Like Steve, I have had found the Davis Turbo Meter to be extremely accurate and I have had mine for 20 years, having purchased it right after they became available. I took it to Australia when we competed in the Tasar Worlds in Sydney in 1984 and shocked an Australian Naval officer when he was showing his off to a group of people while bragging how the navy had the latest equipment not available to the public. Then I pulled mine out of my pocket and held it up next to his and watched his amazed face. It was great and it convinced the Aussies that anything was readily available in the U.S.! The only problem with the instrument has always been its sensitivity to the battery contacts corroding. It must be kept dry and stored without batteries inside even for short periods and it is a battery hog since it uses LEDs instead of the current LCD technology. But it is very accurate. Maybe new ones are better; For current info see here:
http://www.weathershop.com/davis_turbometer.htm For taking an accurate instrument on the water without concern, my favorite is the Speedtech Skymate model. For a view of it and more info, see:
http://www.speedtech.com/asp/prodtype.asp?prodtype=38My model has temp and wind chill built in and is the second unit I have owned. The first one had a slide off cover but the new version is better as the cover pivots off and acts as a handle instead of jangling around in the breeze. It is nearly as accurate as the Davis but much, much more robust and is waterproof. It is well worth the cost if you want an accurate, reliable wind instrument. The impeller unit can even be replaced if necessary just by popping the bad one out and the new one in. The company is very good for customer service also which is why I purchased the newer model. I think they just keep adding features - they have been at the Chicago Strictly Sail boat show for many years up until this year which is how I became so familiar with the products and the company.
We also purchased a very cool looking, James Bond - like wind speed indicator, temp and wind chill gauge, chronogragh and timer, and barometer on a wrist watch - like instrument from the company but it is not as accurate and we have ended up using it very little; for more info, see here:
http://www.speedtech.com/asp/prodtype.asp?prodtype=6 Mike
