Confirm Pass-a-Grille Sensor

[Steve-O]

Hey guys and gals....can anyone confirm the sensor accuracy at Pass-a-grille.

I have noticed it is consistently showing more wind than the Clearwater sensor on these westerlies. As of right now 5:00pm/thursday 6/19 showing gusts up to 20mph. The Clearwater sensor is showing gusts up to 15mph. Just got back from IRB and I would say gusts up to 12 max.

For those of you that look at the CLW sensor...I would say substract 3mph on average in my experience riding up here. I don't even think about heading out until that thing shows 15 gusting to ???? like this morning. Sensor showed 15-19 but it was more like 12-16.

So back to the Pass-a-Grille sensor.......is it really blowin that hard down there or is it typical I-Kite sensor circus?

Thanks for any input.

[inferno]

SW was 8-11mph, i could almost hold ground on a 16m SB3 and flight deck.
im sure a lighter guy could have done it....

[Sam]

Id say its probibly one of the best sensors in the area in terms of windspeed. just dont pay any attention to the direction...

[Steve-O]

So Sam, are you saying it was gusting up to 20 this afternoon.....I find that hard to believe. Just wondering.

I seriously doubt it... unless it was a storm rolling through.

Backside is right behind pag, and they usually act the same... it was totally dead when I got there at 5:30 the past two days... about 9 mph gusting to 11.

[Sam]

Cant confirm for today for sure. Wasnt actually out there. just based off past observations, Id say that sensor is fairly good at picking up the seabreezes. The gusts may read a tad high but in terms of averages it seems to pick up that fairly well. IMO, passagrille usially gets the seabreeze a few knots better though. Best bet...Bay news 9 Cam.

[Sam]

This time of year it was probibly due to a tstorm though

[Steve-O]

Not to beat a dead horse here....but the PAG sensor showed gust consistently between 15-20mph today between 2-7pm....I don't believe there were any thunderstorms this afternoon....this morning...absolutely.

Anyway....I think based on what I am hearing, the reading there is inaccurate....but I do agree that it is a little stronger down south with the seabreeze on alot of days, but I don't think it is by alot.

I did look at the Baynews9 cam and I definately didn't see 15+ winds which is what brought this thread up in the first place.

Thanks for the help. Oh the joys of summer...trying to find that little sliver of hope.

Considering Sam is one of my favorite riders and I respect him, I hate to disagree.... but... the PaG sensor should be named PoS sensor, imo.

For the PaG sensor, I usually take the lulls and average them with the average to get the real wind speed at PaG. I totally ignore the gusts. (Hope that makes sense)
PaG has always had a tendency to read high, imo, due to it's location on top of the Hurricane and the funneling effect the roof has on the wind as it is directed toward the sensor. Crappy location for a sensor, absolutely crappy.
It definitely has a tendency to "turn 11 knots into 16". It's better at approximating strong sea breezes, which may be what Sam was saying.

I don't have access to that sensor anymore, b/c there is no way I will pay iKite to get shi.t info and false positives, which is what PaG does.
I actually started pretty much ignoring that sensor and just using the BN9 cam, as Sam referred to, a couple years ago. I only use to use PaG to show a relative "spike" during sea breeze season, then would "ground truth" that spike with the BN9 cam to look for white caps. White caps don't lie
I think you already realize that Steve, from reading your post, and you saved yourself some major frustration today and gas money not chasing a ghost. Good call!

Anyway, that's just my opinion. It could be wrong.

[C. Moore]

I hope a giant pelican runs into it again like it did a few years back.