In development across Apple devices and the web
Where everything windsurfing comes together.
Surf Buddy is a windsurfing platform built around an app. It brings powerful tools, knowledge and community together while connecting riders, coaches, event organizers and other people shaping the sport.
Windsurfing is full of small and big challenges: choosing the right gear, trimming your setup, preparing for the conditions, understanding a spot, tracking sessions and turning progress into something visible. We wanted one place that helps with those moments, keeps track of your windsurfing journey and makes improvement easier to understand, all while keeping the fun of being on the water at the center.
Surf Buddy is built around the app, but it is more than an app. Many features, including community-driven spot guides, are or will also be available on the web. A dedicated Coaching Hub will help riders discover coaches, clinics and coaching events, while leaderboards and other community features bring windsurfers together to connect, share experiences and learn from one another.
A first look inside
A glimpse of what Surf Buddy will offer.
On your iPhone. And on your wrist.
Scroll horizontally or use the left and right arrow keys to explore all eight screens. Use Home for the first screen and End for the last.
01 At a glance
This is where you start, with what matters to you right now always close at hand. Access your favourite tools, explore nearby spots, revisit your latest sessions, celebrate your achievements and more.
02 Session map
Follow your GPS track across the bay and see how the session unfolded. The map brings your route, wind and performance together.
03 Session details
Keep the numbers and the memories together. A session becomes a personal record of where you went, how it felt and what made it special.
04 Speed analysis and more
That powered-up reach. The gybe where you kept your speed. Take a closer look at the moments that made your session. Speed is just one of many session metrics you can explore in detail.
05 Gear calculator
Turn the wind forecast into a starting point for your setup. The gear calculator connects suggested sizes with equipment in your own collection.
06 Trim helper
The wind has dropped. Less downhaul? A higher boom? If you’ve ever wondered how to trim your rig again, the Trim Helper puts the answers at your fingertips.
07 Spot guide
Get a feel for a spot before your first reach. Conditions, equipment suggestions, community results and your own sessions meet on one page.
08 Leaderboards
There is more than one way to have a memorable day. Explore community results across speed, planing time, distance, duration, energy and session count.
Surf Buddy for Apple Watch
Surf Buddy will work with many GPS devices, and even without one. We believe Apple Watch offers the best experience, so we’ve built a dedicated app for it. Here’s what you’ll see during a session on the water.
01 / Speed
Your current speed takes centre stage, with your average and top speed just below. The middle bar benchmarks your speed against others at the same spot, your fastest session, or even the fastest man and woman in windsurfing: Antoine Albeau and Jenna Gibson.
Preview unavailable. Open the video.
The video cycles through speed, heart rate and energy, turns, distance and legs, and wind conditions. Speed shows current, average and top speed. Energy shows heart rate, a heart-rate graph, average heart rate and calories. Turns shows gybe and tack counts. Distance shows total distance, leg count, average leg distance and the longest leg. Wind shows speed, direction and the forecast. The video then quickly rewinds and repeats.
At the heart of Surf Buddy
Surf Buddy brings together two things: tools that help you get more from every session, and a community that shares what it knows. Your own progress and everyone’s experience, connected.
Surf Buddy brings practical tools for before, during and after a session into one simple place. Track your time on the water, choose and trim your gear, prepare for the conditions, learn new skills and understand every session in detail. It also becomes a journal of your time on the water, helping you look back on what you did, recognize what you accomplished and follow your windsurfing journey over time.
Community
Surf Buddy is being built as a shared place for windsurfers, coaches and event organizers. It will make it easier to connect, learn from local knowledge and discover what is happening nearby, from sessions and coaching at your local spot to events worth following around the world.
See how a day is unfolding at a spot, explore longer-term and global rankings and compare a growing range of session and progression metrics.
Follow the events you care about and get an in-app alert when a World Cup livestream, competition or other important moment is about to begin.
Spot pages will show upcoming clinics, coaching sessions and learning events that coaches can submit directly, making the next opportunity easier to discover.
Public profiles, achievements, selected session highlights and spot information contributed by local riders help people connect, celebrate progress and pass useful knowledge on.
Here is a selection of the small and big features we are currently building for Surf Buddy.
Record with Apple Watch, import via HealthKit or bring in GPS files from Garmin, COROS and other GPS watches for windsurfing, windfoiling and other water sports.
Review top speed, legs, weather, turn quality, lost speed through gybes, personal records and long-term progress trends, and remember important details with the built-in session journal.
Follow a built-in digital fitness program designed for windsurfers, with focused warmups, simple routines and mental preparation before sessions.
Use a windspeed-based gear calculator for windsurfing disciplines, plus board, sail, fin and foil management.
Use the built-in interactive trim helper for downhaul, outhaul and setup choices, so you know what to adjust when the wind drops or picks up.
Use checklist presets and custom lists for your spots and gear, so the mast base does not get forgotten again on the way to the water.
Explore community-driven spot guides curated by locals, with descriptions, wind forecasts, wind stations, webcams, upcoming events and map-based spot details.
Leaderboards make progress visible across different metrics, from the fastest riders at a spot today to gybe performance and other friendly challenges. Earn achievements along the way for session milestones, spots and personal progress.
Think boldly: what could Surf Buddy do to make your windsurfing easier, more rewarding or simply more fun? Share even your wildest feature ideas. Whether you are a beginner or a professional rider, we are curious, open and motivated to turn great ideas into something the community can use.
A place to start: Think about something you do often that takes too much time or feels unnecessarily complicated. What could Surf Buddy make easier?
Share your ideaSurf Buddy is currently in active development. This roadmap shows the major steps from the first working prototypes to the public 1.0 release.
First tracking prototype with GPS and Apple Watch support.
Broader prototype used to test analysis, gear, spots and workflow ideas.
Complete the first stable, internally tested version with all important features planned for Surf Buddy 1.0.
Invite beta testers to join, fix bugs and refine the experience before release. If you’d like to join the beta, click here.
Launch Surf Buddy publicly once the app and connected web experience are ready for everyday use.
Community shaped
Surf Buddy is being developed by Daniel Witt, an independent software developer and windsurfer. Experienced riders, professionals and people from the community also help with certain aspects of Surf Buddy, and the platform will make it possible for the wider community to contribute useful windsurfing knowledge. Dedicated social media channels for Surf Buddy are coming soon. In the meantime, sign up for the Surf Buddy newsletter or follow Daniel on Instagram to stay informed and follow the app’s progress.
