boat Name:
Sirena
Homeport:
Second Life
Favorite Point of Sail:
40
How long have you been sailing?
16 years (real and virtual)
What do you love about sailing?
The feeling of freedom. (And yes, that translates to a virtual ocean; it's kind of amazing, really.)
How long have you been participating in Summer Sailstice?
10 years (real and virtual, on and off)
What are your Summer Sailstice plans for 2021?
Same as last year but better. Races, cruises, a HUGE boat show, and some great parties with live musicians (who perform from their homes around the world) and DJ music (also streaming live).
Are you a part of any sailing clubs, fleets or organizations?
The SL Sailing Association
Why do you want to be a Summer Sailstice Ambassador?
I started this virtual Sailstice last year knowing absolutely nothing about how to go about it or whether anyone would be interested. It became (as others have told me) the biggest collaborative project in our SL sailing community in many years. Our best guess is around 350 people participated with 34 actually signing up on the Sailstice site.
How do you plan to promote Summer Sailstice?
Massive PR inworld (that is, inside Second Life) thru many means. I'll send Emails, articles, photos and anything else I can think of to the Sailstice office, plus take long shots at other sailing publications. We already have our website at http://sailvirtual.com up and going from last year. The YouTube video produced by Second Life has been viewed over 101,000 times!
Who is your sailing hero?
The folks at Marin Sailing School who do the Blind Sailing Regatta
What is your bucket list sailing trip?
A nice Caribbean cruise
Favorite Sailing Movie?
My Sailstice Challenge entry from last year!
You can find Dave over at Sailing in Second Life. His Second Life name is Dale Irata, look him up once you take the plunge to the virtual world.
