I know I bring this up every year........ but whats up with the safety bay meter it doesn't ever seem right?
Can we please have 100% accurate readings just to keep me happy.

It would be great if the anemometers were accurate. I've come to the conclusion that most of them have their own individual quirks that I just make allowance for. A good example is the Swanbourne one that always reads a few kts low, so I account for that when I'm checking it out (I was bitching about it a year ago).

I guess the problem would be if it was inconsistently inaccurate... then you are screwed

I felt it has been really good lately. Today it was bang on. What are u comparing it to?

There are so many variables involved that it is almost impossible to give a single magic reading. Eg yesterday i was on the windsurfer and overpowered like crazy out back and then way underpowred in the pond. There is stuff that goes on locally where u are comparing the reading to and also where the meter itself is. The ultimate would be a 10m high post on the tern island spit.

The Mandurah reading is the same. Must be behind a building or something. Always reads low.

As in comparison to the garden island meter it always reads higher but doesn't actually feel as strong as it is reading.

I think you can pretty much ignore Swanbourne, East Fremantle and Mandurah. They don't report a consistent reading so you can't just add a few knots to compensate for any inaccuracy. I usually just look at Garden Island and Ocean Reef - both of these are pretty consistent and seem to be relatively accurate. They also provides an indication of the wind along the coast between these points. Melville Water seems to be pretty reliable too but probably more indicative of the wind at Pelican Pt; Lucky Bay will be a bit more gusty than shown.

Rottnest seems to read high but provides a good early warning (about half an hour) of when the wind is coming.

The only way to know what Lancelin is doing is to go there and stand on the end of the sand spit.

Either way, it all depends on the wind range of your kite. I used to ride a North Rebel 10m that worked in 15-25 knots so I only needed to know whether there was wind. Now I take all my kites and the combination of the above tells me whether it's worth leaving home.

Has there been any consideration of installing a wind meter on the top of the sailing club at Safety Bay? That should provide a fairly accurate reading.

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Spitfire said..
The Mandurah reading is the same. Must be behind a building or something. Always reads low.

Maybe why heaps head to the Midwest

The safety bay wind meter is on top of someones house opposite the boat ramp, you would think it would give pretty accurate readings unless there is something between the beach and it that alters the wind.

Probably would be best on top of the sailing club, kinda surprising they haven't had one there all this time considering it is a sailing club?

If anyone has a decent handheld meter come round and we can get up on the roof and check it. I can adjust the calibration. Email/pm me or whatever

What would be awesome would be a surf cam! I know the wind meter is mostly wrong. You got to take it with a grain of salt really. But a camera would never lie

Bring the camera and help me mount it up there...done. not sure if laurie can host it?

Another option on the meter may be to mount it higher off the roof to get less turbulence

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SimonM said..
Bring the camera and help me mount it up there...done. not sure if laurie can host it?

Sure man I can do that. Cameras are dirt cheep and can wireless connect directly to your router. If you can find out about the streaming I'll help with the camera and mounting.

Deal

You guys rock.

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SimonM said..
Bring the camera and help me mount it up there...done. not sure if laurie can host it?

SimonM- have you sused out the hosting for the webcam?

Laurie is seeing if he can do it via this site