The Bandit 50/3: outstanding sailing in Second Life

The Bandit 50/3 is the latest sailing release by Analyse Dean under her Bandit brand of sailing and power boats. At 99 LI when moored, it is no lightweight – but then, it is packed with features and capabilities, including the latest third generation BOSS dynamic sailing engine, offering one of the most outstanding sailing experiences in Second Life.

Everything about the boat is aimed at giving you a fun and realistic experience, and while being a cruise friendly boat that is accessible for beginners, the Bandit 50/3 is set-up to bring you pure adrenaline when pushed to the limits in high winds with full manual control.

– Analyse Dean, describing the work put into the Bandit 50/3

The 50/3 is slightly smaller that the Bandits 55 and 60, but in terms of options, it easily matches and exceeds the pair of them, and builds on the 460AK motor cruiser (which I reviewed in Two Bandits at sea in Second Life) in terms of “hidden” additions. However, the main thing that is liable to make this Bandit a hit is the sailing characteristics.

The 50/3 was set-up with some realism in mind. Where previous boats had some “rubber bumpers” in the code to prevent stuff from happening when people exceed limits. The 50/3 doesn’t have that; go out of range with the spinnaker, broach, sail close to the wind with the genoa, knockdown [When a sailing boat is suddenly pushed onto its side, either by an abrupt wind gust or rouge wave], mess up a tack and it will cost you some time to recover. Heel excessively, and the rudder will loose grip. It is set-up for racing in high winds really, and it will keep the adrenaline flowing when you sail it at the edge.

– Analyse Dean, describing sailing the Bandit 50/3

The package includes the Bandit 50/3, a dock (compatible with the dock supplied with the 406AK) a sailing HUD, and three optional packages: flags, textures, and racing. A comprehensive note card manual is also supplied, providing full coverage of the boat’s features and a set of comprehensive notes on sailing it.

Coming in at just under 15 metres overall length, the Bandit 50/3 is laid out with a stern cockpit with plenty of room for the helmsperson and passengers. Multiple steering poses are provided, depending on the sailing siltation / whether of not the boat is under engine power. A bimini can be raised via chat, as can a more protective tent for bad weather. Note that the dodger is a permanent fixture, but can be hidden by selective editing and making it transparent (although the baked textures on top of the cabin means some re-texturing might be required if you’d prefer to mostly run without the dodger being visible.

Two sleeping berths are provided, one under the cockpit, the other in the bows. Between the two is a comfortable salon with functional galley. There are a lot of poses packed into the cabins – and a lot of clickies, as one would expect from a Bandit: light switched work, the doors to the sleeping berths close / open, the table leaves can be raised / lowered, blinds drawn – and more.

I’ve not owned other Bandit boats and am unfamiliar with handling them outside of sailing the demos, so I cannot offer direct comparison between the 50/3 and any of the other boats in the range, but I will say that in the 24 hours I’ve had it, 50/3, I’ve found it to be both a fun and a genuine challenge when sailing.

As the manual notes, the 50/3 includes four sail options: the main, a jib, a genoa and a spinnaker. Which of the latter three you use is down to the prevailing wind conditions (which you can set). Setting the sails can be shared with others sailing with you, if desired (just pass them a copy of of the supplied HUD).

The 50/3 is BOSS 3, just like the Bandit IF. It has multiple animated actions and really comes into its own when you sail with a crew member.

– Analyse Dean, describing sailing the 50/3 with crew

Solo sailing, I have a say that the 50/3 is a handful – at least for the relatively novice, like myself -but also a heck of a lot of fun. When properly trimmed and with a good wind, the boat moves at a fair lick of speed, and the camera system allows you to appreciate this fully. With a crew handling the sails, things really do come into their own and sailing the boat becomes a shared experience that adds a dimension to being on the water.

For those into racing, the race pack includes a HUD-based “iPad” (although it can also be worn by your avatar), is designed to provide a more realistic consistent sailing experience. Also included is a copyable scripted buoy. This can be set out (where you have rezzing rights) along a race course to again provide a consistent wind effect when racing. In taking the boat out on both Blake Sea and around Bellisseria, we made multiple region crossings without issues.

We are also starting a little sailing club for it, off shore, long distance, point to point. Keep an eye out for Blake Off-Shore Rally for Cruisers (BORC) as well, it will be super fun!

– Analyse Dean

When moored or anchored, the boat offers a range of single and couples animations, both on the top of and within the cabin. These, and the helm positions, mean that the Bandit 50/3 offers a good selection of poses and animations.

With the Bandit 460AK, analyse introduced a new docking system for her boats, and this is continued with the Bandit 50/3. Rez the pier and when the Bandit 50/3 is close enough, issue the text command “dock”, and the 50/3 will neatly move alongside, deploying its fenders and mooring and electrical power lines appear. What’s more, the pier is fully compatible with the connecting dock supplied with the Bandit 460AK, allowing both to be used together.

As noted at the top of this article, there is a lot to be found in this boat, not all of which is covered here. At L$3,750 it offers a huge amount of value for money. At the time of writing, it is only available in-world at The Mesh Shop, but expect to see it on the Bandit Marketplace store soon; as Analyse noted to me, “It will be there in a week or so. I always wait to see if any bugs surface.”