WA
117 posts
I'm only a bit more than a season into kiting, and have now added to the twin tip style and done about 4 downwinders at the late end of this season on my surfboard. It is a fast learning curve, but I'm absolutely loving it!
When I'm trying to evaluate if the wind is good enough, I look online at the current wind conditions for City Beach/Scarborough (which uses the Swanbourne wind metre). To me, Swanbourne readings always seems to be a good 3-4kts under the forecast. Does Swanny read a bit low? Does the wind tend to pick up a bit as you make your way to Scarbs/Trigg?
At the same time that Swanbourne is reporting 13 to 14kt, Pinaroo is blowing 20! I do realise Pinaroo can be a bit of a wind magnet.
Keen to hear other's insights.
WA
156 posts
Swanbourne isn't accurate. I believe it's set back from the beach. I actually find the FCS Fish Rocks reading the most accurate for most of the Coast.
Im not 100% convinced that the wind is consistently and noticeably stronger across the 20-30 kms of metro coast, but I've not studied it
WA
530 posts
Swanbourne will also tend to under read if it is southerly or ssw. I think it is tucked in near the army base?
if it's straight west or nw it seems to be closer to reality. I use the Scarborough web cam for calibration.
WA
117 posts
Thanks for the replies guys.
