Dire Strait

Dire Strait is a Subcontinent of Nautilus. It is a large continental sea.

Its Coordinates are 1124-1058/1133-1068 SLGI team gave this subcontinent the transitory name '*B006*.

## History

Dire Strait was built together with the continent.

## Structure

The strait is made of 31 sims, so it has the size of a small Continent. It is very large around Ahabs Haunt and becomes narrower to North. In South, it is continued by small gulfs.

Dire Strait is linked to other waterways through narrow channels. In South, access to Nautilus City is possible through Venrigalli or Goronbum sims. In North, access to Corsica and Seychelles Subcontinent is possible through Xander sim (requests to pas twice over sim corners). In East, Grumpchmunch Channel allows access both to Seychelles and Blake Sea. Mapple Channel allows another access, more secure, to Blake Sea.

Dire Strait is an important segment of Nautilus Strait Project.

## Geography

Dire Strait is a large waterway. It has one large island in its center, Ahabs Haunt. Two small sandy islands can be found in Weever. There are a few small peninsulas reaching from nearby land, in Xander, Loomings and Oarsmans Cove. Sometimes peninsulas or islands are continued with sandbanks, where water is shallow and sailing can be dangerous. Such obstacles are found in Elasmobranch, Weever, Loomings and Stove Boat Shallows.

An altitude survey can prove that water bottom is different. There are two different types of sims, based on ground features:

**Coastal Sims** show a slow altitude transition from the coast to deeper waters. Sandbanks can be found there and are usually a continuation of the existing peninsulas. There are also deep channels, in most cases continuing the gulfs. The channels look like submerged valleys. However, in majority of cases, coastal sims are outside of Dire Strait, their land is Inhabited Land and not Protected Land and are linked to other subcontinents of Nautilus. All islands, peninsulas and sandbanks except Ahabs Haunt are on coastal sims.

**Dune Sims** are found on the ocean bottom in many sims, including Ahabs Haunt. Dunes reach a few meters high, but still not enough to affect large boats. Altitude map reveals that there are two types of dunes: majority are large, but there is also a minority with small dunes.

## Buildings

There are not many buildings in Dire Strait. Most notable are the 3 race lines for boats, one in The MastHead, one in Queequeg and one in Fedallah. There are also a few buoys created to improve navigation in the area. In addition, there are a few shipwrecks found in many places. Divers can explore them anytime. There is a floating ship abandoned in Ishmael sim.

## Vegetation and fauna

Divers can find seaweed fixed between dunes. Also, a few species of fish exist.

## Ahabs Haunt

The unofficial capital of Dire Strait is the sim named Ahabs Haunt. This sim is a large circular sandy island that hosts a huge skeleton (the Leviathan Skeleton). Whatever that animal was, it is about 200 meters long. The skeleton reaches 75 meters high, but most of sure when the animal was alive, it reached over 125 meters high. On top of it, you can find some birds. Beneath, if you adventure in the central lake, you will find a few shipwrecks of wooden boats and an abandoned submarine, together with plant life and the skeleton of another small animal. The lake also has some boats and cargo crates floating on its surface. On the island, you can find palm trees and places to rest. At the coast, in North, there is a small dock.

Wikipedia shows that the *leviathan* is a Biblical creature [1], a sea monster. This leviathan looks somewhat similar to a dinosaur, even if it is far larger. The same online encyclopedia shows that *Ahab* is a male name, used in past by a Jewish king [2] (also described in the Bible) and a ship captain [3] that hunted the whale Moby Dick. Personally, I like the second version. For any whale hunter, getting over a leviathan instead of a whale is a real nightmare. At its size (200 meters long and probably 125 meters high), it could sink even the Titanic.

## Land Status

The entire Dire Strait is Protected Land. The largest part allows object entry, but some parcels don't. The only rezz zones are located in Ahabs Haunt. Residents close to the shores can rezz their own boats on their land.

## Transportation

The importance of Dire Strait is visible on Nautilus Strait Project.

Dire Strait is visited by many boats and ships. There are many races taking place here. Also, since there are a few airports close to the shores, airplanes and helicopters can often be seen. However, vehicles have a tough job moving to other waterways, because they have to go through some narrow straits.

Automated transportation also exists. Yava Script Pods operate in the area, with two vehicles. One explores Dire Strait and South Nautilus roads. The other one is the transcontinental and reaches Corsica.

SLGI Fleet also goes through the area. Ships en route to Satori travel at 100 meters altitude. Only SLGI Ship Dawn flies at low altitude and explores the East basin.

All automated vehicles have a common station at Ahabs Haunt. SLGI spaceships stop on the leviathan's head.

## See Also

* Second Life Geography
* Nautilus
* Nautilus Strait Project
* List Of Subcontinents