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  #1  
Old 05-16-2006, 11:29 AM
dstjohn dstjohn is offline
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Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: New Smyrna Beach, Florida
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Default iKitesurf sucks!

Hi guys. David from ikitesurf here - lost you for a while when the old forum disappeared. Glad to find you here. Overdue for a review and update.

So, the general consensus is that iKitesurf is severely lacking in the Tampa/St. Pete area compared with other areas around the country. As a kiter and an employee of WeatherFlow in our Florida (New Smyrna Beach) office, let me say this: "We totally agree with you!!!" It's really not just Tampa/St. Pete, but all of Florida. What we have now is better than nothing, in my opinion, but we are committed to bringing Florida up to the level of other areas where we have more weather stations and better forecasts. Our goal is to have the same kind of coverage across the country as we have in areas like San Francisco, Chesapeake Bay and the Gorge.

As with anything, it's all a matter of time and priorities. And our priorities are mainly driven by demand. It also requires strong support from locals, and we definitely seem to have that from you guys. Last fall we set up an "install-a-sensor" program for Ft. De Soto. Through this program, anyone can sign up and get FREE ikitesurf membership. You are not charged *anything* until a weather station near Ft. De Soto is installed. Signing up this way is the best way to show your support for more weather stations in the area. The link to do that is www.ikitesurf.com/ftdesoto . If you aren't sure whether you signed up that way, send me a PM and I'll let you know - or just sign up again through that link - it won't hurt.

Now, in the eight months we've had that program going, TWELVE PEOPLE have signed up through that link. What does that say about demand? Well, twelve is enough (just barely) to justify one weather station, but it's hard to say to my partners, "Hey, look, there are twelve kiters here! Let's install a whole bunch of weather stations!" So, if you haven't already, sign up at www.ikitesurf.com/ftdesoto - there is *nothing* to lose and lots to gain - even if it takes a while to see it come to fruition.

The other positive factor is that kiters are not the only potential customers for WeatherFlow. We have some interest from sailors and fishermen, as well as government and private organizations. We're working to build that demand so that we can really increase coverage in the area. It's just impossible to say *WHEN* - it's painfully slow sometimes - I'll continue updating you guys as things progress.

Meanwhile, we've got enough sign-ups just among kiters to justify a single station, and we've been trying hard to get permission to install at Ft. De Soto. But after initial enthusiam from the Parks Department, efforts to get permission to install at Ft. De Soto have been met with strong resistance from upper management at the Parks Department. My calls have not been returned in 6 months. We're pursuing other angles now, but the process can be long and difficult. I will keep you posted as things change.

I know this all sounds like the same old story - believe me I wish things were moving faster too. Thanks for your continued support and patience!

David
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  #2  
Old 05-16-2006, 11:53 AM
Eagle Eagle is offline
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Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: St Pete
Posts: 154
Default

Thank you for the iKite update David.
The issue in our area is not a lack of sensors, rather a lack of ACCURATE sensors. Hopefully the instrument accuracy will improve in our area; it appears that P.O.R.T.S http://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/tbp....shtml?port=tb has undergone some changes which the new website reflects.
There is an abundance of free weather information available on the web provided by the public and private sector and unless iKite can offer a service the others currently do not offer, I see it difficult to justify $80 + a year for a membership.

I would like to see more real time cams at or near the wind sensor locations. This will help prevent wasted fuel and speeding tickets on the way to the launch site only to discover the reported 15-18 knots is in fact sub 10.

Another suggestion to improve iKite would be a sea breeze prediction, if such a thing exists.
Keep us posted and take care.

Bryan E
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Tampa Bay Wind and Weather http://www.tampabaykiteboarding.com/...nd&weather.htm
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  #3  
Old 05-16-2006, 03:40 PM
Skyway Scott
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The FX sensors are currently way off (so I disagree, they aren't better than having nothing).
That's the entire reason I cancelled my FX membership.

I would love to have a better system in place in St. Pete, that's for sure. So, it'd be fantastic if something came about. We currently have 50+ riders in the area and IMO, alot of them would join if we had 2 (or more) accurate sensors. I know I would.

After having said that, I can tell you this factual statement --
I got skunked about 15 times less this season than last season.
Why? Because I didn't drive out to PaG when the FX sensor said 18+ to find 9 or less like I did last year (since I don't have access to it anymore)
I currently use the Baynews9 vidcam and I am biased towards cameras because whitecaps simply can't lie/exaggerate. I too, wish we had more cams pointed at water.

Good luck David. It'd be great to have some accurate information here.
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Old 05-16-2006, 06:51 PM
dstjohn dstjohn is offline
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Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: New Smyrna Beach, Florida
Posts: 13
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Thanks, guys. Yes, there's lots of good free info out there. One of the things we try to do is collect all the kite-relevant info in one place - and that's a free service - no membership accont required. PORTS has a few good locations, but the wind info is kind of secondary to the water level and current info for PORTS. Their locations are not normally chosen for good wind info. We put the ones that seem somewhat useful on our site (Skyway, Ports of Tampa, Manatee). If you guys know of other useful free data, let me know and I'll try to get it on our website.

Scott, I probably wouldn't have an FX membership if I lived in St. Pete either. But it wouldn't hurt if you conditionally upgraded using the special link: http://www.ikitesurf.com/ftdesoto . You can still chose to ignore the P.O.S. P-a-G station, but the more commitments we have, the sooner something can happen. We won't charge you anything until we install the new station, and you can always cancel if dissatisfied.

I believe there are 50+ kiters in the area, and growing. But only 12 have signed up with that link. I know there must be more than 12 kiters out there who'd appreciate a weather station at De Soto or nearby. Of the twelve who used that link, 11 have looked at ikitesurf almost every day over the last week, so hopefully we're good for something (even if it's just as a place to collect all the free info in one place).

Let me know where you'd like that second weather station so I can get it on the list. Something for the north skyway causeway launch?

As for cams, I agree they can tell you more than a weather station sometimes. We're experimenting with a couple webcams this year. If all goes well we plan to install more.

Take it easy,

David
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  #5  
Old 05-16-2006, 08:06 PM
Skyway Scott
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Thanks for the inputs David. I admit, I look at Ikite about 20 times a day.

So, the deal is we get (how many guys?) to sign up for free and show interest and then what happens? and what kind of possible time frame?

A web cam would be cool :twisted:
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  #6  
Old 05-16-2006, 09:06 PM
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BigR BigR is offline
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skyway sensor, c cuts, works AWESOME for me on SW W winds since they hit it first before hitting us ( and increasing a few kts )
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  #7  
Old 05-16-2006, 11:34 PM
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toby wilson toby wilson is offline
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I have to chime in here. I am one of the 12, and yes, one of the 11 who have checked it out in the last week. Just yesterday the airport sensor was reading 12 knots all afternoon so I decided to hit up Cypress. We were lucky if we had 9 knots, so I was skunked EVEN ON MY 25.5 METER MACHINE!!! I hope the improvements are drastic. Like you said, the last promises were made about 6 months ago and not much progress has been made since. I really wish you the best of luck, the cams seem like the best way to keep everyone happy...

Also, why is the focus made on kiters? What about windsurfers? Are there none of them that have registered? I know we have plenty of windsurfers in the area too so I am pretty sure that the interest factor is here regardless of how many kiters have signed up, like I said last time this came up...show that you have a worthwhile product and people will naturally decide it is worth it and be willing to pay. You may not be asking for money now, but you are asking for us all to commit to a product that has not yet proven itself in our area. Now being logical, who should be taking the chance here? Who has the better risk/reward factor here. I'll go out on a limb and say that I think that Ikitesurf does seeing that you will have us committed once it is "up" even if we don't like it. We DID sign up after all. If you offer a great product, your risk is minimal to the potential of a great reward. The great companies of the world proved themselves first before they became popular...Ikite should be no exception to that rule in my opinion.

Thanks for all of your efforts though,

Toby
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  #8  
Old 05-17-2006, 05:20 AM
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BigR BigR is offline
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Quote:
Just yesterday the airport sensor was reading 12 knots all afternoon so I decided to hit up Cypress. We were lucky if we had 9 knots

Tthat is not an Ikitesurf sensor, you can't knock ikitesurf for an inaccurate sensor that is not theirs and just happens to be hooked into their network.
They cannot make improvements/ changes to sensors that don't belong to them
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  #9  
Old 05-17-2006, 05:48 AM
Unimog Bob Unimog Bob is offline
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Raul is right they can’t do anything to improve sensors that don’t belong to them. They could put the PAG sensor in a better location so the readings are meaningful and adding a web cam to that location should be minor investment. Even a crappy one that only spits out a single frame every few seconds would be enough to see what we need to see. We’ve even volunteered to help move maintain and repair the sensor with no result. Ikant needs to step up before I’m willing to get on board.

Bob
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  #10  
Old 05-17-2006, 06:47 AM
Skyway Scott
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BigR
skyway sensor, c cuts, works AWESOME for me on SW W winds since they hit it first before hitting us ( and increasing a few kts )
Raul,

Do you think that sensor works well for anyone on NEs (when most people read it) when we are wanting to ride at our skyway launch?

Who thinks that sensor is accurate for us on NE winds? Who feels it is off?

The reason I ask is that I think we could benefit from having a new sensor at the location of our spot, not 3 miles out in the channel on East winds. Just wanted yours/everyone's inputs on that idea.
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