VANCOUVER ISLAND WINDTALK

rvanderbyl wrote:Right out at the point at SP would be nice too. So we wouldn't have to rely on Ballenas readings. It can be way windier at Ballenas at times so doesn't always help. It would provide more accurate readings for most wind directions at SP.

I think that's a good choice, it would get lot's of use, the few times I was up in the fall for a sessions they were the busiest I had seen here (excluding nitnat).

So we have the go ahead from the City to put the weather station on a street light pole at Clover Point (thanks Starboard Steve ). They will install the weather station if I get it ready.

The question is - is there enough people that actually want it there? The feedback here has been fairly underwhelming I don't want to spend the time and $$ doing it if it's not going to be that useful. For me, the Ogden wind reading is great but it seems to read 5-10kts high and when it's 20-25 there I can't tell if it's enough for windsurfing. Trial Island is useless. Will a Clover Point reading be accurate or read high...I'm not sure.

We can only put the anemometer at Clover Point (no temperature or rain gauge). So that means I may be able to make it work with spare parts that I have and not use the full spare weather station. So we could still install that somewhere else. But is Clover Point worthwhile?

The cell modem uses Rogers. Before we can go ahead can someone go down to Clover Point (the most West oriented light stand) and check the cell signal there - how many bars on the Rogers network?? If the signal is weak then this won't work...

thanks

I think it's awesome and yes, Ogden reads high and on a SE it reads low, generally Clover is windsurfable on a SE when 12G17+SE and 23Ghigher on a W for me. The wind does speed up over the point and would still read a bit high I would guess but likely more accurate than Ogden. I would love that thing there even just to test it out....actually I would love some real wind at Dallas road more....

Alternative suggestions: Willows is the obvious and easy choice, Discovery is not reliable at ALL and every 3 hrs it seems, tho the cam is pretty indicative.

Point no point resort would be a great other location, good indications out west. They already have wifi and would likely be supportive of any more marketing help. I can also hunt for a private host....not sure tho if we need to promote the last frontier the rare hit is that much sweeter when you go on a hunch

Don't think we need a Wx station at SP, rare and predictable NW together with Ray and the cam is quite indicative together with CB station/cam.

Other one Cordova Bay Beachhouse but the decent NE's are rare....and not popular due to temps. BTW the upgraded cam for Pat Bay is really great so some of you peninsula dweller intermediates could probably get way better intel now.

Windreadings or at least a cam at the Nat is going to become a popular item soon if we only had a reliable host....was pretty great for a while

i think its a great idea, get that up n running so we can start co-relating it to sailable days. i have a rogers phone but wont be down there for a few days. i'll do the reading if nobody else checks in.

Great news BWD!! Yeah I think CLover would be awesome, I'm sure its going to be a better indication of conditions than Ogden. What do the kiters that go back and forth all the time between Kook, CLover, and Ross Bay say about this? On westerlies I often find the wind is strongest and gustiest at Cook right on the beach where it compresses against the cliff, and out 100 m and beyond it drops off. It would be really interesting to track the difference between Clover and Ogden to see if our estimated 5-10 knot reduction between the two places is actually the case.

Sorry, I'm Bell. I could donate a Bell hub if that would make a difference and would even be compatible. Its supposed to give up to 30 km WiFi range, but is lucky to give a good connection (to tablets) more than 100 m away.

I vote Clover for sure! When it is due south I have launched at Clover and ridden while watching everyone sitting on the beach at the bottom of the stairs. On a SW it is almost always stronger at Clover and Ross Bay. On a W I would say similar strength if not a little stronger, but less gusty.

Hmmm, I'm sure I can pull 10min Trial Island data from here..much better than the 3hr EC data I'm showing now for Trial Island:
http://www.victoriaweather.ca/station.php?id=199
http://www.victoriaweather.ca/photo.php?id=199

bwd wrote:The cell modem uses Rogers. Before we can go ahead can someone go down to Clover Point (the most West oriented light stand) and check the cell signal there - how many bars on the Rogers network?? If the signal is weak then this won't work...

Anyone...anyone??

I'll try to remember later today after a cook st session!

Rogers aint great there and predict its going to be roaming! I roam in Cook St Village

Posting this under western most light standard! Made a few phone calls... 3-4 bars and 3g seems ok

I've tethered my phone (rogers) to my computer lots in the past at clover and had many hours long of work sessions...until someone starts feeding the damn birds and it starts raining poop.

I think Clover is a good bet. Catches the critical wind over the reef plus gives you a way station on the way to Ross Bay. As well, we can all interpolate the wind once it's in. Kind of like the old take the middle of the wind speed between Kelp Reef and the Airport to get the speed at Island View. At least it will be in clean air too. If the thing is on a light standard it should get better reception as it's not behind the hill. Turn roaming off to force it on to the weaker Rogers signal if necessary.

BenB wrote:I've tethered my phone (rogers) to my computer lots in the past at clover and had many hours long of work sessions...until someone starts feeding the damn birds and it starts raining poop.

too funny, yep I always want to throw those guys off the point....they never feed the damn things near THEIR vehicles, do they

Cool thanks for the C-lover info and thanks for checking cell signal abetanzo. Now I just have to find some time to work on it.