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Coast Guard renews Weatherflow sensor agreement

 
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windfind



Joined: 18 Mar 1997
Posts: 1899

PostPosted: Tue Oct 02, 2018 10:58 am    Post subject: Coast Guard renews Weatherflow sensor agreement Reply with quote

Hi Gang,

As many of you know we have many of our sensors on Federal Aids to Navigation so they are out in the water along the entire coastal USA.

In the Bay Area our Nav. Aid sensors include Anita Rock, 3rd. Ave. channel, Sierra Pt, Corte Madera Channel, San Pablo Bay, Pt. Potrero Reach, M 12 and M14 channel markers at Sherman Island.

Out in the water, these Nav. Aid based sensors are usually more accurate than sensors located on building etc. along the shoreline.

It took us years of endless paperwork and visits to Washington to get the Defense Department, NOAA etc to understand the importance of our sensor wind data for their coastal and inland waterway mission. And then there was the work of getting permission for and installing each sensor.

These sensors are expensive for us to maintain since we have to use a boat to install and repair the sensors and they can only be accessed on windless days, with the tide just right and osprays are not nesting.

So we are pleased to announce that the Coast Guard has renewed our 10-year agreement for our Nav. Aid based sensors. Without that renewal, we would lose all 141 of our Nav. Aid sensors including the Bay Area sensors above.

Below is a link to the bulletin from the Coast Guard. Be sure to wave to these guys the next time you see them on the water!

http://mariners.coastguard.dodlive.mil/2018/09/25/9-25-2018-coast-guard-renews-weatherflow-sensor-agreement/

Mike Godsey
iwindsurf.com/ikitesurf.com
Weatheflow.com



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Last edited by windfind on Tue Oct 02, 2018 2:53 pm; edited 1 time in total
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gerritt



Joined: 06 May 1998
Posts: 632
Location: Redwood City, CA

PostPosted: Tue Oct 02, 2018 1:21 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

As I get older, I cannot help but notice the fragility of life and all systems put in place by mother nature and humans. Contests come and go. Launches once thought sacred are overrun by development. Traffic patterns change, making just getting to the launches near impossible. The wind patterns themselves have changed.

I listen to folks bitch about downed sensors all the time and chuckle to myself that they are lucky to have any data at all. I remember the moto, "You never know unless you go." In the internet age, everyone wants to know everything without even showing up. We used to just show up based on how things felt and looked. "Seems good, lets go check it out!" Bring you bike, a surfboard, some beer. Worst case, you spend a day at the beach, but don't get wet.

That said, its really really nice to be able to look at my phone, pull the trigger, and get a sesh at the local spot because the sensor popped 15 minutes ago.

So... That's really good news Mike! The sensor network is very fragile and its a miracle it exists at all. Hopefully, you can convince the government its an indispensable part of the security grid and perhaps it can last until we finally drop the bomb.
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msamols



Joined: 17 Mar 1997
Posts: 16

PostPosted: Wed Oct 03, 2018 5:50 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Nicely said.
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mac



Joined: 07 Mar 1999
Posts: 17742
Location: Berkeley, California

PostPosted: Wed Oct 03, 2018 6:23 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Amen. We here in the Bay area work hard at having a good relationship with the Coast Guard.
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exhibitpro



Joined: 17 Jun 1998
Posts: 47

PostPosted: Fri Oct 05, 2018 11:46 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Mike, you're a beast! Thanks for all you work you do for a segment of your business that is tiny. Over the years many of us have come to rely on your service and we'd be worse off without it.
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windfind



Joined: 18 Mar 1997
Posts: 1899

PostPosted: Fri Oct 05, 2018 1:19 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hi Exhibitpro,

Actually much of the thanks for our Bay Area Nav. Aid sensors should go to Jay Titlow in our Virginia office who is our liaison with the Defense Department, NOAA and the NWS and spent years getting permission to place our sensors on federal property.

And lots of thanks also goes to Stuart and Bob who installed 141 Nav. Aid sensors around the country including those in the Bay Area. Doing these installs involved fabricating custom stainless steel brackets, masts etc. then flying to the Bay Area, renting a motel then a van, finding a workboat, making the trip then climbing up an algae barnacle covered nav aid to do a complex electronic installation.

I have done a tiny bit of this sensor work. It is tough work! I vividly remember a winter day at the M10 Nav. Aid semsor in the Sherman Island channel when the wind abruptly went from calm to 4.2 winds so the boat could not approach the Nav. Aid in the chop to pick me up from the Nav. Aid. Jumping 10 feet into the murky water from the platform into the river mid-winter without a wetsuit was memorable. And Stuart and Bob do this type of work every day!

All I do is act as an advocate for more Bay Area sensors and to pick out Nav. Aids that will benefit the feds while also providing useful information for windsurfers and kiters.

Lastly, while windsurfing and kiting may be a small part of our business we will never forget our roots. And even today the great majority of our employees are passionate participants in those sports!

Thanks for all your support and your patience when a sensor somewhere in the USA fails.

Mike Godsey
iwindsurf.com/ikitesurf.com
Weatheflow.com



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