Picasso on the Beach

Submitted by Opal Rivers

When first landing on Ocean Shores, Ocean Shores Surf Beach (26, 133, 21) - Moderate, you realize it’s not your typical sandy beach.  The landscape reminds one of a mix of dark sand and delicate grasses.  This cove shaped island supports a wide variety of waves that are a joy to surf.  The multiple surfboard rezzers allows you to sample many types of surfboards.  This sim creation is the work of the surf legend, Wilfrid DeCuir.

After an entertaining conversation with Wil, I discovered that the beach hosts a wide variety of waves.  The south beach has Maoli Fluffies.  The big kahuna wave beach has Maoli Tahiti combined with Maoli Swell waves, which create a unique beach vibe.  The windy days are perfect to surf the HP Teahupoo waves.  There are some unannounced Fun Day Sunday events, where the sim supports some old school SSi Pipes and Fluff.  The wave options are vast in this unique sim, as they can be randomly interchanged with HP Sunset, JAWS, Joaquina wave, LSD, and Maverick waves to name a few.

 Wil is a long term Second Life (SL) resident, who was introduced to surfing around his 1st Rez day.  He immediately embraced the sport with the encouragement of Abel Halderman and joined the Second Life Surfing Association (SLSA).  As he began his surfing career, Wil’s talent at SL surfing was immediately recognized.  His first two seasons in competitive surfing were winning ones and close seconds in the next two seasons.  He is now a member of the SLSA Hall of Fame for his prominent surfing accomplishments and advocacy of the sport of surfing.  When this adventurous AV is not out surfing the waves like a champion, he is flying his collection of SL airplanes or sailing one of his fine boats. For Wil, SL provides an international platform for opportunities and friendships and he makes sure to seize all opportunities.

Wil’s first sim was created to be a no-frills surf beach.  He considered the sim as his contribution to the sport of surfing and the community that supports it.  This sim has gone through many changes throughout the years.  One recent design was an urban beach with a mountainous background.  It was through a soul-searching change that the current design was envisioned.

The adventurous sim also supports a skydiving area that challenges daredevils to a difficult landing zone on a wooden deck.  The base jump area is accessible through one of the Stargate TP (transport) areas.  There are plenty of areas for relaxing and watching the action on this beach.  That parrot around the main seating area is a frisky soul.  It whistles at you and will dive bomb you.

After sitting at the hookah for an extended period, I look up at the mountainous terrain.   Through the foggy mist, I vaguely spot something sitting there on top of the mountains.  Height has always been an issue for me, but I knew what I had to do.  I begin the ascent to the peak, making sure I had the appropriate ice clamps and climbing ropes in my Surf Watch backpack (Feel free to IM Tauri Tigerpaw or OpalRivers for a free verison of the SWack).  This dangerous steep terrain eventually lead me to a snow crested peak where I see Picasso0626 meditating about his next great work of art.  It was truly amazing to be in the presence of this great artisan.  After a short conversation about snow on mountains being as blue as the sea, I prepare for the descent.  As I arrive at the base of the mountains, I begin to hear the soulful blues in the air and realize there were some AV’s dancing on the elevated dance floor.  What a great way to end the day, appreciating the blues with some new friends.

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