Ahoy!

Welcome to the seventeenth post in the series “VR Sailors - MarineVerse Community” - introducing sailors racing in MarineVerse Cup.

Today, we are chatting with Andrew Brenton from United Kingdom.

In virtual reality, you can meet Andrew in MarineVerse Cup as McDermol. In MarineVerse Cup Andrew is racing in the “Pro Series” and as of today is #9 in the world. The picture above shows him racing in the “Dinghy Daily” league on April 10th.

We have asked Andrew a couple of questions..

What is your name (or online persona), and where are you based

Andrew Brenton, based in Cardiff, Wales in the UK.

What is your sailing experience?

I haven’t sailed in the real world for a long time. When I did, it was cruising / delivery runs. I hold a yachtmaster ocean RYA qualification.

What is your favourite sailing memory?

We delivered a yacht from La Rochelle in France to Swansea in the UK. The passage took us through some varied sailing including the famous Raz de Sein. We had rough weather at the start and my wife (part of our crew) got very seasick. We stopped in Concarneau in Brittany for respite and got her some seasick medication that was called Mercalm. It really worked very well. The wind died down and the sea was flat for the rest of the trip!! Not the effect we were expecting! We eventually ran out of fuel 2 miles from our destination because of the lack of wind and bobbed around in absolute dead calm for a few hours before getting a delivery of diesel.

Tell us something about your experience with MarineVerse Cup?

I really like MVC. I have been caught out running into a cardinal mark, tacked the wrong way for a wind shift and generally been prone to things going wrong just like real sailing – we all have ‘one of those days’! It adds a dimension of reality that is very enjoyable. I have also won races and progressed, it is very satisfying

MarineVerse Cup Quest

Who and why should try MarineVerse Cup

I think that anyone with an interest in sailing should try it, it is fairly realistic and can give you a good idea of the mechanics of sail. It is a great learning environment and I thnk that skills learned in MVC could be directly applied to real world. Certainly points of sail, trimming etc. For the experienced sailor, it can give namy hours of enjoyment cruising around fantastic locations or participating in daily racing practices. There is also multiplayer, where you can get together with likeminded people and race away without leab=ving the confort (thinking warm and dry) of your own home.

Any tips for those new to sailing that want to race in the MarineVerse Cup?

Don’t underestimate how easy you may think it is. There is a knack and a bit of luck along with good judgement – just like real racing. Be prepared for it to fall apart sometimes. An instructor once told me that sail-racing provides an unparalleled opportunity to make a fool of oneself. MVC is no different so don’t take it too seriously. It is enormous fun.

MarineVerse Cup

Anything else you think might be interesting?

I don’t think that you can find any better virtual sail experience. It is well worth trying out. It is way cheaper than buying a boat!

MarineVerse Cup is all about the community. If you would like to try sailing join us. You can meet VR sailors at our Discord chat server and you can downland MarineVerse Cup on Steam or via Oculus AppLab.

We hope you enjoyed this blog post in “VR Sailors - MarineVerse Community” series - stay tuned for more soon!