All great input, guys. Yes, I absolutely agree the proof will be in our pudding. You guys don't have to listen to me. But we're actively installing weather stations all over the country (about 40 in the last 12 months). The priority list for where they go in is all driven by demand.
The St. Pete/Tampa area *will* rise to the top of the list at some point - all I'm trying to say is there are things that can be done to make it rise faster. And yes, it's not just kiters. We are talking to yacht clubs, sailing schools, marinas, windsurfing shops, universities, shipping companies, etc. It's the combination of interest/demand from all groups that drives our priorities. You guys, like many kiters, are just more organized than most.
I'm not asking you to give us anything *before* we give you something back. Contrary to what Toby said, someone who shows his support by signing up via the install-a-sensor program at
www.ikitesurf.com/ftdesoto is *not* locked in. Even after we install a new station (or two or three) and activate your account, you can cancel your membership with a full refund if you're not satisfied with it.
As for promises, I have tried to be careful about making any. There are simply too many unknowns - priorities, permissions, politics, logistics, etc. I can't say "if you get 30 guys to commit we'll install 2 stations in 3 months." All I can tell you is that if we had 30 commitments rather than 12, this area will get a lot more attention. And it will cost you nothing.
Bob, those FDOT sites are definitely interesting, especially the bridge-mounted stations. It's actually a partnership between FDOT and a bunch of universities. I've talked to a couple of the researchers working on that project and I'm trying to get them to put the data in an easy to digest format. It still seems to be very experimental, and they say the data quality is not so great, but hopefully they'll get it together soon.
Finally, if you guys collectively agree some of the public weather stations on our maps are truly worse than nothing, and should come off, please let me know. And just being inaccurate is not a good reason to take it down. The quesiton is whether it's *useful*. It wouldn't be smart to pull a site off our map just because you got skunked once. Even inaccurate weather data can be useful.
In fact, *most* weather stations don't give you a totally accurate reflection of the wind on the water right where you happen to be kiting. Most sites have to be "calibrated" for where you kite, in your own brain. For example, I know Ponce Inlet reads low on west wind, so I add a few knots to it from that direction. I know Matanzas reads a little high, so I adjust it.
Toby, you can definitely bitch to me about P-a-G, but Skyway's not ours either - it's a PORTS site :wink:
The P-a-G sensor is on top of the Hurricane Grill. If it reads high, it's because it's 50 feet off the ground and the buildings may be accelerating the wind. I'd love to put a station out over the water, 30 feet off the surface. But where does such a location exist? I've looked and I couldn't find a better place anywhere from P-a-G to Treasure Island. But you guys know the area better than I. We thought we had a better spot on one of the Redington piers, but the owner didn't see having a station there as a benefit. Find a better spot and I'll try to get it moved!
David