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new iW sensor at Rooster Rock, OR

 
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bobgatpdx1



Joined: 13 Oct 2002
Posts: 385

PostPosted: Mon May 14, 2007 12:32 am    Post subject: new iW sensor at Rooster Rock, OR Reply with quote

With good support from Stuart Hill at iWindsurf, and great cooperation from OR State Parks, we now have an operational sensor at Rooster Rock State Park at the west end of the Gorge. There used to be a sensor there until the ranger station burnt down in June, 2000. Rooster is known for being the windiest spot in the Gorge during fall, winter, and spring east winds.
bobg
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untwed



Joined: 29 Jul 2003
Posts: 40

PostPosted: Mon May 14, 2007 5:25 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

That's great news!

Its funny because I was wondering about rooster rock and did a forum search, only to find you pretty much just posted it Laughing

Any idea when it will come online? I don't see it yet on the sensor list or map.

Also, wasn't rooster on line a few days last year? I just assumed the locals hated it and windsurfers so they knocked it out soon after it coming on-line. I have no evidence of that, i just assumed someone was really motivated to prevent the sensor from working.
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wsmike



Joined: 07 Jun 2003
Posts: 412

PostPosted: Mon May 14, 2007 7:30 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Yes, I also would be interested in knowing when it is scheduled to be activated and available online on iwindsurf.
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bobgatpdx1



Joined: 13 Oct 2002
Posts: 385

PostPosted: Mon May 14, 2007 10:41 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The sensor is on-line, but you have to hunt for it a little - go to the "Gorge West" region then click on the "current obs" tab, and you can find Rooster Rock on the list of sites. Hopefully, they will get it on the big "columbia gorge" region map eventually. Stuart is going to get out there this week to fix the wind vane so the direction will report correctly.
bobg
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bobgatpdx1



Joined: 13 Oct 2002
Posts: 385

PostPosted: Wed May 23, 2007 12:39 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The Rooster sensor is now up and running on the iW website. You can find it on the "OR - Columbia River" map or the "OR - Gorge West" map. They also fixed the problem where it always said it was "Asleep" even though it was really working. The wind direction is now working as well.

Due to the sensor location and some nearby trees, I think it will read pretty low this summer. We have a couple east wind days coming up this week, which will be a good test. I think the gust reading will correlate pretty well with what's going on on the water.

In the fall, when the leaves are down, it will probably give a more true reading.

We'll keep an eye on it this year, and then next spring we'll try to tune it up for better performance.
bobg
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david



Joined: 19 Aug 1995
Posts: 132
Location: WeatherFlow Staff

PostPosted: Wed May 23, 2007 2:27 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

It's been a long hard road, but it's nice to see Stu's patience has paid off and Rooster Rock is back in action. Thanks for *your* help too, Bob. Once you get used to how the Rooster station compares to wind-on-water, it'd be great if you could add notes to the "Local Info" and "Sensor Notes" sections. Just click the "edit this page" link on this page
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blake64



Joined: 09 Mar 2007
Posts: 56
Location: Camping.

PostPosted: Sat May 26, 2007 3:28 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Rooster Rock! Sweet..that's a great sensor to have not only for windsurfing but also for just checking it from time to time when it's majorly windy just to be amazed...that seems to be the place that gets those OUTRAGEOUS strong winds in the late Winter, right?

Or is it late Fall that it goes off the charts?
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bobgatpdx1



Joined: 13 Oct 2002
Posts: 385

PostPosted: Sun May 27, 2007 1:20 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I've seen really big days at Rooster from Oct to Feb. There is a local tribe of hard core winter sailors (not me) that sails there year round. When the wind gets over 40MPH you start to get "smoke on the water" conditions where the spray rips off the tops of the waves and flies through the air. Big guys on 2.8m sails is not unheard of.
bobg
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aosmith



Joined: 29 Mar 2001
Posts: 3
Location: Renton/Bellevue, WA

PostPosted: Sun May 27, 2007 6:57 pm    Post subject: Rooster Rocks! Reply with quote

A few years ago when the sensor was still working, it was blowing 40-45 easterly every day over the Thanksgiving Day weekend, so I drove down from Seattle to try my luck. Winds of 40mph + 42 degree air temp = 20 wind chill. On my smallest gear (3.5 & 8' 4" Open Ocean) I was so overpowered it was frightening. Horizontal spray, 6-10' rollers (WITH the current), and NO ONE else out. A little stupid. I hung on for half an hour until careening into the sandbar on the Oregon side at 30mph. (The sand was 2" below the surface when the river's high.)

Fall easterlies at RR in the 20-30mph range are very fun, though! Warm water, few crowds, and closer to Portland/Seattle than HR.
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