Ahoy!

Welcome to the twenty eighth post in the series “VR Sailors - MarineVerse Community” – introducing sailors racing in MarineVerse Sailing Club.

Today, we are chatting with Jason Thomas (sailorJason), an American & Australian living in Lausanne, Switzerland.

In virtual reality, you can meet Jason in MarineVerse Sailing Club as sailorJason (sail number 24644). As of today, Jason is #72 in the world in the Daily Race Practice rating.

We have asked Jason a couple of questions..

What is your sailing experience?

I am an experienced sailor holding my RYA YachtMaster Offshore credential with >25k NMs experience. I love all aspects of sailing, including small dinghies to large yachts, monohulls & catamarans, and even eFoils and Wing Foils. I love cruising and have done several trips in the Caribbean, Pacific & Mediterranean. I also really enjoy racing, and have completed 4 Rolex Sydney to Hobarts, 2 Rolex Middle Sea Races and hundreds of other races (mostly in Australia) from Volvo 60s to Lasers.

What is your favourite sailing memory?

That’s tough! I would have to say cruising in the French Polynesian Islands and anchoring overnight in the lagoon of Bora Bora. Stunning!

Tell us something about your experience with MarineVerse Sailing Club? Any good memories or highlights?

I’m still a rookie to VR & MarineVerse, but I really enjoy the racing! There are some super good VR racers here and I really enjoy competing. It’s also great practice for practicing starts and fine tuning a few things, all without having to hike out and getting wet. :)

Also, I just recently tried the docking exercises; I found them really well done and challenging when you crank up the wind. Great practice for what I think can be the most stressful part of sailing. Well done MarineVerse team!

Who and why should try MarineVerse Sailing Club?

I think MarineVerse has done a great job making this attractive to everyone, from beginner sailors, sailors who want to improve their skills (the sail shape demonstration is great), and experienced sailors and racers. I’ve only done one live race and it was great (and humbling!) and I hope to do more.

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

Just go for it! The Intro and Day races are great. It’s fun to compete against the “ghost” racers who have already raced, so you can follow their lines and tactics. Pay close attention to your tell-tales and play around with your weight (on the dinghies) and watch the speed changes to learn what is fast.

Anything else you’d like to share?

I’m impressed by the responsiveness of the community and how they ask for feedback and are constantly trying to improve the game and experience. Well done and a big thank you to the team!

MarineVerse Sailing Quest

MarineVerse Sailing Club 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 download MarineVerse Sailing Club on Steam or via the Meta Quest store.

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