Hey Micah, Does your website store surf report data once the current date has passed? Or is all of that data lost with each passing day? I am trying to look up some actual wave reports from years past at a few places and thought that checking previous "daily reports" would be the most accurate way to log some data... Let me know, I would love to sift through some previous years data to check out certain swell angles and see how different places responded to those particular swells... Any info would be appreciated.
big wednesday's? i would love to see all that info in some sort of a graph, to see how often good waves land on a specific day.
good thread.. i have thought of the same for some time. A "sort by date" would make a great graph <- ->.
Swellinfo: Maybe you can add a function at the end of your script that dumps live variable information into a data text file or something, so when the variables clear out for the new day, the data just appendsto the file from multiple sources. I dont know what you program your reports with, but thats what I am thinking. Good luck.
There is another website that provides the ability to log your sessions. When you enter the dates and times surfed for a specific break it will chart the wind and swell direction, height and period of the wave. You rate each session with 1 to 5 stars. Over time you start to notice a trend with a specific swell direction and period. Those numbers become pretty valuable when most surf reports miss a swell and you know, based on your personal data that it will be a surf day. Of course you have to keep up with the session log to get the best results.
where do they get the data from? If, for example, that website relates every break to data from the nearest NOAA buoy, then its pretty much worthless for New Jersey. I mean most of New Jersey is more than 50 miles from the nearest NOAA buoy.
Yeah, I am interested in actual recorded "reports". Not buoy data or anything like that. Not forecasting models... The actual text or graphical depiction of the reported surf each day. I believe on surfline, if you pay for the account, you can use the LOLA system and it records every day of surf. At least it used to. Just wondering if that data is available free of charge anywhere. That is really the only worth while part of their paid account. I get free reports for every spot on there, so im not sure why anyone pays them anymore.
I have no affiliation with this site and hope not to cause problems by posting this link. I have not studied their methods of developing their report and use this site as one of four that I compare for forecasts. http://swellwatch.wetsand.com/login/?ReturnUrl=/your/surf-log/Default.aspx You will have to register to use the "session log".
Yeah, wetsand has come a long way over the years. They have a pretty good thing going. The coolest thing that they have done recently I think is the "3D" swell model. Right in front of my restaurant, the angle of the coast bends completely and faces north, so during certain swells, I can pull up their 3D model, and it shows a view from the beach, and you can see all the nooks and crannies that the swell will hit or miss. Its a pretty cool visual tool. They kinda went space aged though. I ran my mouse over their swell data and it looked like freaking binary code or something that belongs in a NASA space ship..... But anyway, as far as the swell logs, that is cool, but it only allows you to analize your own data. It would be really cool if they would post EVERYONE's data that they want to make public and allow filtering and access to it.....
Zach, I hear where you are coming from on that. On a selfish note however, since I have been willing to keep my log up, I have enjoyed some great waves that everyone else was not aware of. Kind of the "fruits of my labor" perspective. When I was a mate on a boat, that little notebook that the captain always had in his pocket that was full of "numbers" was worth more than gold, shared with few to none. He knew where, when, what tide and water temp requirements for catching fish. This is how I kind of view my "numbers". If they were available to all, they benefit without the work. Sounds kind of like an Obama plan, don't let him get involved with this thread!
I totally agree..... there are already enough people in the water on the forecasted swells. And, the water seems a 100 times more crowded now than it ever has (atleast in the last 15yrs since I have been surfing). LET'S KEEP SOME OF THESE SNEAKER SWELLS TO OURSELVES. If you can figure out when a lil' bit of bump is coming through one day, for just an hour or so, given the right tide and wind, and you get on it without a herd of people in the water..... more power to you. Soak it in and enjoy it!
