Thats the name of the BOM game mate
Windguru,Windfinder and Seabreeze are much more consistent for us except in the case of local effect like sea breezes here in Vic.

The BOM has certainly been adding in disclaimers, for the time i've been observing the weather they have tended to over-state.

I don't trust any of it though... having studied meteorology at uni I can say it is pretty much the least precise field of science i've been involved with and despite being one of the courses I did quite well in I have no idea about the weather . There are too many variables to evaluate overnight and realistically forecasting has never received good funding. The BOM's predictions will certainly continue to increase in accuracy with the modelling available today. It is quite odd though that in Australia the systems seem quite large, minimal localised effects- we don't tend to care much about the weather and forecasting is poor. Compared to say NZ which appeared to have much more complex systems but many seemed more weather conscious also, don't know if this is exactly true more just the impression I got when I was there.

That is what has happened, but remember alot of cycles affect the weather that are 8+ years apart. Whilst continental effects of el nino/la nina for example are quite old, applying that to global patterns is relatively recent. Then factor in large scale climate, progress and enviromental changes- the weather we saw in an area 30 years ago can be significantly different from today.

The BOM did issue a storm warning as the 98 Sydney Hobart race was started. A storm is defined as an average wind of 53-59 knots. A 92 knot gust was recorded at Wilson's Prom - but it is usually reckoned that the anemometer up there on the bluff reads a bit high, so it was not proven that the gusts on the water exceeded 40% more than 59 knots (83 knots).

http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/ANZMLJ/2002/6.pdf

The BOM appears to have got it right on that day.