Howdy Steve, and WeatherCat sailors,
How many of you have actually sailed a catamaran?
Raises hand.
(Racing on inland lakes in Virginia and North Carolina, Chesapeake Bay, and once in the open Atlantic off Virginia Beach)
The last family sailboat was a Hobbie 16. My Dad and I sailed in once in a reservoir and it could go from one end to the other in about 10 minutes!! From then on we only sailed in San Francisco Bay. That still relatively sheltered compared to open ocean, but 5 foot chop was possible. Also, we always departed from Berkeley meaning the winds from the Pacific would blow straight at us through the Golden Gate. It was a plenty rough ride!!
When I was trying to collect photos of my trusty wagon for my first classic car show, I only found 3 photos of Biquette towing any boats and no one of Biquette with the Hobbie 16. I was a little puzzled about this at the time, but looking back on it, Dad and I were
way too scared of losing a camera to ever take one sailing with that boat!!
I still think the Shaka Weather Station will end up boosting smart phone sales . . . .
da' hard way!! I'd like to see a review of one compared to an accurate weather instrument.
Ditto!
For comparison, Kestrel makes a wide variety of handheld weather instruments, so you can select which features you might be interested in and find a model that suites you. Note that the thermo/hydro sense is out in the open. These are designed for active use, military, enviro-science, sports, etc. and are completely waterproof (and float.) Pricey, but can be found for a lot less than retail at some online retailers. You can see mine in my avatar.
Definitely this market is getting interesting. If indeed Shaka Weather Station is as accurate as claimed, it might give Kestrel a run for its money. On the other hand, the Kestrel products are undeniably more rugged.
Has there been any changes in the way Apple support Bluetooth on iOS? For us Apple loyalists, it is a real drag that you can't access the Kestrel weather data on an iPhone or iPad.
Cheers, Edouard