Representing all the ladies of Kinky Haven grid, Wynter Blackthorn and Freya Blackthorn were on the waterfront to greet the HG Safari group as they arrived for the second hour of this week's tour, an epic cruise. The magnificent Dalaran Icebreaker with its iconic beaked figurehead stood waiting for us - it had seating for 40 so there was plenty of room for our dozen or so visitors who arrived slowly, since a lot of us relogged after stop two, hoping to leave behind us the accumulated lag we had built up on OSGrid. This ship cruises the grid all day every day, if you show up at the right time you'll see it magnificently going by - but for us, Wynter held the ship up until we could all arrive.
Nara Nook: are we supposed to get on the boat?
See, right there. People who know proper naval terms know to call a ship a boat. Points for Nara.
Wynter Blackthorn: Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome aboard the Dalaran Icebreaker. I am your host, Wynter Blackthorn, and this is an exclusive and custom built tour spanning 20+ regions of Kinky Haven and showcasing many others. Please remain seated while the ship is in motion. I'll encourage you to look to either side during the tour to highlight some of the unique sights, please find your seats and, the ship will depart shortly, we hope you enjoy the ride. And now without further ado, lets be on our way.
Wynter Blackthorn: we recommend a longer draw distance while on the open waters, but a reduced one in some of the heavier resident made regions. if we're lucky we might see the roaming sea monsters that randomly swim in our oceans, but they are kind of shy.
Sven Ingersoll: lol
Wynter Blackthorn: Each bench has seats for 3 and the slave cages on the mast and at the bow of the ship are also sittable
eva.Nowicka: nice ship
Thirza Ember: I actually managed to sit! I'm usually a terrible sitter.
Sven Ingersoll: turning on transparency makes things easier
Wynter Blackthorn: we've never had this many people on this ship before
Nara Nook: it's running really well
Thirza Ember: Am I right in saying this is probably one of the longest cruises in opensim? how many regions does it cross?
Wynter Blackthorn: about 20
James Atlloud: yes, this is going great...do I need to shout from up here?
Nara Nook: are you in the crows nest James?
Freya Blackthorn: no i can hear you all the way at the back
eva Nowicka: oh my gods... there're no lifeboats!!!!!!! :D
Tina Bey: high seas, there are a lot of them alone, we don't get seasick!!!
Wynter Blackthorn: one of the first sights is better seen while swimming, but under the ship is a submerged ancient city... the Oceans of Kinky Haven are 100 meters deep so there is a lot to explore under the water
Thirza Ember: wow ... that's deep
eva Nowicka: it's the maximum deep
Wynter Blackthorn: here we are passing the lighthouse that signals the entrance to the Kinky Haven bay, up ahead is our nude beach, surfers bay. that features several water activities and of course nude sunbathing.
Tina Bey: This is burning a lot of oil... they're going to get a fine...
Thirza Ember: maybe it's wood burning ship
James Atlloud: maybe burning... zombies?!
Sven Ingersoll: grins
Thirza Ember: mmm smell that sea air
Wynter Blackthorn: seems the region crossing are working quite well so far
Sven Ingersoll: region crossings are nice and smooth... kinky crossings
Wynter Blackthorn: ubode for the win
Thirza Ember: Johanna Haven is your scripter for this cruise, correct? She did a great job!!
Wynter Blackthorn: this ship was one of her first big projects
Tina Bey: Yes, perfect!! Script work
Wynter Blackthorn: we are approaching the island of Sapphorica and the The Mountain, regions custom built by our resident Lizzy Borden. these regions are extremely heavy so a reduced draw distance is advised. watch closely forward and you may see the elven bridge as it rotates to allow thee ship to pass. we'll be docking soon.
Thirza Ember: I love it when the scenery suddenly pops into view
Taarna Welles: Nice!
Tina Bey: wau!! That was measured
James Atlloud: yes, the scenery is magical. Is that Lothlorian?
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| The Mountain |
Wynter Blackthorn: Lizzy has quite and eye for detail
Thirza Ember: and star is on the shore waiting for us!
Wynter Blackthorn: please remain seated we'll be on our way shortly. The Mountain has been a 5 year project so far, amassing a vast network of underground tunnels and chambers. Lizzy is continuously adding to this region and spends many hours deep in the tunnels below.
James Atlloud: wow, really nicely done!
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| The Mountain, our first port of call |
Safari regular Star Ravenhurst was a little late but she managed to join the tour at our first stop - a very brief one - at The Mountain, an enormous build by Lizzy Borden with numerous tunnels, caves, monsters and curious corners (even a fabulous maze!) We visited back in 2023, here's the story of that tour - but since then no doubt the whole sim has altered and evolved, so well worth seeing multiple times,
Tina Bey: Hi Star!!
Star Ravenhurst: Hi Everyone!
Nara Nook: amazing
Wynter Blackthorn: we'll be headed out shortly, please find seats
James Atlloud: what? what about a potty break?
Luna Lunaria: scoots away from James
James Atlloud: lol - it's ok. I can hold it. I'm pretty sure...
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Thirza Ember: Luna's got the most siren-style hair... perfect for a figurehead on a ship... Freya and Wynter, how old is the grid now? You ladies have done some amazing work here
Wynter Blackthorn: Sapphorica actually predates Kinky Haven... it existed long before, when we were known as Kinky Grid
Luna Lunaria: I'll never get the tangles out of my hair lol
James Atlloud: Named for Sappho I imagine.
Luna Lunaria: I remember visiting there :-)
Thirza Ember: this is really a wonderful way to showcase your grid... it makes me curious to go visit the regions that I only got a glimpse of, passing by
Luna Lunaria: several looked inviting
Wynter Blackthorn: I take no credit for the work, I just like to show it off... and now we go north to the icy waters... somewhere along the route is a random iceberg that travels down south, melting away along its course... speaking of the iceberg, there it is, but it's already broken apart.png)
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Luna Lunaria: I see it
Tina Bey: will it be the end of the world??
James Atlloud: yes, see it too... does it have a potty?
Wynter Blackthorn: it's rare to see it actually break
Thirza Ember: how on earth did you script that... very original!
Freya Blackthorn: Thirza it was Johanna's magic
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| Freya Blackthorn |
Wynter Blackthorn: Johanna certainly pushes the scripting limits
Taarna Welles: Lol James
Wynter Blackthorn: to the right is another of Lizzy's regions she named Avalon.
Tina.Bey: There are no 'customs'... this is fantastic how it moves...! Congratulations
Wynter Blackthorn: ut oh, person overboard
Nara.Nook: who fell?
James Atlloud: Petlove fell overboard!
Taarna Welles: Brrrrrr
Wynter Blackthorn: if you watch here to the right I think we may be joined by some playful finned escorts. they love to race against the ship and always seem to win.
Tina.Bey: wau!!!
Nara Nook: dolphin escort
Wynter Blackthorn: coming up on the left is the owners island Deviant Asylum... and now we must be careful as the ship threads it's way through the random icebergs. Dalaran is just around the corner.
Luna Lunaria: oh yayyy! Dalaran is beautiful
Tina.Bey: wau, antartida
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| Navigating among the icebergs |
Wynter Blackthorn: all this ice will really make James have to pee
James Atlloud: oh no - steer clear!
Luna Lunaria: hahaha... scoots farther away from James
Thirza Ember: HEY james is awful close to the kegs of rum... I'm concerned
James Atlloud: wait, those are rum? yum yum... yo ho ho
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| James, Petlove, and a lot of barrels |
Wynter Blackthorn: this ship isn't afraid of any iceberg
Neo Cortex: This ship's name isn't Titanic, or is it?
Nara Nook: remember we rode the Titanic once when it went down
Thirza Ember: can anyone come and do this cruise, Wynter? it runs all the time?
Wynter Blackthorn: yes the ship runs continuously. Attention - please remain seated. The mooring is again short lived. Welcome back those of you who were here with us before for the tour of Dalaran. amazingly it still floats high above and is as welcoming as ever. And now features custom built world of warcraft themed greedy tables. Dal is still an ongoing project...
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| Dalaran floats high above the sea |
Tina Bey: What a good Captain we have!!
James Atlloud: good break - ty
Thirza Ember: that's a chapel, not a public convenience James
James Atlloud: well you know what they say-- any port in a storm.
Luna Lunaria: clean up on pew five
Freya Blackthorn: All of the grid is open to anybody although with Sapphorica that is a lesbian region, men can still visit it but must be accompanied by a female.
Neo Cortex: But we could as well tp to those places, or are they locked down?
Luna Lunaria: I love touring by ship
Nara Nook: A tour vehicle like this is one of the best ways to do Safari
Victoria Logan, who was our guide for the first hour of this week's event lives in Argentina, and so is probably one of the few of our group to be from that part of the world where penguins aren't all that exotic. That's another neat part of the virtual society, we have so many different people all able to communicate and share their experiences. Catching up with us and getting on board ship was also pretty impressive, both for her and for the scripts of Kinky Haven.
Victoria Logan: hola gente
Wynter Blackthorn: the wandering iceberg starts up here by the land
Luna Lunaria: love the smooth region crossings
Wynter Blackthorn: as we leave Dalaran in the rear view we make our way out of the icy waters of the north, but far to the right on the frozen tundra we have a few penguins gathered to watch us.
Victoria Logan: [es→en]: penguins make great fathers, did you know that?
Tina.Bey: Yes, it's fantastic
Wynter Blackthorn: coming up to the right is the home of our brilliant scripter Johanna Haven. an unparalleled creative force in opensim with some of the most innovative ideas I've ever seen.
Luna Lunaria: Johanna made this ship, correct? the wake effects are nicely thought out
Wynter Blackthorn: we're always trying to improve the look and feel of the effects. I actually imported the ship, Johanna made it work
Victoria Logan: How beautiful everything I see is
Tina Bey: I'm dying for those seats
Thirza Ember: oh i see the sister ship
James Atlloud: yes sister indeed
Thirza Ember: i took the tour with Wynter the other day and i must say, going around more than once is really good - I missed so much the first time
James Atlloud: There is so much to see! And not fall off the boat looking!
Wynter Blackthorn: it only took a few days to design the route, but the real magic is in the travel information boards that use our satellite server to communicate across the grid... from any port you can know how long until the ship returns there
Luna Lunaria: now that's interesting
Wynter Blackthorn: everyone keep a far eye to the left I've heard there are pirates reported in the area....
Francisco Koolhoven: pirates!
James Atlloud: are they living pirates? or dead!!
Taarna Welles: Is that Jack Sparrow??
Tina Bey: I'm dizzy from so many waves, I'm on my third Dramamine
Wynter Blackthorn: oh darn, looks like they've spotted us. I hope we can outrun them but everyone brace for incoming fire.
Nara Nook: hurl on the pirates Tina ... we can outrun them
Neo Cortex: fire in the hole?
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| Pirates engage the icebreaker |
James Atlloud: If there are incoming bombs that's gotta be some Kayaker Magic!... Interception!
Victoria Logan: you can hear the bombs, they are close!!
Taarna Welles: collision course!
Luna Lunaria: hides her gold pieces... can't hide the dress
James Atlloud: wonders about potty on the pirate ship
Wynter Blackthorn: omg how do they reload that canon so fast???
Nara Nook: this is really cool
Wynter Blackthorn: looks like we got away, whew,.. that was close, is everyone ok?
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Wynter Blackthorn: ok now if everyone looks off to the right we're passing by Carnal Island and Club Nakkie, this region and club are built by our residents Daphne Rici and her partner Ariella Lollipop. Club Nakkie features some unique adult entertainment.
Wynter Blackthorn: now off in the distance if you can see in the drilling rig of Kinky Haven where we extract large quantities of KY lube from the natural sources below.
Thirza Ember: LOL you are self sufficient here then
Neo Cortex: Trying to see a whole grid is even more challenging than just a sim
Wynter Blackthorn: this wasn't even the whole grid
Thirza Ember: I really like the way we have been given a taste of each part without having to run... as everyone knows i hate running
Nara Nook: me too I always get lost
Star Ravenhurst: I love tours like this
Thirza Ember: and to think how many sim borders we crossed - painlessly - pretty amazing
Wynter Blackthorn: and here we are back in the mainland with the oriental gardens to our left and Kinky Haven international airport to our right. please remain seated until the ship has come to a complete stop. We thank you all for riding with Kinky Haven cruise lines
Star Ravenhurst: Yes it is impressive how well everything is working. Everything rezzes fast too. Well done!
Francisco Koolhoven: really enjoyable ride
Thirza Ember: this was such a joy...
Star Ravenhurst: It was indeed. I am happy I made it over here.
Nara Nook: That was well timed and so much fun.
Neo Cortex: Perfect timing!
Petlove Petshop: that was awesome!
James Atlloud: TY Freya and Wynter. Simply wonderfule... Wonderfeul. LOL
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| Fun to play with the windlight here... a foggy journey |
Wynter Blackthorn: /me blushes brightly, "thank you for the kind compliments"
Thirza Ember: you have been amazing... thanks Freya and Wynter - and please give our compliments to Lizzie and Johanna and everyone
Wynter Blackthorn: /me blushes even more... please everyone come back again any time
Freya Blackthorn: smiles thank you all for coming and we will let them know
Star Ravenhurst: Have a great week everyone! See you next week!
HG Address: hop://kinkyhaven.com:8002/Kinky-Grid/699/676/107
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