“Surfers’ Bay - You can’t stop the waves, but you can learn how to surf….- Seersha Heart

Persia Bravin: “I wanted it to feel like logging into a vacation “

It is Wednesday lunch time when I decide to go in world for a bit of personal rest& relaxation.  As I load up my viewer, I am humming Rupert Holmes’ song Escape.  A very beachy tune with a lot of action happening in the dunes of the cape.  This song always makes me think of the beach.  When I come in world tonight, I want to go to the beach to escape the stresses of rl and have a bit of fun.  I recently joined the Surfer’s Bay VIP Group in world.  In my first couple of weeks as a member I had learned that surfing is not only the actual act of riding a wave on a board but also a life style.  Persia Bravin and her partner Duncan Blackburn have opened a spectacular new surfing SIM.

Kick off your shoes and wander down the beach with me here at Surfers’ Bay.  The sounds of the ocean are soothing, the waves are ready and waiting.  I recommend a nice walk around the island.  The main social area has plenty of places to sit and relax.  You can sit on the beach on a towel, a chair or float in the water on nice large floats.  What is Persia Bravin trying to create here?  I joined her at the club for lunch one day last week to see what she had to reveal to us.  She told me that RL is hard enough, this is a place to escape those stresses.  “So, log in, escape and enjoy fellow SLers” Persia says with a wry smile.

Taking a stroll around the island the aspect I most enjoy is the ambient sounds.  The sounds of surf and gulls will take your mind to the ocean as you stroll.  Our first stop is a handy rez station.  We can rez a surf board or a jet ski.  The jet ski is HUD operated and easy to use.  I have taken a jet ski around the entire island, it is possible, and it is fun.  A little bit further down the beach you will see Orchid Island off to our left.  A particularly romantic scene, this island rests in constantly swirling sea water, white caps crashing along a worn stair case.  At the top of the stairs is a view of the ocean and a private place to spend some time along or with that special someone.

I asked Persia about the name “Orchid Island”, where did she come up with that name?  She told me that initially she didn’t quite know what to do with the island claiming it “came out of nowhere”.

Persia Bravin: I wanted somewhere small and peaceful.  I love orchids rl and a friend of mine who makes really good sl plants just came out with some. He sent the orchids to me, so it made sense.  It also runs with the Bali theme

Surfer’s Bay is chock full of spots such as this one.  There are all kinds of romantic stops with any animation you might wish to enjoy.  There is deck in a lagoon of the most beautiful turquoise water you have ever seen.  On this deck is a large round chair.  I take a seat in the chair and find out, like most of the island, I have many options. 

Along with all the couples poses you could ever need, you will find the playful poses too.  In one lagoon there is a platform with several poses for the single traveler including treading water and jumping off the platform into the water.  The island has been designed with a weaving of rock and of sand throughout.  Stone staircases, decking and platforms appear exactly where needed.  The furniture is strategically placed throughout with both the single and the couple in mind.  At many areas of the SIM I feel as if I entered a nice quiet private place.  As if it is designed with me in mind.

There is a double diving board jutting out into the ocean.  I have seen people hanging out on the diving boards chatting up a storm.  The boards are dramatic and tower well above the ocean.  The diving is outstanding.  Nearby there is a spot where elegant comfortable cream-colored sofas sit on a floating dock waiting to be used.  I see a man standing there on the dock looking out to sea.  The people you encounter are friendly.  He sends me an IM telling me I “improve the view”.  I smile and thank him as I continue this stroll.  Almost directly opposite of the main social beach area I find a picturesque swimming pool. 
The pool provides a swim HUD, it works well there and at other points on the SIM.  It is hard to imagine that this Island is only three months old.  The group already has 5000 members and I expect to see a lot more.  I traveled to ten other surf SIMs to research what one might expect to see at a surfing SIM.  While there are a few nice ones, no surf SIM captures as many amenities as Surfer’s Bay.  Surfer’s is a place you will want to visit every day.  If you want to own your own surf board, there is an unobtrusive shopping area a short walk from the beach with surfboards on sale for men and women made by regular a surfer on the sim - Guyot Habana. 

Persia is a charming and a laid back surfer.  I asked her a few more questions for the prospective members of Surfers’ Bay VIP Group.  Here is the conversation:

Seersha Heart: Are you a member of the SL Surfers Association?

Persia Bravin: I have been a member of the SLSA since 2008 – it’s one of the organisations that I have never left or discarded to make room for other groups.  The SLSA is a stalwart of the SL surfing community; they provide competitions and support for surfers and surf owners and do a lot of work to promote surfing as a sport across SL.

Seersha Heart: Do you or will you host “Pro” surf events?

Persia Bravin: Surfer’s Bay VIP is about the fun and non-competitive aspects of SL surfing. It’s a sim for true ‘soul surfers’ or those people that simply enjoy the sensation of paddling out and taking on the huge Maoli waves and we love welcoming newcomers to SL surfing too. There is a hardcore group of surfers that you will see hitting the waves here on most days and they always give their time to coach others. We are considering becoming a destination for future, larger surfing events though – watch this space!

Seersha Heart: How do you track how members feel about the SIM?

Persia Bravin: The Surfer’s Bay VIP group chat is always buzzing with thoughts and suggestions from our thousands of members and we do listen carefully to all feedback. We don’t have a formal suggestion process currently – although that might be something we could implement in the future – but all ideas from our members are welcomed and usually implemented immediately!

Seersha Heart: Any good stories to share about couples who may have met at Surfers’?

Persia Bravin: When we created the sim, we definitely wanted to impart a sense of romance, but not in the traditional way, but rather through lush planting, naturalistic scenery and plenty of areas where you can be alone with loved ones. Romance does bloom at the sim and I am pretty sure many couples have met there! I also love to see all the different friendships develop: Surfer’s Bay VIP truly is a meeting place for people across the world. Who knows…maybe we will host a wedding one day of a couple that fell in love here.

Coming soon to Surfers’ Bay are well known SL performers Jack Slade on August 4th and Max Kleen on August 18th.  Join the crowd at Surfers’ Bay and enjoy some music while you look out on some beautiful waves.

SURL: secondlife://HIDDEN%20VALLEY/138/177/22
Surfer’s Bay VIP Group
https://www.flickr.com/groups/surfersbayvip/