beWindWise has been in operation since November 2004 and there are now seven windstations running. More are planned for the network at Dunedin, the Harbour and an improved Ellesmere site. There is a webcam operating at the Estuary posting several pictures each day from this popular sailing site. A webcam is again planned for Lake Ellesmere, the first one was stolen after running for a year. Often one picture is worth a whole page of data.
Howisit.co.nz is well suited to anyone on a dialup link or with limits on time or megabytes. The tabular display may not be glossy but the download is quick. There is an initial download of around 40K then data updates at around 13k each time. Very slim and fast.
The windstations operate during daylight hours with most starting to send in data from around 6am each day. One station is solar powered so does not start returning data until 9am. Most stations operate until 8pm each day. While the aim is to have all stations running each day, there will be times when a station may not be operating because of a failure of equipment, loss of power, issues with the cellphone network or it just got turned off.
There is a seven day tide planner available to Power subscribers. This chart includes the tide height and the low tide along Brighton Beach.
A special web-page has been setup on Howisit.co.nz so that the wind information can now be accessed using a cellphone. This option is available to subscribers only but a demonstration page can be accessed. The URL for this page is http://howisit.co.nz/mobile.html and then scroll down to select the trial view option. You will be connected with the data from the Lincoln windstation.
Keeping in touch with good sailing days is now easier with the "Good Wind" email message. When selected windstations report good sailing conditions an email message can be sent to your email address. This email option, available to power subscribers only, can also be linked to a text message sent to your cellphone or you can follow beWindWise on twitter.
Navigation. Points to note when navigating around the site:
1. Clicking on the top banner will take you to the home page.
2. On pages with data, use the Close button (top-right) to exit.
.... lock yourself out for a while if you don't!
3. The Estuary speed has been included in the browser title-bar.
Feedback to Kerry at Howisit dot co dot nz
WindWise
with Howisit.co.nz