The Wind Report measures windspeed and direction recorded at their weather stations based around South Africa. This wind information is made available to the public by SMS, telephone and at www.WindReport.co.za. The service is owned and run by Mike v.d. Wolk.
The Current System - the Wind Report® v5
The current system is Version 5, and uses locally developed and manufactured iWeathar weather stations which were installed in December 2007. These replaced the aging PC based stations along with their inherent problems.
This website went live in April 2007 offering a one-stop Wind & Weather site. This site gives you the info to get out there and enjoy yourself safely. I do the coding and thanks to Alan Kemp for the initial design and graphs and Nicholas Spagnoletti for data handling.
Our affiliates, Wind Report Services, opened 3x stations in Durban along the KZN coast in November 2007.
History of the Pay to use Service
The basis for the current type of service was laid in 1998 when, after many years doing the wind info on my own, I met two engineers who needed wind info to go windsurfing. Piet Streicher and Richard Simpson erected their first weather station at Sunset Beach, and delivered the information via SMS messaging. I approached them to join forces and they made their wind info available to callers to the Wind Report. They erected stations at Hermanus, Langebaan and Swartriet. This association proved invaluable as they started BulkSMS.com and Titbits.co.za which today is the basis of WindSMS.
The expanded Wind Report® (V4) went live in October 2003. Previous versions of the Wind Report were based at each site and connected to a single phone line, so only one caller at a time could get wind info. In 2002 Craig Jarvis started kite surfing and needing to know where the wind was, he approached me to join him and expand my existing service. His system used PC's. This service was borne with 7 stations, including affiliate station Cape Sport Center at Langebaan in October 2003. I opened new stations at Witsands, Scarborough and Cape Point in January 2006.
How it all started
The Wind Report® (Version 1) was started in 1987 by Howard Stasin who manufactured Shaft Windsurfing Booms and accessories and Shaft moulded paddles. Today he is Shaft Mouldings, for all your plastic moulding requirements. He wanted a system to allow him to check the wind around the Peninsula and came across the WindTalker. With assistance from numerous parties he developed his own version with a robot sounding voice and opened stations at Blouberg, Muizenberg, PE (run by Brian Wilson of Suntrax) and 2 machines in Johannesburg. The system consisted of an answering machine connected to the wind measuring system and it used a mechanical voice to tell callers what the wind was doing.
Once I started waveski surfing I needed a superior paddle and met Howard. In 1990 I joined Howard because I needed to know how the wind was affecting the surf.
Howard developed Version 2 which at the time was state-of-the-art as it utilized natural recorded voice. This system was reinstalled at the new Blouberg Surf Lifesaving club, after the first redevelopment and landscaping at BigBay, in late '90. All components were custom manufactured.
False Bay Surf Lifesaving Club continues to this day to provide the venue for the Muizenberg Wind. The operating record for our own custom built anemometer is 8 years with no failure at FBSLC.
My next mission was to expand the network, and opened new stations at Imhoff Caravan Park in Kommetjie in late '91 and at the Hottentots Holland Beach Sailing Club in the Strand in early '92 - now home to one of the most active Kitesurfing clubs in the country.
Early in '92 Telkom started their trial 087 network and we seized the opportunity to generate some income for the invaluable service we provided. To interface with Telkom required us to locate our server near their premises and install a digital PABX switchboard. Telkom closed the 087 service at the end of '92 due to wholesale fraud leaving both partners with gaping holes in their pockets.
Howard left the partnership and I continued to fund the service. Eventually we upgraded the equipment to Version 3 using off-the-shelf anemometers and new digital voice and answering equipment developed by Greg Chin.
For the next 6 years the Wind Report remained a free service sponsored by my other ventures as I believed in the value of the service.
Please for more information.
Thank you
Numerous people have assisted over the years and deserve thanks. If your name has been omitted please let me know and I will include you.
"Find Out before you Go!" or you might say "Know before you Go!"
Save both your petrol and time
This website provides valuable weather information to help you decide where to go to enjoy your favourite Wind and Surf Sport.
KiteSurfing - KiteSailing - Kiting - Kites - Windsurfing - Boardsailing - Sailboarding - Keelboats - Dinghy - Kayaking - Surfskis - Surfing - Shortboards - Longboards - Bodyboards - Boogyboards - Parasailing - Paragliding - Jetskiing - Deep Sea Fishing - Angling - Rock & Surf - Tuna
The Current System - the Wind Report® v5
The current system is Version 5, and uses locally developed and manufactured iWeathar weather stations which were installed in December 2007. These replaced the aging PC based stations along with their inherent problems.
This website went live in April 2007 offering a one-stop Wind & Weather site. This site gives you the info to get out there and enjoy yourself safely. I do the coding and thanks to Alan Kemp for the initial design and graphs and Nicholas Spagnoletti for data handling.
Our affiliates, Wind Report Services, opened 3x stations in Durban along the KZN coast in November 2007.
History of the Pay to use Service
The basis for the current type of service was laid in 1998 when, after many years doing the wind info on my own, I met two engineers who needed wind info to go windsurfing. Piet Streicher and Richard Simpson erected their first weather station at Sunset Beach, and delivered the information via SMS messaging. I approached them to join forces and they made their wind info available to callers to the Wind Report. They erected stations at Hermanus, Langebaan and Swartriet. This association proved invaluable as they started BulkSMS.com and Titbits.co.za which today is the basis of WindSMS.
The expanded Wind Report® (V4) went live in October 2003. Previous versions of the Wind Report were based at each site and connected to a single phone line, so only one caller at a time could get wind info. In 2002 Craig Jarvis started kite surfing and needing to know where the wind was, he approached me to join him and expand my existing service. His system used PC's. This service was borne with 7 stations, including affiliate station Cape Sport Center at Langebaan in October 2003. I opened new stations at Witsands, Scarborough and Cape Point in January 2006.
How it all started
The Wind Report® (Version 1) was started in 1987 by Howard Stasin who manufactured Shaft Windsurfing Booms and accessories and Shaft moulded paddles. Today he is Shaft Mouldings, for all your plastic moulding requirements. He wanted a system to allow him to check the wind around the Peninsula and came across the WindTalker. With assistance from numerous parties he developed his own version with a robot sounding voice and opened stations at Blouberg, Muizenberg, PE (run by Brian Wilson of Suntrax) and 2 machines in Johannesburg. The system consisted of an answering machine connected to the wind measuring system and it used a mechanical voice to tell callers what the wind was doing.
Once I started waveski surfing I needed a superior paddle and met Howard. In 1990 I joined Howard because I needed to know how the wind was affecting the surf.
Howard developed Version 2 which at the time was state-of-the-art as it utilized natural recorded voice. This system was reinstalled at the new Blouberg Surf Lifesaving club, after the first redevelopment and landscaping at BigBay, in late '90. All components were custom manufactured.
False Bay Surf Lifesaving Club continues to this day to provide the venue for the Muizenberg Wind. The operating record for our own custom built anemometer is 8 years with no failure at FBSLC.
My next mission was to expand the network, and opened new stations at Imhoff Caravan Park in Kommetjie in late '91 and at the Hottentots Holland Beach Sailing Club in the Strand in early '92 - now home to one of the most active Kitesurfing clubs in the country.
Early in '92 Telkom started their trial 087 network and we seized the opportunity to generate some income for the invaluable service we provided. To interface with Telkom required us to locate our server near their premises and install a digital PABX switchboard. Telkom closed the 087 service at the end of '92 due to wholesale fraud leaving both partners with gaping holes in their pockets.
Howard left the partnership and I continued to fund the service. Eventually we upgraded the equipment to Version 3 using off-the-shelf anemometers and new digital voice and answering equipment developed by Greg Chin.
For the next 6 years the Wind Report remained a free service sponsored by my other ventures as I believed in the value of the service.
Please for more information.
Thank you
Numerous people have assisted over the years and deserve thanks. If your name has been omitted please let me know and I will include you.
- Peter Stride imported industrial telephone answering machines which formed the basis of the telephone side of the Wind Report V1 & V2 and still surfs regularly with me.
- Greg Chin wrote the software and designed and manufactured the electronics which powered Wind Report V3. Today he manufactures a range of coinop Jukeboxes.
- Peter Petersen, keen boardsailor and kitesurfer who started CapeAds, and has since sold to Junkmail, provided advertising support which continues today.
- Continental Tyres were active watersport sponsors and provided sponsorship for a period until their changing economic climate forced them to stop.
- Alan Kemp helped with the original website and the initial graphs.
- Today the whole SMS side is handled by contractors Nitric Industries - Ed van Kuik and Nicholas Spagnoletti - who keep the server side running and who are available to do programming for your PremiumSMS needs.
Save both your petrol and time
This website provides valuable weather information to help you decide where to go to enjoy your favourite Wind and Surf Sport.
KiteSurfing - KiteSailing - Kiting - Kites - Windsurfing - Boardsailing - Sailboarding - Keelboats - Dinghy - Kayaking - Surfskis - Surfing - Shortboards - Longboards - Bodyboards - Boogyboards - Parasailing - Paragliding - Jetskiing - Deep Sea Fishing - Angling - Rock & Surf - Tuna
Strictly NO unauthorised linking allowed