SL WHITEWATER - Interview with Guiles Tidewater



A current strong enough to pull you off your feet...white foam flying off boulders, spraying your face with excitement. Ride the kayak in mouselook and you can feel the movement of the swirling river pulling you thru as you dodge the rolling rapids. You can also innertube your way down the river, arms flying as you paddle furiously to avoid the jutting rocks. You can even surf your way thru, forcing a crouch and swerving past obstacles. This is all part of the fun of Guiles Tidewater's GT Whitewater System. SurfWatch recently caught up with Guiles Tidewater to talk about SL and whitewater.


SurfWatch: How long has whitewater existed in SL?

Guiles Tidewater: The GT Whitewater System has only been around for about 3 months. I've found a few other places that have rocks in the water and spray effects for a whitewater feel, but never a "through the waves" kind of experience like I wanted. The Linden made "Tubes of Saturn" in Tethys really inspired me to make what I have now.


SW: Were you the designer?

GT: Yes. I searched for a long time for a whitewater simulation and tossed around alot of ideas about how it might work. When I didn't find one, I finally figured out how to make it myself.


SW: What came first - the current or the kayak?

GT: For me, definitely the kayak. I paddled down my first river many times before there was a current to take me.


SW: Where are current rafting locations?

GT: As of now, there is just my place, the Tidewater Canyon River in Wilder Keys and a new river we just completed in Pacifico Norte 1. I have a few others in the works and there are more to come. Every kayak comes with the free GT River Kit and a commission vendor, so anyone can make their own GT Whitewater River and maybe even a few lindens. I'm hoping to see GT Rivers all over the grid someday (smiles).


SW: What's the name of the current whitewater group and how large is it?

GT: The SL Paddlers Association is currently just over 35 members and growing fast.



SW: Any plans to improve the current system?

GT: I'm always looking for ways to improve the experience. As soon as I find ways to make them happen, my paddlers will be the first to know.



SW: Anything else you want to add?

GT: At the Tidewater Canyon River, I've got a series of gates set up for a timed course. I'm planning on having competitions soon. It's a technical course that includes upstream gates as well as downstream gates. My best time thru the course has been 43 seconds, but my average runs in the low 50s. I have a few friends who've been chasing my time pretty closely. That time will get beat soon. I've also been tossing around the idea of a multi person raft that would ride the rapids, and I'm looking into a "sit on top" kayak that would be able to ride surfable waves.



Start at the mouth of the river and ride it thru to the end. Then share a beer with good friends while you talk about how much fun it was, and what you were able to glimpse on the banks as you raced by. An experience you won't forget.
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Brazilian Surf Comp!


ABSSL - Associacao Brasileira de Surf no SL
Circuito Brasileiro de Surf no SL 2009 - Segunda etapa
Jaws Waves Surf Champ 2009

Waves use: Jaws Waves 100m
Surfboard use: HP4 Jaws Version
03/05/2009 - 11:00SLT
OPEN PUBLIC
Awards: L$6.400

HP Surf Point, Crab Island (174, 99, 22)

Brazilian Surfers:

K9 Moorsider
Kahuna Michigan
Jubileu Bing
Ulyses Erin
Romolo Ferbaer
Jucarasta Diavalo
Kinder Biedermann
Camarada Pralou
Cooper Steampunk
Guiloan Graves
Vana Loire
Rico Bechir
Rick Galli
Barbra Kungler
Luca Maynard
Ammie Graves

Guests:

Brody Bolero
Luftwaffe Messerchmitt
Colleen Brennan
Kimmy Jigsaw
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Results of April 18 SLSA Round 1 Competition



The results of today's SLSA Round 1 competition and those surfers moving on to Round 2 next Saturday, April 25:

HEAT 1
Tandum Apfelbaum: 14.50000
Locksley Blitzstein: 13.83333

HEAT 2
Monq Pinklady: 14.3333
Mick Lunasea: 14.0000

HEAT 3
Triston Mayo: 15.16667
Desne Aabye: 14.16667

HEAT 4
Dixson Martian: 14.16667
Aldo Courtois: 14.00000

HEAT 5
Lynda Mimulus: 14.66667
Corey2 Beck: 13.66667

HEAT 6
Maldrul Morris: 13.66667
Velvetori Twine: 13.16667

High score for the day was Triston Mayo with his Heat 3 run of 15.16667. These riders will be moving on to Round 2 next Saturday to compete against the SLSA top 20 ranked surfers. See the SLSA website for complete information on scores.
Results courtesy Abel Halderman; photos courtesy Colleen Brennan
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New to SL Surfing? Try These Places First!

Submitted by Socks Clawtooth
Senior Furry Correspondent

Just getting started? Then this information is for you! These are the five places I recommend people new to SL surfing try first. All have loaner boards on the beach, some have free items, and all are great spots to learn surfing for free! It has all the wave types you'll find in SL and give you a good taste for surfing here. Then, once you've tried them, you can try the rest of the Rough Guide for size!

Chi (125, 211, 22)
Wave type: Pipe/Fluffy
Freebies: None that I've found, but search the sim
Sales: Board sales on the beach near the break and SE up in the town area, as well as apparel
Beach loaners: Almost always at least 3-4 boards out
Pros: One of the oldest surf breaks on the grid and also maintained regularly
Cons: The break is short and narrow but the saying is, if you can surf Chi, you can surf anywhere. It can also be "laggy" occasionally.

Moana'Ina @ Weather Island (41, 164, 29)
Wave type: Epic
Freebies: Once you teleport, you will be put on the TP hub on Weather Island. Either walk north over the bridge and follow the path east, or fly direct to the coordinates you see above. You'll see a blue shack marked "Sebastian's Surf Shop". Walk in thru the curtain. Once inside, you can touch a surfboard and get a free one for you to use. Don't get too excited - it only works on Weather Island. Also, look for the crate next to it for a free wetsuit for you to wear, too. A little sim crawling will turn up all sorts of freebies.
Sales: The surf shack also has boards for sale but they don't advertise that fact.
Beach loaners: None, but the intent is that you go to the surf shack and pick up a board there to use instead of leaving them on the beach. So in reality, there's loaners there.
Pros: The build is incredible so for that alone, it's worth coming. The site is also the home of the original "epic" wave, so there's alot of history here. There are also alot of atmospherics that make it a great place to ride.
Cons: No music so that's kinda a downer. It gets very crowded here sometimes, and I've seen an occasion where I couldn't get in because the sim was full! And the loaner board is an older script. But even in spit of all that, I still come here to surf when the mood strikes me.

Mori Pwani, Erie Heights (121, 221, 21)
Wave type: Epic, but pipes and fluffies are next door
Freebies: Some "dollarbieS" in the stores, but some searching will reward you with some good stuff.
Sales: Plenty - almost all the surfboard reps are here.
Pros: If you want a slice of surf culture, this is the place to go. Good people, good waves, good everything. The people who run this sim also ran the legendary breaks of "Majini" and "Pepo", both sites of past competitions. Also, I recommend joining the "Vibes" surf group while you're here. You'll be happy you did. And check out the pipes/fluffy run next door at Tuli Bahari.
Cons: They don't leave alot of loaners out and some days it's crowded. But to be truthful, the surf is only one reason to come here.

Surf Camp, PrimWorks (145, 196, 21)
Wave type: Pipeline/Fluffy combination
Freebies: If you go just N/NE of the waves, check out the blue tent and the surrounding area. Lots of cool stuff.
Sales: Lots in the surrounding area going NW/W of the waves.
Beach loaners: If you're less than 90 days old, there's a rezzer on the water you can use. Or you can join the Surf Camp group to use the other.
Pros: Well maintained sim and a good place to get alot of information about surfing and the SLSA
Cons: Not easy to get loaners unless you're new or in the group. But it leaves alot less clutter on the beach.

Thetis Bahia
Wave type: Pipe and Fluffy
Freebies: None
Sales: Some board sales on the beach
Beach loaners: Minimal but I know they're there usually
Pros: Great place to learn pipes. They have a 3 wide "mini-epic" as well as a stand alone pipe. There's also a fluffy run as well
Cons: None really, except it's usually not that crowded. Not really a con unless you like socializing

Tsunami Beach (247, 103, 21)
Wave type: "Sunset", a single "megaprim" wave with no seams
Freebies: None
Sales: "Freeport" is one sim over and has alot of shops on it with everything from surf clothing to boards
Beach loaners: At any time, you'll find longboards, shortboards and windsurfers on the beach ready to use
Pros: Very good sim and the first to really showcase the "Sunset" wave
Cons: The"Sunset" is a very hard wave to master. But if you can surf this one, you can ride anything.
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New Spots on the Grid (April 09)

To get on the list, contact Socks Clawtooth in world

If you want to find the places with that "new beach smell", this is a shortened version of what's new in SL surfing as of this edition of the guide. The full list has all of these, as well as the old standards. But here are the additions if you don't feel like wading thru the whole list:

What the codes mean:
(E/P/F/S/R) 1 Location name/(landmark)
The number denotes what revision the LM was added on. The letters denote wave types found at the beach. Epic, Pipe, Fluffy, Sunset or Ron John. Many places have multiple styles depending on the day or the mood of the sim owner.

LISTING:

(T)4 ASAYAKE Beach, ASAYAKE (217,150,21)
The beach is a medium size break but the fun part is they run an old school "Teahupoo" style wave! This is the first gen "sunset" and is a multi-prim sculpty. No music tho, which is a personal downside. But it's fun to ride this one.

(P/F)4 Azure Destiny (239,124,23)
A really fun sim to walk around, this place has a nice dual synched pipe with the usual fluffy suspects with it. Rez area near TP point - look for the sign. But walk around the sim! LOTS of stuff here. Oh, and the dolphins are not only friendly, they'll give you a ride if you ask them nicely.

(P)4 Beachmice, Kryten (102,62,23)
Way under the radar, a pipes only run. No frills, but that's fine. Easier to practice the weird stuff here with minimal lag.

(E)4 knowhere, knowhere (94,6,20)
Some would argue that you can never have enough of a good thing. But as any kid with a tummy ache can tell you, you certainly can. This is a good example, if not an impressive one. Knowhere is the only place that I've ever seen an "Epic" of, well, epic proportions. This is the home of the 8 panel epic. No, seriously, this thing pretty much goes from edge to edge of the sim! If you can never get enough epicness, this is your kind of place. But 8 panels? You gotta WORK to get from side to side of this monster! (Damage enabled area).

(P/F)4 Montego Beach - Rez Area, Sands Point NW (5,121,21)
I put the TP point right into the rez area here for ease of finding. Seemed a little laggy when I visited, but it may be my connection. Single pipe and a few million fluffies. There's an epic rezzer out there, so they may go epic sometimes, too. But when I visited, it's a nice casual ride.

(P/F)4 Namiko Surf Co. Flagship at B, Namiko (124,76,25)
Flagship sim of "Namiko" surfboards and a nice surf spot to boot! It's got two unsynched pipes moving at angles to eachother, and two fluffies with a pretty fast wave regeneration speed at similar angles. The play potential here is huge. And while you're here, check out the ski hill next door! Great atmospherics, too. It's a trip to surf at night! Do bring your rain gear, tho.

(F)4 New Kaizen Shopping Plaza, Kissena Park (158,241,22)
A short fluffy run shown to me by VW Sands (so thank you there!) It's surrounded by shopping so sit awhile and let it all rez.

(F)4 somewhere, sea pilgrims (153,240,22)
This is next door to "knowhere" and it's just as over the top. It's a 2/3 sim fluffy ride. The location seems to be a "beach rental" and I chose an LM that was far enough away from the main house that it shouldn't intrude. But still, it's a REALLY fun ride if you're into fluffies.

(P/F)4 Tuli Bahari - Tranquil Ocean, Tuli Bahari (127,157,24)
The "other half" of Mori, this is the newer area of the small cluster. As much as I miss Pepo, this makes up for it. Unsynched pipes/fluffy run that's diagonal for space. No open rez, so if you're not a member of "Vibrations" surf group (and if not, WHY NOT?!?!?),you can jump over to Mori, rez your board in the rez area there, and paddle over.

General disclaimers

The opinions expressed with the landmarks are purely of Socks Clawtooth and nobody else. At least that is unless they hacked it in which case this could say anything. I'm trying to be unbiased here as there's a LOT of places to surf in SL and each one is, surprisingly, different which is why I add my notations. I would encourage you to sim hop, take in a safari, and see what else is out there. You might find something that I missed. And final disclaimer: I'm not responsible for anything you might do that's silly or stupid. This list is available for FREE and is not to be resold, even for L$1, under ANY circumstances! Pass it along but DO NOT SELL this! There. It's been said.
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April Fools Day Post

HAHAHAHAHA!
We've gotten so much awesome feedback on our April Fools issue of SurfWatch - thank you all for your feedback! And thank you, Col and Socks! We are so happy that you're a part of the SurfWatch team!!! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT!
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