Wind Data: Live vs Forecast

• Live observations remain the preferred source. Windicator uses the Port of Tauranga/Potsum data whenever it is current and the station fields are usable.
• If the Potsum timestamp becomes more than 20 minutes old, all three wind stations switch to server-cached Open-Meteo forecast values.
• Windicator returns to Potsum live wind once the source timestamp is back to within 10 minutes of local time. The separate enter/recover thresholds prevent rapid source switching.
• A station can also fall back independently and immediately when its own live wind fields are unavailable. A 0/0 wind/gust pair is treated as a dead/no-data station condition and is replaced by forecast values without waiting for the 20-minute whole-feed timeout. Station-level forecast fallback retries automatically if a sleeping/background tab wakes before forecast data is ready.
• FORECAST means modelled wind. It should be used as planning/context data and should not be mistaken for a sensor reading at the station.
• A-Beacon has its own forecast location. Pilot Bay and Crane 6 share a forecast location because they resolve to the same practical forecast values at this scale.
• Forecast data is fetched and cached centrally by the Windicator server approximately once per hour, reducing external API calls and providing the same forecast snapshot to all users.

Wind Indicators

• Wind and gust speed are displayed in knots.
• Indicators cover A-Beacon, Pilot Bay/Tug Berth and Crane 6.
• Arrow/fletching styling changes with wind and gust strength to provide a visual intensity cue.
• Indicators use Windicator’s marine display convention: the pointer shows the direction the wind is travelling toward.
• When live, the attached card shows the station name and latest read time. Green/orange/red indicates increasing age.
• When forecast-driven, the attached card shows the station name plus FORECAST and the applicable hourly window.
• Status cards reposition around the gauge to stay clear of the wind vector; A-Beacon has an additional portrait-layout adjustment.

Wind History & Forecast

• Tap a live station to open recent wind history. The panel includes wind/gust, direction trends and a Current Forecast card for that location.
• Tap the Current Forecast card to open the full hourly forecast.
• Tap a station already running on FORECAST to open the full forecast directly.
• The full forecast shows T−2 through T+36, highlights NOW, uses date separators, and is vertically scrollable.
• Forecast wind/gust values use the same Windicator speed colours as live values to make changes easy to scan.
• In the five-day current view, Pilot Bay wind/gust uses the same colour scale. Direction arrows show the direction wind travels toward, while the compass bearing/cardinal text indicates the direction wind comes from.

Wave Gauge

• Wave data is sourced from A-Beacon/Potsum when available.
• Significant Wave Height (Sig): average height of the highest one-third of waves in the sampling period.
• Maximum Wave Height (Max): tallest individual wave observed during the sampling period.
• Mean Wave Period: average time between wave crests.
• Tap the Wave Gauge to view recent wave history.

Tide & Current

• The main tide/current widget combines harbour tide/current information with forecast tide timing.
• Current arrows show the direction water is flowing toward.
• Blue indicates incoming flow; yellow indicates outgoing flow.
• Tap the Tide/Current widget for recent history and the extended tide forecast.
• The harbour-entrance marker shows current speed in KNOTS and points along the current flow. Tap the marker or tide widget for tide/current history.
• Inside tide history, Next Peak Current is a model estimate, not a measured peak: it lists predicted speed, likely time, a timing window, estimated speed range and supporting historical analogues. Tap the card for five-day current and Pilot Bay wind detail.

Five-Day Current & Pilot Bay Wind Detail

• Open tide history and tap Next Peak Current. Select from two past days, today and two upcoming days; the panel initially selects today. Use the top-right ✕ to return to tide history.
• The current-peaks section shows available Windicator model predictions for the selected date. Missing model peak windows are marked unavailable and do not mean the water is slack.
• Historical days and elapsed hours use archived Pilot Bay/Tug Berth measurements. The daily summary reports average observed wind, average observed gust, valid-read count and how many hours have observations.
• Each hourly row shows the hour at left, ACT observations above FCST model wind/gust and direction, and the observed entrance current alongside. Wind and gust numbers use the standard Windicator speed colours. Current is cyan for incoming or amber for outgoing.
• Hourly observed values average available valid readings. The observed current is averaged using signed flow values, so the displayed direction represents the net average for that hour. Missing data appears as a dash; an empty hour is not assumed calm or slack.
• Wind forecasts are provided only for hours covered by the server-cached feed. The separate full wind-forecast panel currently shows T−2 through T+36; a future day in the five-day selector may therefore contain unavailable hours.
• Historical forecast accuracy is not yet available: the app does not have guaranteed original pre-event forecast snapshots for past hours. Any cached model value shown beside historical observations must not be taken as the forecast originally issued before the event. Future hourly entrance-current values are likewise not supplied by the peak-current model.

Sun & Moon

• The Astro widget shows today’s sunrise, sunset, moonrise and moonset times plus the current moon phase icon.
• Tap it to open the extended Sun & Moon calendar.

Status & Freshness

• The top bar shows current air temperature, water temperature and Tauranga local time.
• The lower-left ↻ pill shows the countdown to the next live-data check and can be tapped for a manual refresh.
• The lower-right source pill shows READ while current and STALE once the Potsum source is more than 10 minutes old. Its colour ages dynamically even if no new file arrives.
• Tap the lower-right source pill to open the underlying Port of Tauranga source image for verification.
• Station read-time cards age independently from the overall Potsum timestamp, so the displayed station freshness reflects its own latest wind-history read.

Fullscreen & Layout

• Fullscreen toggles immersive mode where supported.
• Windicator adapts to landscape, portrait and ultra-wide layouts.
• Windows: F11 can also toggle fullscreen. Mac: Control + Command + F.

Sources & Acknowledgments

• Live harbour/weather observations are derived from Port of Tauranga/Potsum source imagery and local station data.
• Wind forecast redundancy is powered by Open-Meteo.
• Tide data/forecast components use data from the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA).
• Sun/moon calculations use SunCalc and associated astronomical data/resources.

Design & Implementation

• by Rob Haskett FoilPilot.app. For feedback, suggestions or development inquiries, contact windicator.app@gmail.com.
• Thanks to the Tauranga foiling and wind-sports community for feedback and real-world testing.

Disclaimer

• Windicator is intended for recreational marine planning and situational awareness.
• Live data can be delayed, unavailable or incorrect because of sensor, image, OCR, communications or upstream-source failures.
• Forecast values are modelled estimates and can differ materially from actual local conditions.
• Zero, null, stale or unrealistic values should be treated with caution and independently verified.
• Always consider official marine/weather forecasts, warnings and the conditions you can actually observe before going on the water.

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