Seabreeze

[Skyway Scott]

is on. Someone nail it ;)

[Tony]

Scott-

Hope all is well. I am Roy's friend the just bought the RRD. I met you at Skyway a few weeks ago. Question for you -what is the best indicator of a potential sea breeze? No wind out of the east during the day? We thought it would blow yesterday evening - went to pasa grill and it was dead. Am I going to the wrong coast line? Any insight would be appreciated. Thanks -

Tony

[invisible]

Cool morning with light east breeze... gets hot fast, falls to zero at noon and then switches west hard by 1:30 (will not usually show the west on the skyway sensor). If it's not blowing by 3:00 it's not gonna blow from the west. If you read 10 from the south west, ignore it, it's a trap.

[Airgasm]

Hey Scott,

What sensor(s), if any, are you using to see if the sea breeze turns on?

cheers,

Chris

[Tony]

Invisible-

Thanks for the insight. Have a great day.

[Wolfie]

I was just out in time to see a seabreeze just start at Picnic Island at 3:45. Saw it go from nothing to 15Knts in 5 minutes. Got my kite out started pumping and suddenly noticed I had forgot my Harness. It is a very sad day!...but at least they are starting. A little late I thought though.

[Skyway Scott]

I had a fairly detailed post on Tom's old site.

This year is beyond weird, and none of the "rules" to anything seem to apply.
But in a nutshell. High pressure is a biggie. Once that Hi gets to the east coast... ugh....low chance.

The signs: (This is for PaG... I don't know CLW as well)
The best predictor of a seabreeze is one happening the day before. They tend to happen in groups of 3 days.
If one happened yesterday, add 50 minutes to today's guess and pray. Oddly, the tides do affect our beach seabreeze.

Some signs:

Morning starting off at ENE or NE at 12 or better is a good sign. Then, if the wind goes to zero at the SW, I start looking at the baynews9.com cam. There are NO sensors that will help you with the actual seabreeze. They are all 2 hours late. Seabreezes (in general) last 3 hours, so it's Johnny on the spot type stuff.

It's a dynamic prediction process, kind of a dichotomous key (if you have ever used one). One satisfactory result leads to hoping for another.

In general, I hope for a seabreeze the day before, look for E in the morning, pray for zero knots at the SW sensor (which has been broken and reading zero alot) and when it hits zero, I watch the beach cam for whitecaps. Don't wait for the SW sensor to show wind. I can't tell you how many times I have called and told guys it is cranking at the beach, only to hear "the SW says zero". I know, I say... that's the point. By the time the SW shows wind, you have missed an hour and a half of beach wind.
When it caps on the sensor (back in my poker from home days) I "folded and bolted" to the beach. I commonly just left the house when the SW read zero, if it blew the day before, knowing my odds were good.

Hope that helps. This year has been a joke of a seabreeze season, so far.
Maybe April will hit?

Oh, then you have days it blows NW real good at Picnic or Cypress and not the beach. It's pretty weird stuff.

If I get "a feeling" I will start posting guesses, as long as you guys don't hold me responsible if I mess up.
I had a very good record of prediction the last couple years (it's true, not bragging) but this year, I wouldn't bet a single dollar on any of my predictions... it's a weird year.

[Skyway Scott]

Oh yeah, NW is a seabreeze, SW is a trap!! Like Tom said.

[Airgasm]

...thanks Scott....appreciate it!!

Chris

[Airgasm]

...played Johnny-on-the-spot yesterday to no avail. came up to 12 or so at it's max....enough to set up, but didn't bother to launch...didn't feel like packing up a wet kite...or me

....looks like I shoulda been there to day though....I know my avg. is right down there!!

Cheers,

Chris

[Skyway Scott]

Is that Mr. Bigger? Hey hey hey!! PM Donna any time you want a riding partner out there. :D

I work these days... no seabreezes for me (not complaining, unreal weekend batting average lately)

[Steve-O]

Thanks for the info Scott. For those you that don't know Skyway Scott, he has been chasing wind for along time now. His knowledge of wind patterns is an excellent local resource. His call on the spike last Friday night was a perfect example. You da man.

As far as Clearwater goes, the Clearwater Pier sensor is a good indicator to look at. I have noticed this sensors wind speed changes regularly even between the actual hourly posting on the wind graph. As soon as it hits 14 or more mph consider it pretty nice on the north end. IRB 27th Ave is a great spot as the wind whips around the bend. Farther north can be quite unpredictable.

[Skyway Scott]

Thanks Steve. Do you have a link to that CLW sensor that you mention?
Ikan't only updates it once every two to three hours. Is there a "parent" site which updates more often?

Also, in another thread, you mentioned Dunedin and up North.
Do you have some launch spots that don't require a boat, aren't too muddy and aren't crowded on the weekends? I wanted to give it a shot last weekend, but I only know a couple spots and they are crowded.

Thanks in advance.

For those of you who haven't seen Steve-O at the SW, there is a reason.
He is giving lessons in more secluded areas than just upwind of us at the Skyway or EB. Thank you Steve for respecting crowded kiting spots and giving lessons in areas that impact us the least. Lots of people may not know that you are doing this (because they can't see ya' doing it) :D

When is the next demo? Is it possible to have one on a weekend? :cool:

I think 5 of the kiters (including me) work during the week.
Most of the others have flexible hours (man, I am JEALOUS).
Heck, even the Donster has more flexible hours than me these days. ("sure, I'd love some cheese").

[invisible]

I agree with Scott... nice to see Steve doing lessons elsewhere instead of right in the *middle* of a packed riding area on a busy day (!). This is definitely better and safer for both the student and the instructor... heck my instructor wouldn't even let me ride at EB or the skyway until I had been riding for 6 months or so. I was restricted to Big Beach only until I proved myself capable of self rescue and not to be a hazard to other riders lol.

[Tony]

Scott-

Thanks for the insight. It would be great if you started posting when you thought it was going to turn on. I won't hold you responsible!

Tony

[C. Moore]

This what the wind looked like yesterday at Old Port of Tampa. I use this if I am going to ride Cypress. I noticed it was nuking on my way home yesterday but I had family obligations and I couldn't make it out. Looks like it started a SW trend before the Sea Breeze kicked in.

[Steve-O]

I appreciate the props for the lesson environment we are providing. It does take some extra effort to take students to Caladesi, Honeymoon, and 3-rooker, but the overall benefits are well worth it. It sometimes can take a half day just to get a 2 hour lesson in. We also push new students to get their game on in less crowded conditions ie. weekdays and 10-15 knot days. I think most are listening to our warnings but no guarantees. I don't have much control after they leave the lesson environment although we do preach alot.

As far as sensors, it is the IKITe sensor at Clearwater that I see can change regularly. Every ten minutes I check it shows something different as far as wind speed. I could be wrong on this, will have to take some notes.

And yes, Dunedin is a zoo on the weekends. Boats, people, kayaks, jet skis, hobies, you name it. Not a great place to launch from, but if you can get past the channel and over to Caladesi the reward is grand. However, in the winter time when it is cold, the place is obviously empty. Very doable.

Spot doesn't work well on a NW or a due South for obvious reasons, but every other wind direction can be great.

Hope that helps. We'll be up north for the next 4 days if wind allows getting some more folks on the water. Forecasting has looked alot like a yo-yo. I guess were getting used to it. Any thoughts on the next few days wise one's?

[TampaBay Noob]

I'm gunnin' for Friday...all day baby

[BigR]

Hope that helps. We'll be up north for the next 4 days if wind allows getting some more folks on the water. Forecasting has looked alot like a yo-yo. I guess were getting used to it. Any thoughts on the next few days wise one's?

Cold front , 15 kts all the way

THURSDAY
NORTHWEST WINDS AROUND 15 KNOTS. SEAS 2 FEET. BAY AND
INLAND WATERS A MODERATE CHOP. SLIGHT CHANCE OF SHOWERS IN THE
AFTERNOON.

THURSDAY NIGHT
NORTH WINDS AROUND 15 KNOTS. SEAS 2 TO 4 FEET.
BAY AND INLAND WATERS A MODERATE CHOP. SLIGHT CHANCE OF SHOWERS.

FRIDAY
NORTHWEST WINDS 10 TO 15 KNOTS. SEAS 2 TO 3 FEET. BAY
AND INLAND WATERS A MODERATE CHOP.

FRIDAY NIGHT
NORTH WINDS AROUND 15 KNOTS. SEAS 2 TO 4 FEET.
BAY AND INLAND WATERS A MODERATE CHOP.

SATURDAY
NORTH WINDS 10 TO 15 KNOTS. SEAS 2 TO 4 FEET. BAY AND
INLAND WATERS A MODERATE CHOP.

SUNDAY
NORTHEAST WINDS 10 TO 15 KNOTS. SEAS 2 TO 4 FEET. BAY
AND INLAND WATERS A MODERATE CHOP. SLIGHT CHANCE OF RAIN.

[bryanleighty]

it is absolutely frickin insane that we dont have a dependable wind sensor in the area...

IN

SANE!!!


**i know i know.. age old conversation...ugh****

[toby wilson]

North Beach this weekend, maybe SW on Sunday...see you there!

[invisible]

Still nuthin but empty promises afrom iKite unfortunately Bleighty.

[bryanleighty]

I'd think with the amount of marine traffic in the area combined with the fact that during the summer months we can get some deadly squalls there would be some seriously accurate wind meters available for public use.

sure i'd like ikite to step up with maybe one good wind meter at FT desoto or something like that. I'd pay $$$ for an accurate meter.

but given the huge population of boat owners, fishermen, etc that frequent the local waters and beaches you'd think something would be there for us all to use.

-b

[invisible]

We have been trying for 3 years... it got me a free membership until the sensor is installed. So far it looks like a lifetime membership :)

[bryanleighty]

ha..same here re: ikite membership.

alas..