Wavehog, thanks for your input. If you get an anemometer, you'll have fun deflating your paddling mates' tall tales about paddling in "30-knot" winds, etc. Your experience with Barry and his anemometer is almost universal--people almost always are misinformed and overconfident about what wind strengths they believe they have paddled in or can paddle safely in. As Chairman Mao, The Great Helmsman, said, "Learn Truth From Facts!" An anemometer can supply those facts.