SwellMap celebrates 15 years and gets ready to relaunch
MetOcean Solutions is proud to announce that SwellMap, our free marine recreational forecast website, has provided high-resolution forecasts to users for 15 years. Launched in 2006, SwellMap was New Zealand's first marine forecast website dedicated to recreational users.
SwellMap provides a forecasted rating system that informs users of the conditions for their chosen activity. In the above image, surfing conditions of the New Zealand North Island are rated from 1-10. Source: Swellmap.co.nz
SwellMap emerged originally as a joint venture between MetOcean Solutions and Surf.co.nz (at the time New Zealand’s longest running surf reporting site) with forecast sites thrashed out between two Raglan based surfers; Keith Radman, one of the founders of "surf.co.nz" (and "Wavetrack" a 0900-surf forecast service pre websites) and Oceanographer, and then director of MetOcean, Dr Brett Beamsley. Brett recalls the two of them sitting down in the iconic "The Tongue and Groove café" (the café is now called, "The Shack") in Raglan to combine their collective knowledge of NZ surf spots. "Between the two of us, we pretty much covered all of NZ, but we made sure not to include secret or semi-secret sites we knew about; rather include sites that could be used to work out how pumping those sites might be," explains Brett. Joe Govier, a keen fisherman and MetOcean team member at the time (now a Marine Operator at Port Taranaki Ltd.), provided additional knowledge about NZ fishing spots. The idea was to offer high-quality forecasts to recreational users. Since its inception, it has attracted a large following of surfers, sailors, and other boaties, with over 2 million web impressions a month!
SwellMap started out as a pay-per-view site but was quickly turned into open-source marine information for New Zealand. The website remains New Zealand owned (now by MetService) and is likely the most extensive dedicated marine forecasting website in NZ Swellmap is not limited to New Zealand however, and includes locations such as Indonesia, many locations in Australia and the Pacific, part of Europe and America and other select areas such as the Persian Gulf, for which there are no other recreational marine forecasts.
The forecasts benefit from MetOcean Solutions' commercial services. The technologies developed for the commercial sector are used to create forecasts with customised high-resolution models rather than relying on global models like most other free recreational forecasts. “Many other products now require paid subscriptions or premiums for 7-day forecast information", explains lead developer for SwellMap, Wesley Warner. "Apart from our Ad-free App option, our data is free to everyone," adds Wesley.
Customised high-resolution models are used to create the recreational forecasts on Swellmap.co.nz.
Wesley Warner joined the MetOcean team in 2008 to build "WeatherMap," a terrestrial version of SwellMap. WeatherMap includes forecasts for activities like golfing and gardening and even has "hair-frizz factors", a surprisingly well-received addition. "It was exciting to work on such a unique greenfield project and add my own ideas," recalls Wesley. "Before MetOcean, I had quit my programming job in the UK and didn't think I would continue a career in IT. However, applying programming with interests, such as surfing, completely changed my outlook on a career in computers".
A new and improved version of SwellMap is set to be released in the next few months. "I am amazed by the new forecast maps and data capabilities that we can now integrate into the SwellMap website. I am really excited about the updated version of SwellMap," says Wesley. Users can expect a polished experience along with many new features such as forecasts for any location globally and improved graphics, animated forecast maps and ratings alongside other new features. However, the familiar forecast information and layout has been retained.
"We knew intrinsically we were onto a winner with SwellMap and WeatherMap but had no idea the site would still be around in the same form some 15 years later," says Brett. "This goes to show that the simplified elegance works, and people get what they want and expect from SwellMap. Even now, there is no close competition in NZ," adds Brett.