Wind arrow
The arrow points in the same direction as the mapped wind overlay. Direction color follows the selected location's wind-sector safety result.
User Manual
WindSage app manual
A detailed screen-by-screen guide to WindSage: what each panel means, how the buttons work, how recommendations are produced, and how premium forecast tools help you choose the best time to kite.
WindSage is a planning aid. It organizes wind, tide, forecast, and Kite Chart signals, but it does not replace local judgment, official marine weather, launch rules, rescue availability, or your own limits.
Manual contents
Main View
Main riding dashboard
The main screen is the free dashboard. It is designed to answer the first question quickly: is this spot worth a closer look right now? The screen combines the selected location, live map context, Ride Conditions, Tide, Historical Wind, Future Forecast previews, and data-source context.
Top controls
- Location button opens the location picker. Use it to switch between spots, regions, and countries.
- Forecast button opens the deeper forecast workspace when available.
- More button opens supporting actions, including settings and related tools.
- Information icon explains the current screen or card. These explanations are written for the exact panel you are viewing.
Map Overlay
Reading the live map panel
The map gives location context before you read the cards below it. It shows the selected launch, the current wind arrow direction, live wind speed, gust, direction, air temperature, water temperature where available, sunrise, sunset, and observation time.
Wind and gust
The large wind value is the primary live reading. Gust is shown beside direction so you can see whether the wind is steady or spiking.
Air and water
Air temperature and water temperature are separated because launch comfort and water exposure are different decisions.
Map modes
STD and SAT let you compare a standard map with satellite context. Satellite is useful for reading shorelines, channels, and launch access.
Ride Conditions
Direction, session, kite size, and final advice
Ride Conditions is the fastest way to understand the session. It combines current wind, near-term forecast direction, the spot's configured wind sectors, and your Kite Chart.
What the three columns mean
- Wind Direction shows the compass direction and degrees. The status can be Best Direction, Good Direction, Side Shore, or Offshore.
- Session compares wind strength against your saved wind bands and returns states such as Not Enough Wind, Light Wind Session, Preferred Session, Power Session, Wind Above Your Limit, or Offshore.
- Kite Size uses the centralized kite recommendation engine. Offshore, above-limit, or too-light wind can return No Recommendation.
- Recommendation panel is safety-prioritized. An appropriate kite size never overrides an unsafe direction or wind above your configured limit.
Color logic
- Teal / green
- Good or Best direction with usable wind.
- Amber / yellow
- Side Shore or caution state.
- Yellow to green
- Side Shore now, improving toward Good or Best.
- Yellow to red
- Side Shore now, trending toward Offshore.
- Red
- Offshore or wind above your configured maximum.
Tide
Tide graph, current marker, and historical context
Tide is treated as a first-class riding condition. The graph shows the current tide curve, the next and previous tide events, whether the tide is increasing or decreasing, and how the upcoming tide compares with historical median high and low values.
How to use it
- Next Tide is placed first because it tells you what the water is moving toward.
- Previous Tide explains the cycle you are leaving.
- Now marker shows the current tide height on the curve and is intentionally distinct from high/low markers.
- Historical Median Low / High helps identify special tides. If the current high or low is far from the median, launches, sandbars, currents, or hazards may behave differently than usual.
Historical Wind / Future Forecast
One timeline for what happened and what comes next
This card combines observed wind history and future model forecast into one continuous module. The chart is built around a shared time grid so wind, gust, direction, tide, wave, temperature, precipitation, rain, and forecast cards align to the same forecast period.
Key behaviors
- Historical Wind shows the observed past.
- Future Forecast shows upcoming model guidance.
- Right-side axis keeps mph visible while time labels pass under it.
- Selected forecast card highlights the focused forecast period without adding extra text clutter.
- Premium banner connects the free timeline to deeper subscriber forecast tools.
Best Kiting Calendar
Scan days and hours without reading every model row
The best-kiting calendar is designed to condense complex forecast data into planning windows. Instead of manually reading every hour, use it to see which days and time blocks line up with your preferred wind bands, spot direction sectors, kite recommendation, tide context, and forecast confidence.
Best time to kite
Look for windows where direction, wind strength, and rider settings align.
Preferred range
Your saved preferred wind band influences which windows are highlighted.
Direction sectors
A good speed is not enough. Offshore direction remains unsafe even if the wind strength looks rideable.
Planning use
Use the calendar to choose when to inspect maps, set alerts, or decide whether a drive is worth it.
Notifications
What WindSage can notify you about
Notifications are optional. They are meant to help you notice a ride window, not to replace active weather monitoring. Availability may depend on subscription status, location coverage, and your settings.
Ride-window alerts
Notify when a location enters a usable window based on your preferred wind range and the spot's direction sectors.
Wind threshold alerts
Notify when sustained wind rises into or falls out of selected bands such as Light, Medium, High, Preferred, or Unsafe.
Forecast trend alerts
Notify when a future period improves, fades, turns gusty, or begins moving toward a safer or less safe direction.
Best kiting calendar reminders
Use forecast windows to remind you before the best part of the day or week arrives.
Tide timing
Notify around important high or low tide events when tide can change access, water depth, current, or hazards.
Safety-related notices
Where supported, alert for above-limit wind, offshore shifts, stale data, storms, or unavailable source conditions.
Settings
Personal setup and app behavior
Settings turn WindSage from a generic weather app into a rider-specific planning tool. Your saved setup affects kite recommendations, session labels, preferred windows, calendar highlighting, and notification targeting.
Kite Setup
Calibration kite size, minimum rideable wind, and overpowered wind generate one Kite Chart used by every recommendation screen.
Preferred wind bands
Light, Medium, High, Preferred, and Unsafe bands give the app language for session strength and alert thresholds.
Expert Mode
Experienced riders can define kite-specific wind ranges. When Expert Mode is enabled, those manual ranges override the default kite equation.
Units
Choose how wind, temperature, and distances are shown. Internally, calculations normalize units before recommendations are produced.
Location visibility
Hide countries, regions, subregions, or spots you do not use so the app stays focused.
Notification preferences
Control which alerts are enabled, which locations they apply to, and how aggressive the reminders should be.
Kite Spots
Locations, sectors, favorites, and visibility
Each kite spot has its own map position, launch context, forecast connector, observation connector, tide source, and wind-sector setup. This matters because a direction that is Best at one beach can be Offshore at another beach nearby.
- Favorites keep important launches easy to reach and can be used for alert targeting.
- Default location controls which spot opens first.
- Visibility controls let you hide locations, regions, or countries you do not want to browse.
- Sector classifications use Best, Good, Side Shore, and Offshore terminology everywhere in the app.
Data Sources
Freshness, models, and attribution
Data-source cards explain where WindSage data came from. They can include model names, observation stations, tide sources, connector metadata, freshness status, and legal attribution where required.
If a source is stale, unavailable, or not currently connected, treat that as part of the forecast picture. WindSage should surface uncertainty rather than pretending missing data is reliable.
Feedback
Help improve the app and location data
Feedback tools are for condition reports, bug reports, recommendation issues, location requests, and source problems. Useful feedback includes the spot, time, displayed wind, what you expected, and what happened at the launch.
Condition feedback
Tell WindSage when live or forecast readings do not match the beach.
Kite recommendation feedback
Report when a kite size or session label does not match your real setup.
Location requests
Request new kite spots, better launch metadata, or sector corrections.
Support
Use support when something is broken, missing, or unclear.
Safety
Use WindSage as a planning tool, not permission to launch.
WindSage does not certify rescue conditions, storm safety, water quality, submerged hazards, launch legality, equipment condition, or rider ability. Verify official marine weather, local rules, and real launch conditions before riding.