Second Life Surfing Association (SLSA) Top 3 2017: Interview with Kris Marley

SurfWatch recently caught up with Kris Marley ranked top 3 in the SLSA standings in 2017 and former director with the SLSA, to find out how he got his start with Second Life (SL) surfing.  

SurfWatch (SW):  Have to ask, how did you find out about Second Life surfing and how did you get started?  Where, who, when all the dirt, lol!
Kris Marley:  I just kinda stumbled across it.  I was looking for a house and ended up on T'ai. While I was looking about, I ran into Cierra (Theriac) who was chilling out on Bluff.  After pestering the life out of her, she told me about surfing and all that, let me watch how it's done, and I got hooked. I really just wanted her to build me a house on Bluff Cove.  I'm still trying on that. Pretty much how it all started there.  I met Ronan (Blake) on T'ai, and he gave me a tour of all the sims, introduced me to some amazing places.  I was just hooked from the start.

SW:  What made you want to surf?  How hard was it to learn?
Marley:  To be honest, I had been in SL, like, 2 weeks, ended up with all the mesh and stuff on my first day somehow and had no idea how to put clothes on, lol.  So I kinda stuck to beaches and saw the waves, thought why not, I may as well try surfing. It wasn't too hard really, but I met the right people early who gave me tips and note cards with instructions and all that. I think the next competition at that time was on T'ai so I was seeing the pros surfing and would pester and bug them and get advice.  It wasn't too hard thanks to all these people.

SW:  Did you know anything about real life (RL) surfing?
Marley:  Bits and pieces.  I had tried it, had watched a bit of it but it was never a big thing in my life really. Snowboarding was my gig so RL surfing wasn't something that pushed me into surfing here. Now I'm bloody hooked on them both.

SW:  How did you get involved in competition surfing?
Marley:  Cierra again, lol.  Cierra told me about it, invited me to the group. I'd go and to see how Ronan and Cierra would get on but never really thought I could do it.  Same as most people who think their computer or internet is a bag of plums, you think you just couldn't do it. Eventually after a few drinks I said to Cierra to sign me up for the HP5 one.  Had never surfed the board before and no clue what I was doing, but I just went for it anyway.  Have never looked back since.  It was a lot of fun.


SW:  What are your favorite competitive moves?
Marley:  The higher the better, lol.  I always like to try get some good air, but overall I like it to look kinda relaxed and effortless. People have different styles which I love.  Some prefer a busier style, more spinning and pack a lot into one wave. I prefer a more relaxed style and as much air as possible.

SW:  What do you get out of competitive surfing?
Marley:  It's just good fun. Sometimes it's easy to get caught up in it a bit too much, but it's something I think is important to this place. 10 years or something it's been going.  That's a lot of history worth saving and keeping alive. I just find it good fun.  Keeps me out of trouble somewhat and it's a good time killer. Practicing and learning what you can do on each board on the different waves, it's interesting and a challenge.

SW:  What's your favorite board?

Marley:  HP5 without a doubt.  C-3 a close 2nd, though.

SW:  What music if any pumps you up for surfing?
Marley:  This Girl - Kungs vs Cooking on 3 burners  is my usual song for when I take my wave. When I'm surfing, just a bit of everything though, Oasis is my favorite of all but I like a bit of everything. House, EDM, Indie, Alternative stuff or just whatever Liberty (Justice) tells me to listen to, lol

SW:  Is there anyone in the past or current surfing world that you admire their style and try to emulate?
Marley:  Liberty Justice without a doubt. She has a nice aggressive style that is all controlled.  My favorite to watch surf for sure. She pretty much taught me how to surf the competitions so if I can look half as good as her, I'm happy.

SW:  What advice would you give new surfers about how to start?
Marley:  Ask Liberty to teach you, lol.  I donno.  I guess just learn to turn first. I see so many get on a board, surf along a wave and go right off the end without turning around and eventually give up. Ask people, read the note cards and take the time to just learn to turn.  if you can surf the whole run without flying off the end, you're gonna start to enjoy surfing more and more as you can add more to it. Definitely talk to people and ask people, bug the life out of them till you learn what you want to learn.

SW:  Where are your favorite places to surf?  What's your favorite wave?
Marley:  Bluff Cove is my favorite.  Just amazing waves there.  Island Sea Soul is insane, a whole lot of fun.  Surf Cove at Perdida has a real nice vibe to it.  I love surfing there and the rocks make it a nice challenge and a lot of fun.

SW:  What do you imagine SL surfing will be like 5 years from now?
Marley:  Probably not much different surfing wise.  I doubt it will ever change much and from the looks of it, never really has. Hopefully some new boards, new waves to surf but we'll see. Competition wise, I think it might be different.  Whether there will be seasons like there are now, I'm not sure.  Might be more individual competitions at sims across SL with more relaxed rules.  Just a less organized setup, maybe. Really depends what changes are made through SLSA in that time.

Photo courtesy Kris Marley

SW:  What else do you like to do in SL in addition to catching a wave?
Marley:  I float about, just chill with friends, take in some music or a bit of sailing or whatever. I go through spells of messing with my land and trying to create something cool. Nothing overly exciting.  All pretty chill.

SW:  Anything else you want to add?
Marley:  Not really.  My brain is nakered after trying to think of all that already, lol.  I think it's cool this SurfWatch thing is starting to do little bits and pieces again.  Reading through it, it seemed like it was a blast before with a lot of cool stuff on it. Welcome back and good luck with it.
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The Legends Series: INTERVIEW -- Sebastian Saramago (originally published 10/6/2008)

Within the pages of SurfWatch is the rich history of Second Life (SL) surfing from the mouths of the surfers that created or developed or promoted or excelled in this virtual sport over the years.  Enjoy these interviews and the perspective from these surf legends as SurfWatch begins "The Legends Series":

By Tauri Tigerpaw. Exclusive to SurfWatch.

Surf Systems Inc.'s Sebastian Saramago talked to SurfWatch recently about Second Life surfing's early days, the birth of the Second Life surfboard and his famous collaboration with leading wave and surfboard script designer Heather Goodliffe.

SurfWatch:
So, how did it all start?


Sebastian Saramago: Not long after I started in Second Life, I was building my dream home and shopping for textures at a local store. I met another chap who just happened to be named Sebastian as well. We started talking, and he ended up inviting my girl and I to his place to see his new build. We were checking out the area and the first thing I noticed was something in the water... something moving... OMG it was WAVES! A little figure hovered over the sea with her arm outstretched as if to summon the Second Life waters to rise and roll into shore. That was when I met Heather as she was making the first set of waves. She was a friend of the Sebastian I had just met. It was wonderful. I needed them... but
Heather was not selling the waves yet as she was still developing them. I invited her back to my mainland sim to test how the waves would work on my land. I wanted to support what she was doing because I believed in it. That's when I bought one of the first 'wave rocks' sold.

At this time she had a surfboard that was about like a hover board, and you really had to almost sit on the wave to move to shore. We talked about how best to make them surfable within the first week of having the waves up and running. I got some old hover board and started picking it apart and stripping the script down and removing prims. When I had done as much damage as I could, Heather began adjusting and adding to the scripts to make it float, make it smooth. This was the birth of virtually simulated surfing in Second Life. Over the months we developed many improvements and tested countless configurations. Man... looking back that was a lot of fun.


SurfWatch: Who opened the first surf sim?


Sebastian: We moved from our first home to Siberian sim. Half a sim with a nice white sandy beach. I soon build the first surf shop there on that beach. We sold two types of boards. The first was the surfboard Heather had just made that works with wave push. The other was a less costly board that was stand only. We called the advanced and basic. Later of course we added that feature into one board.


SurfWatch: So how did it get from there to where Second Life surfing is now?


Sebastian:
Surfing as we know it nearly never happened. There was a time when Heather kinda fell out of Second Life due to her disappointments in some practices of other sellers. That, along with many Second Life issues at the time, kept her constantly fixing the broken scripts. Most of it was word of mouth and I ran ads and listings. Heather had turned over the scripts of the boards to me and I was fumbling along with them for a while.
I basically begged Heather to keep working on them. I knew that if she could get the right balance of board and wave that people would love it. She had wanted to come back and really put her all into it.... so, she did and started working very hard on improvements. That's when the model of the current scripted board was born.

Not long after that I sold my sim there and bought Quan Li. We set up the second surfshop. But still there were only 4 or 5 across Second Life. Thats the place most of my very fond memories of surfing took place. I met so many great people. We really had a feeling of close, personal connections. It was truly great. No politics, nothing but fun, surf and parties. I never cared about the money or biz of it. Heather is the brains in that area. I came to Second Life to have fun, not to make money or run a shop.


SurfWatch: So your vision was more in terms of creating a fun sport in Second Life?


Sebastian: Everything I did was to help Heather make something people would love. Indeed, that was Heather's goal, too. Perhaps that's why we were not bulldogs in marketing and development. We did not try to swarm in and push surfing on Second Life. We enjoyed it. We both had real life jobs and did the Second Lifething when we could.


SurfWatch: Seeing where Second Lifesurfing is now, how does it make you feel in terms of reaching your goals?


Sebastian: The goal was to keep it working. Second Life had so many issues at the time and it kept breaking everything. Many great builders and scripters left. By the way, that first surf shop is the place we met Poid [Mahovlich] and Nora. They are still around today. At that time we agreed that it would be good to have a few designs of Poid's added to our sets. That was the first time we let other people's art on our boards and gave them a cut for it.


Some time after, on Quan Li, Heather met Keala Mimistrobell. Heather looked at some of her grahpics and really liked them. Heather and I talked about it and decided it would be great to let Keala do a set of graphics for 10 boards. Of course, things started to pick up and trafic was near 8 to 10k each day. More and more people thought it would be so cool to stick a graphic on a board and have a line. Bad thing is, with as unstable as things were, it was simply not worth it for us at the time to do the work to set up vendors. People did not feel they should pay, and really almost no amount of money was worth the extra headache to us.


But that started Heather working on a way to make it a bit less time consuming to do vendor sets for others who wanted a line of boards. Over the next many months, she had that system in place. I guess that was really the start of the 'franchise'.


SurfWatch: Is Second Life surfing where you thought it could be? Better, worse?


Sebastian: I believe the passion and dedication people have are amazing and really inspiring. People are people and many things will happen you don't agree with, no matter what business you are in. We take things very personal here... for me it was a hobby to start with, not a business so, when people cross you and betray you, it hurts. Its personal to me, not business. But for the most part, people love the sport. It adds something to their lives, not just the surfing itself, but the great community around it. To tell you the truth, having a few friends around the camp fire at Quan Li and enjoying the surf would be fine with me.


I don't really find a place in the current surfing community, mostly due to staying out of political issues... and not wanting people to feel some people have an unfair advantage for whatever reason... this kinda leave me on the outside of things. Ironic really.


SurfWatch: You still surf?


Sebastian: Of course. When it's not a competition, I like to go out to Weather and teach the noobs. I also like to show the new school kids a thing or two once and a while [laughs]. I just like helping the noobs have fun and see what there is in Second Life to enjoy.


SurfWatch: Can you give us a taste of what major things are in development?


Sebastian: I can't really say what's in development. I can tell you that riders will really enjoy the range of control. And we hope that wave systems under development will give surfers the fresh breath they have been looking for. All I can say is that we have been at this for as long as we have for a reason. We love it. And we will continue to develop cutting edge products for the sole propose of giving our devoted surfers the best that Second Life constraints will allow us to produce.


SurfWatch: Anything else you might want to add that I forgot to ask?


Sebastian: Only that if anyone would like to speak to me about anything, needs help or just someone to talk to, that I am here for my fellow surfers. I support my family of riders and will always continue to do so.

Useful links
SurfWatch: Interview -- Keala Mimistrobell (25 Aug 08)
SurfWatch: Interview -- Heather Goodliffe (30 May 08)
SLURL: Surf Camp
SLURL: Sebastian's Surf Shack (Weather Island)
SLURL: Quan Li
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Second Life Surfing Association (SLSA) Top 3 2017: Interview with Moira

SurfWatch recently caught up with Moira (venera74) at Bundy Surf Beach, ranked top 3 in the SLSA standings in 2017 and SLSA Director, to get to know her and share her thoughts on Second Life (SL) surfing.  

SurfWatch (SW):  Have to ask, how did you find out about SL surfing and how did you get started?  Where, who, when all the details lol!

Moira:  I have to go a little behind with my story.  I live in a seaside town in Italy, a small town, but great for surfing.  Here everyone surfed and competitions are organized at European level.  I started surfing when I was child, about seven years, but at 10 I had an accident and health problems related to it.  After recovery, really long, I tried to surf again, but understanding, I  never can surfing again.  It was really hard to accept.  The sea, surfing, is my passion.  I live them as if they were part of me.  It is my lifestyle.

I was really down.  My sister told me about SL and surfing.  She told me that I could ride again.  So she gave me her avatar, and I entered in SL for the first time.  It was June 20, 2015.  I had search with her the sim for surfing, and the first I found that inspired me was Tsunami.  And I went and WOW, the waves.  Could not believe my eyes.  Took a board and threw myself on the first incoming wave.  I stood up on a surfboard, and I was again surfing.  It was a wonderful feeling.

While I was surfing, I saw someone waiting sitting on the board.  Petra Xaris.  I began to talk to her, knowing her, and she spoke of how it worked, SL surfing, the various differences of surfboards, showed me some waves.  And I stood ecstatically - really, you could do all this in SL?  She spoke to me about surfing competitions, inviting me to attend the LSD competition the following Saturday.  I went there and it was beautiful.  I decided then to want to compete.  Petra and I became friends and I asked her if she wanted to become my coach.  She accepted and so it all began.  Time later, I met MaryAnn Maa, owner and team captain of the Team Tsunami
She spoke to me about her team, and asked me if I wanted to join, I thought about it for a few days and finally accepted her invitation.
I'm glad I did it, I immediately felt in a family with her and all the team members.

SW:  What made you want to surf?  How hard was it to learn?

Moira:  What made me want to surf?  Passion!  That fire inside which does not make you stay away from the surfboard and the waves.  In every way you can have it, even behind a monitor, that sense of freedom I feel when I'm surfing, the chance  to do and making it true, and not just a memory.

How hard was it to learn?  Well, really good question.  I don't know.  I surfed a lot.  In the break between the 2015 season 1 and season 2, I was in the water every day trying again and again all the surfboards and many waves as possible.  Petra was an extraordinary coach, gave me advice I tried to put into practice, trying to do what I liked.  And was good for me, surfing the waves in a way that felt right and that gave me pleasure.

I practiced a lot, every day, even for 8 - 10 hours a day, but without all that was or is a burden.  I can practice for hours, days, weeks and months without never getting tired, because each wave I surf is a world unto itself that begins, ends, and begins again the next wave.  Understanding what can I do with a surfboard and what the surfboard can do for me, adapting to my style, understanding how my style can be adapted to a specific wave and what I have to change to make it effective.

Arrived on the day of my very first open competition, I did not know how I was surfing.  Petra said it was good, but I was not convinced.  So I did the first heat and got a good score of 15:00, second high score of the comp. Qualified for the Pro competition where I arrived fifth.  I realized what I had done was good and the way I had followed was right .  So I can't say was hard, it was just fun.

SW:  Did you know anything about real life (RL) surfing?

Moira:  I was a RL surfers and I am in love with surf, so I think the answer is ...yes.

SW:  How did you get involved in competition surfing?

Moira:  I wanted to surf, and I was happy to do it again in SL but I knew nothing about comps and SLSA. When I was child, I attended many surfing competitions, saying to myself, one day I will compete. Petra told me that in SL were surfing competitions.  I quickly realized that I wanted to participate, and  I wanted  be able  to do it soon.  I'm very competitive.  I love the competition and especially love surfing, the perfect blend, and it was easy to decide to enter in the world of surf comps.  I saw the last competition of the season 1, 2015, and, like I said, it was the right push for me want to participate in the new season.

SW:  What are your favorite competitive moves?

Moira:  I love to be smooth and fast, not, like, just press the keys trying to make mechanical moves or combinations like a video game.  I like to try to adapt my style to wave I'm surfing and to the board I'm using, trying to do something can be nice and effective, but overall can be nice for me and I like (not sure if was this the question, lol)

SW:  What do you get out of competitive surfing?

Moira:  A lot of satisfaction, not for the results I got, not only for those, but to have had the opportunity to meet many wonderful people, and know a beautiful world where I feel really at home.  And overall for having had the opportunity to realize my dream of being able to compete in the surf when I was convinced that would never be possible and I had lost hope.  Surfing competitions gave me a new life!

SW:  What's your favorite board?

Moira:  I like each board I use because are different, but maybe my favorite is LSD.

SW:  What music, if any, pumps you up for surfing?

Moira:  I don't have a favorite music.  Much depends on how I feel and my state of mind.  I usually listen to old rock, Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, for example, but I can listen everything.  It depends on what at that time give me the charge.  I love classical music and the great composers, Mozart, Bach, Vivaldi, etc.

SW:  Is there anyone in the past or current surfing world that you admire their style and try to emulate?

Moira:  Well, I think everyone have his own style, different from each other, and I think everyone deserve to be admired precisely because of this diversity.  Regard to emulate someone, well, I prefer to be Moira, with my style and my way for doing things.

SW:  What advice would you give new surfers about how to start?

Moira:  The only advice  I feel I can give is this: be passionate.  With the passion and dedication you can get all results.  Do not rush, take your time trying and trying again.  Try to figure out what is your style without want to look like someone.  And over all, have always fun in every wave you surf.

SW:  Where are your favorite places to surf?  What's your favorite wave?

Moira:  Think I have not a favorite place for surfing and I have not a favorite wave.  I am happy when I surf in every place on every wave.  Nothing else matter.

SW:  What do you imagine SL surfing will be like 5 years from now?

Moira:  Surfing in SL, it is a reality, established from years.  There been and there are people who have committed their time, their desire, and why not, their money, to make surfing and competitions possible, to make it known, giving  to the community of surfers, something really great.  I think  by continuing with the same commitment and the same desire, surfing will become more, a solid reality in SL.

SW:  What else do you like to do in SL in addition to catching a wave?

Moira:  After discovering the surf and have surfed for days, I realized that SL was truly immense and you could do a lot of things.  I discovered my best friend years ago  made an avatar and using it for a few days, I convinced her to come back in SL.  And with her we explored a lot of places and is still one of the things we like to do. We found the clothes and shopping * sighs *, and  became the main activity.  I spend every competition prize in clothes and hair * sighs again *.  I even convinced my mother to be in SL, too.  My sister gave her second avatar to my mom, so I spend a little time with her, too, considering  she complains because of school and everything else,  we never have time to be together talking.

SW:  Anything else you want to add?

Moira:  I would just like to add a big thank you to all the people that have made and make it possible, who dedicate their time, and their commitment to serve the community of surfers, and their fun, to all those who have passed, but have left their mark, and to all those who today continue on this way, doing something great.  I'm really happy to say, to be part of that, too.  And I want say a big thank you to my team Tsunami, for all the support and for make me feel always a member of a family.






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Surf Cove, Playa Perdida

Submitted by Opal Rivers
Photos courtesy Austin Novaland


Landmark:  Surf Cove at Playa Perdida (148, 7, 23) Adult

There is a new beach in town and the creator, Austin Novaland, is a long-term resident of Second Life (SL).  In SL, you can usually find him surfing, sailing, and attending live music performances.  He is a self-described SL explorer, creator, and relaxer who is passionate about growing the sport of surfing in SL.  His profile claims he is dumb and has no sense of humor.  However, I have found that his profile and his sim’s informational notecard are written with a snarky intellect.  By the way, the notecard provides a complete explanation about the sim with pictures provided.   Additionally, the notecard gives links to other information and is an interesting read for someone looking to learn a bit more about surfing and the etiquette.  There is no group needed to join to enjoy the full benefits of this well-made sim.  However, this privately-owned sim does have rules that one must be aware of before proceeding.  The sim greeter gives the highlights of them upon arrival.  Please refer to the notecard given for specifics.


Austin finds his inspiration in the creation of sims that are virtual wonders that has been discovered during his time in SL.  His first whole sim creation, Surf Cove at Playa Perdida, is certainly very inspired.  The sim is a mature surfing sim that exists in the timeless harmony of blissful surfing, adventure, and nudity.  He honestly represents what an island surf beach can be filled with to make one want to stay for the day.  The large dark lava rock cliffs are balanced by several oasis of lush green tropical beauty that certainly make a huge initial impression.  Austin reflects that he wanted the sim to have the feeling of a newly created volcanic island.  The recent relocation of Surf Cove at Playa Perdida allowed him to fine tune his creation through textures and animations.  Austin shared that the sim is work in progress and is ever evolving.



The sim’s surf waves are found just around the corner from the landing spot on the sim.  The waves used here are Maoli – Tahiti Break waves.  Since there are large rocks in the path of the wave, there is a good amount of surfing skill needed to not crash into the rocks.  There is no 911 in Second Life, so surf with caution. There are convenient surf viewing chairs that are located just in the water to cool you for those hot tropical days.  The clubhouse also has a nice place to socialize with friends and watch the surfing slide show.  However, there is lots more to be discovered in this creative sim.
Not only can one enjoy surfing, the sim also provides opportunities for exploration, cliff diving, yoga, and Tai Chi.  If you like cave spelunking, this is your place.  Above ground and undersea caves are interesting to explore.  As you progress deeper into the cave, you will receive positive affirmations along the way.    The undersea cave opening has a rope climb located nearby that will hoist you up near the zip lines.  The rope climbs are a fun animation addition.  Make sure you have your AO off to enjoy the climb up.  Seriously, could that zip line be any more fun?  The zip line will locate you near the yoga mats, so you might as well grab some namaste.   As the day turns to night, you might want to slow life down.  There are a few quiet spaces to share with someone special romantically or to reflect on the day solo.  No matter what you choose to do on this sim, I am sure you will not regret making Surf Cove at Playa Perdida a favorite in your list.

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Oh no, Kono







Kono and an unidentified friend in a serious stand-off at Monkey Cove.

The goal of SurfWatch is to promote virtual and specifically Second Life (SL) surfing, along with promoting the sims, the competitions, the surfers, the designers and creators of boards, clothing, waves, the organizations and groups that support SL surfing, the events, things that are of interest to SL surfers. Join us.
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The Legends Series: Heather Goodliffe Speaks at SurfWatch 2 Year Anniversary Celebration March 3, 2010

Within the pages of SurfWatch is the rich history of Second Life (SL) surfing from the mouths of the surfers that created or developed or promoted or excelled in this virtual sport over the years.  Enjoy these interviews and the perspective from these surf legends as SurfWatch begins "The Legends Series":


(Condensed from Heather Goodliffe's presentation at SurfWatch's 2 Year Anniversary Party
March 3, 2010).


Heather Goofliffe:
Alright, well, hello fellow surfers and a big Thanks to the Surfwatch crew for inviting me to speak at the 2 year aniversary party! It's been a little while since I've talked to so many people. I think the last time was at the opening of the HoF (Hall of Fame). Going with the text chat tonight, hope that works for people. Hard to believe it's been so long. If you guys don't mind, I was thinking I might talk about how it all started since it's something people ask Seb (Sebastian Saramago) and I pretty often.

Well...for my part, I first joined SL (Second Life) shortly after it started many, many years ago out of curiosity. Almost 5 years ago in fact. Being an old IRC junkie from way back in the day, and I've always had a passion for building things, it seemed like an amazing opportunity to connect with people and be creative. As soon as I logged in, I was hooked.  When I first got to SL, I met a lot of amazing people, including Yadni (Monde) the creator of Yadni's junkyard and Dane Zander, the creator of The Lost Gardens of Apollo. I LOVE that place. One of the most AMAZING people I met happened to be Seb. But first, let me go back a little bit...

When I first started, I was either exploring everything I could or in the sandboxes all day. The one thing that struck me the most out of everywhere I went was that there were NO WAVES?! Being an San Diego native, that was something I just couldn't have... it was just wrong for sure. Tripped me out even!  SO of course I set about making some waves. Figured, why not? (smiles and winks).
The amazing people I'd met for suggestions on how to go about it - unfortunately, not many people had much advice for me. Sorry, got excited there AND I actually couldn't find any sandboxes with water at the time, so I had to work on them where people would let me. Fortunately, one guy in particular felt the same way I did about the waves - maybe even more so. He was so ecstatic about the idea, he invited me to work on them at his place whenever I wanted. THAT guy was Seb.

The first set of waves we did were the foamy waves. As people probably know by now, they're a bit heavier on the sim. I think we probably crashed the sim on more than one occasion while working on the original version of those, SL being known for it's stability and all (smiles and winks). Another couple times, I had people IMing me from all across SL as the waves were flying across the mainland, more out of curiosity than upset.

In any case, while I was getting the waves working at Seb's place, Seb was already putting together the boards! Couldn't wait to see it happen. We had this idea and IT WAS GOING TO BE AMAZING!  Once you have waves, you gotta have SURF! That was a no brainer! At that point, though, I figured someone else must've done something already, so I went looking around SL for other surfboards to see if there was someone we could work with. Kept buying these boards that turned out to be just for show. Finally, I found a few that weren't just for show, but they ended up pretty much being skateboards on water. A step up, but still not the AMAZING we were hoping for.  SO Seb and I set out to make some awesome boards that interacted with the waves. Just to get going, we threw in the linden boat script and started tweaking it. A few hundred hours later, after A LOT of trial and error over the course of many months, we had pretty much redone the whole thing. And that was the v1.0 of the boards

Seb ended up buying a half sim and then a full "water" sim ... Quan Li.  Some people might still know that one.  So, we kept at it for a while. Seb always teaching any newbie he could find to surf, especially the hotties.  Speaking of which, that was about the time we met up with Keala (Mimistrobel), another AMAZING person who a lot of you know. The shorts I have on today were made by her.  I think the Namiko boards are still some of the most popular.  That was the very first line of boards we did with another designer. Might even say enabling other designers probably wouldn't of happened if it weren't for her. With that, other amazing designers you guys are all familiar with were able to shape and design their own boards, working with us to make surfing even more amazing, not just with the boards, but the community as a whole.

We also ended up doing the pipelines at Quan Li. I have to admit, they initially sort of just started out as a... "I wonder what would happen if..." We didn't promote them in any way. People just kept asking for them until I was like "FINE", you can surf the pipelines!  We had a lot of fun, met a lot of amazing people. Seb and I just really enjoy what we do and wish we could spend all day doing it.  People sometimes call me the queen of surf, but I really have to give it to all the amazing people who have built up the surf community, like Surfwatch and the SLSA (Second Life Surfing Association) and all the people who surf in the competitions.



I hadn't even gotten to how the first Epic waves came about but maybe that's a story for another day (smiles and winks).  Anyhow, I should leave it to Seb to talk about all the Amazingness we've been working on. It's hard with the little bit of time we get to work on it these days, but we both try to meet up at 8pm each night after we get home from work and work on making more amazing stuff. Seb's got some really amazing stuff going for the new Epics as well as some of the work we've been doing to make competitions better, but, we'll see (smile and winks).

I guess if anyone has any questions?, I am happy to answer. Otherwise, we can get back to partying, and I can stop embarasing myself up here.

Geof Romano: How cooperative do you find Linden Labs corprorate has been in supporting surfing in SL?
Heather Goodliffe: Geof, it's been mixed.  Can't throw them under the bus too much.
Geof Romano: And in the future, do you see improving maybe?
Heather Goodliffe: Saw the waves in an SL promo video once and a lot of the Linden's have got the boards and waves (smiles and winks).
Geof Romano: What about getting surfing in as a recreation in the "Start Zone"?
Heather Goodliffe: that would be amazing ;)
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Monkey Cove 2017

Submitted by Opal Rivers


 A great place to surf, explore and just hang out.  LM:   Bones, Monkey Cove (33, 170, 21) Moderate


 When you first arrive at Monkey Cove, you do get the feeling that you want to stay there for a while, as stated by Syx Toshi.  This lovely surf beach is nestled among tropical islands.  The beach provides classic beach sights and sounds with a twist of uniqueness and reality that is very refreshing.

The mastermind behind Monkey Cove is Syx Toshi.  His real-life love of the ocean will be apparent to you as you explore this creative beach.  Syx is a long-time resident of Second Life (SL).  He has been active in creating sims and supporting the Second Life Surf Association (SLSA) throughout the years.  It is interesting to note that this is not the first version of Monkey Cove for Syx.  There have been several versions of Monkey Cove throughout the years.  For the current version, Syx decided to focus on the environment first to create a total experience for the visitor.
What an environment it is!  First there are chickens on the beach, giving one that Key West, Florida, feeling.  Don’t forget to visit the Rock Bar for drinks and a happy hour buffet for your enjoyment.   Make sure you don’t step on that snake as you enter the bar - it looks poisonous.  I am sure the Alien doesn’t bite, though.  It didn’t even seem interested in probing anyone.  The back deck of the bar offers an eclectic mix of games and unique items to include a surfing Elvis.  As you wander further down the beach, you will find a relaxing place to throw a fishing line in.  Based on the size and number of fish displayed on the sim, you better use that heavy-duty fishing rod.
Get ready to ride the Maoli Dreambreak waves on this sim.  There is a board waxing station for those with boards that need some maintenance.  There is also a board rezzer for all to enjoy the experience of surfing in SL.  If you happen to wipe out while surfing, you will surely notice the underwater environment as well.  This realistic underwater world is a great place to get your scuba gear on and explore the many species of fish and corals.  Syx tells me that there are over 100 species of animals that reside on the island.  From bees to Leather Back Turtles, all are present to give the visitor that “real” experience.          
Don’t miss the creators favorite spot on the sim.  On the south side of the island on the cliffs there is a fire pit with chairs.  The night sky offers a beautiful view of the sim that completes the trip to Monkey Cove.

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Do We or Don't We...



Sitting at the coffee shop sipping a hot one, debating about whether it's a good time to roll out SurfWatch 2.0 or SurfWatch Revival or SurfWatch Lite - whatever we want to call it.  Several have asked if we plan to start it up again, others have asked if they can do a write up for publication, and still more have told myself or other SurfWatch staff that they have been enjoying reading through past postings to understand the history of Second Life (SL) surfing.  So my thoughts at this point are, a limited SurfWatch rollout featuring some past favorite posts as well as new pieces, not every day but possibly several times a month.  Anyone interested in submitting a written or photo write up as long as it has to do with SL surfing, beaches, competitions, surfers, the ocean, etc., please contact me.  We'd love to hear your comments and thoughts.


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Kantbe Serious: Original Sin, er, Skin (part 5 of 5)

submitted by Kantbe Thursday

Skins, clothing, and photography credits:


 


Skin:  .:SKING:. HD V11_Evanna_Extreme_Tan_M4

Beachwear:  V-Twins Tinnie Winnie Red

Photographer: Tanya Palantia


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Kantbe Serious: Original Sin, er, Skin (part 4 of 5)

submitted by Kantbe Thursday

Skins and clothing used:




Skin:  .: SKING :. V11 / Chriss / Tan / Hair

Beachwear: Water Babies - "The Sock" Side Clasp Thong (Red)


(to be continued...)
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Kantbe Serious: Original Sin, er, Skin (part 3 of 5)

submitted by Kantbe Thursday

Review skins and clothing used:






Beachwear:  V-Twins Costa Rica Red (broken strap)



(to be continued...)
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Kantbe Serious: Original Sin, er, Skin (part 2 of 5)

submitted by Kantbe Thursday



(to be continued...)
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Another Favorite from the Past: Kantbe Serious: Original Sin, er, Skin (part 1 of 5)

submited by Kantbe Serious



(to be continued...)
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Another Favorite from the SurfWatch Past: Channel Surfing with Jimbo the Cart Boy - Surf's Up, Joker's Under

Growing up as a kid, I used to race home after school to watch the old episodes of Batman, and one of my all time favorite episodes was “Surf's Up! Joker's Under!”.  Leave it to The Joker to hatch a diabolical plan to rule the surf beach and all the surfers, then Gotham City, then the World,


WOOOOOOOOOOOO HA HA HA HA HA HA !!!!

To get the plan in motion, Joker and hot surfer babe, Undine, kidnap local champ, Skip Parker, and use a device called the Surfing Experience & Ability Transferometer & Vigor Reverser to suck all the surf knowledge and ability out of Skip’s head. Soon, Batman and Robin show up at Joker’s hideout and are quickly immobilized with sea urchin spines and then turned into human surfboards by Joker’s goons.

In this first clip, Batman catches up later with The Joker at the beach and challenges him to a surf contest to thwart The Jokers scheme. You gotta love the baggies over the costumes and WATCH OUT FOR SHARKS BATMAN!



Kowabunga! Joker wins, even after Dick Grayson’s failed attempt to corrupt the judges! In this next clip, it’s time for Batman, Robin and Bat Girl to give Joker the @$$ beating he deserves for cheating at the surf contest!


KAPOW!! WHACK!! BIFF!! ZAP!!

CRUNCH!! SPLAT!! BAM!!!

Batman wins! And a dejected Clown Price of Crime is hauled off to jail. Gothem City Beach is safe once again!

Did you know??? The Batman series was on such a skimpy production budget that it used clips from the movie The Endless Summer in the opening scene.

Look at the related videos in YouTube to see the "Surf's Up! Joker's Under!" episode in its entirety, it’s hilarious and worth a peak. Till next time, keep your Bat Shark Repellant handy in your baggies or bikini bottoms, and remember to SURF SAFE!
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