The new landscape at Always, a lake the gals had always wanted with a cool waterfall at the corner, tropical rain forest trees, an islet and a deck big enough to hold several people at once. Perfect for fishing tournaments!
Preparation was done days ahead of the Saturday Fish Open. Deciding what pixel food and beverage to serve was not as easy as we thought it would be! Apart from being high-prim, they don't come cheap! (laughter).
On Friday, everything was set from making sure the place was low on lag;
We custom-built a banquet table as well as set-up the BBQ grill to have those German-inspired bangers ready;
Which leaves that the fishing area was the only last thing we had to set up for the tournament!
Lisa also had her own PRO-Rod and was all ready to gain those precious XP points and the chance to get her hands on those elusive SURs herself! Liz on the other hand is Level 5 with enough experience points to make her catch all types of SuperUltraRare fishes. And Drei, well she still has a lot of catching up to do! Now all we had to do now was wait for the weekend... and we were all quite excited about it!
On Your Mark... FISH!
In the weeks that I have been experimenting on how to successfully host fishing tournaments, I have found a practical way to attract friends to participate... even if it means at the last minute. Apart from giving out the usual attractive prizes, the FREE BAIT never fails to have the pulling power. It would always hit your friendly-neighbourhood fishing buddy right on the spot! (giggles).
Sponsoring tournaments usually is a bit costly. Not the right tune to anyone who would like to hold on to their precious lindens! But there is more to gain in sharing your time and effort in putting up such an event, than to worry about shelling (and shedding) out your SL currency. In spite of it all, most fishing event organizers and hosts who I know are very generous in giving up prizes. And just to be with your fishing buddies or even get to meet new folks is in my opinion, much more blissful that having enough exposure for your sim or shop.
Invasion of the regulars! Mufkin Demonia, Phelan James, Jace Georgia, Thisbe Blackadder, Merina Nagi, Serenity Semple, Argos Hawks, Venegence McCaw and Dunesong Freenote are just some of the good folks who graced the event at Always. Without them it would not have been a success! Many thanks to you guys :-)
Believe it or not, a bit of magic happens during these events. I have seen this happen countless of times of fellow fishers getting to hook more than just a catch sent to you by Meissa and the Shikamis (sounds like a cool 60's band hehehe). They actually get to find love! I guess this gives real meaning to the phrase "searched for my love in the seven seas" hahahaha
I remember Lisa telling my Lizzy-babes once when she found out that she had been hitched (by me of course hahaha), "Even avis need a little bit of romance once in a while...", and she was darn right about that! If there is one thing most unavoidable in Second Life, no matter how much you try to build a wall around you, the love bug seems to get the better end of things! Believe me, I should know hahahaha.
Serenity Semple in one of her many cute avatars was the first ever winner at Always by winning 1st Place! Congratulations Serenity!
Free bait pulling power worked...
A lot of our friends came to BBA's first tourney, though I am sure that most of them if not all came just for the fun of having to hang out with mates. It was such a pretty sight seeing everyone interact with each other (and forget to cast their rods at times hahaha) with the occasional joke, taunt and banter to one another. It was totally fun and the enjoyment was supreme!
Always' first ever "Fish Open" started with modest prizes pegged at L$500.00 for 1st place... L$350.00 for 2nd and L$200.00 for 3rd! As a surprise bonus, those below 3rd place got cash consolation prizes as well. The girls made sure none left the event without a goody-bag in hand... everyone was a winner!
Most participants were at Level 5 in terms of experience since it was an "unlimited" game. They were all regulars with familiar faces whom I get to personally fish with in other tournaments. Good thing at that time, 7Seas had just released a new batch of fish to catch: mermaids, mermen and transferable trunks and bikinis. It was something to look forward to after most of us have completed the set as far back as a month ago.
The Shikamis got it right this time with the release of a "no copy~but free transfer" feature for the swimwear, as we can now share them to newbies and friends who have not yet caught them or are not into the fishing craze.
Lisa took the honours in blowing the horn to signal the start of the game! Unfortunately, my Lizzy-babes who was at the other side of the RL universe wasn't around to witness the first cast. Nevertheless everything went out smoothly...
Cast after cast the score board was jumping from one player to another. It was toying around with our excitement as everything was down to the wire up to the end. Everybody had the chance of winning! Liz finally arrived and tried to catch up... though way behind Lisa who was doing well in catching her fishes for the first time. I guess it was all foreign to her at first as well as exciting for every new fish she caught! Reminds me of the first time I tried 7Seas fishing at Caroline Apollo's sim Lo Lo (she was the one who introduced me to this game by the way... and I blame her for this!... and Lizzy-babes blames me as well for getting her hooked on this game!... and Lisa also will eventually blame Liz for the addiction... hahahaha).
Suck-sex! I mean SUCCESS! hahaha
The 60 minute tournament proved to be a success, and because of that the participants wanted more... Despite some of the other contestants leaving right after the game (probably to tend to other SL matters), the girls announced a surprise rematch! Lisa raised up the stakes from L$500 given out earlier to a whooping L$1,000, while Liz raised the 2nd and 3rd prizes to L$500 and L$300 respectively. It was like a bonus for those who stayed on since the odds of winning are now higher with fewer players around. Not bad since the game was set it up to just 30 minutes. Half the time but double the prize! It was the highest prize ever given to a half hour game much to the delight of our fellow fishers.
Thisbe Blackadder who was 4th in the earlier match won 1st place this time! A big paycheck for a demure and shy fisher. Luck must have come from her crayfish hat... or perhaps her shiny blueish skin? Cheers Thisbe!
Just like the first game, no one left empty handed though FREE bait did not apply to this 30 minute game. It was a quick way to gain SL bucks, thanks so to our lovely hostesses who gave away prizes so generously.
The two game tournament was over in less than 2 hours. With everything going out so smoothly, thoughts of having to host another tournament in the future was imminent.
To Lisa and Liz (in behalf of Dre who couldn't make it), a job well done sweethearts! And to all of those who have made this event possible, a big warm thanks from us all!
In the boards!... Ironically Liz and I were among the top 5 contestants. Having to see your name up there gives you a sense of consolation, in case you are not on the top 3.
Until next time me hearties! Kudoz!
