SailWindow V6 · Gulf Coast Edition

Overview

SailWindow is a single-page web app that runs entirely in your browser — no app store, no install. Each time you open it or tap Refresh Live Data, it fetches two live data sources:

• NWS (National Weather Service) — hourly wind speed, gust speed, wind direction, and precipitation probability for the next 24 hours, from api.weather.gov.
• NOAA Tides & Currents — hourly tide height predictions and high/low tide events for today at your chosen station, from api.tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov.

V6 covers the entire Gulf Coast with 35 verified NOAA stations spanning Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida. It runs those datasets through a scoring model calibrated to your preferences and presents everything on one clean screen.

Sailability Score

The large number at the top of the screen is today's Sailability Score — a single 0–10 rating that summarizes how good conditions are during the best available window.

The score is accompanied by a quality badge:

Beneath the score, a row of reason tags gives a plain-English summary: wind range, gust status, rain chance, storm risk, and wind direction during the window.

Best Sailing Window

SailWindow scans every daylight departure time (7 AM – 6 PM) in the next 24 hours of forecast that fits your Trip Duration preference, scores each block, and surfaces the best one. The departure and return times shown are the start and end of that block — if you check in the evening, the best window may fall tomorrow morning.

The window is also highlighted as a green shaded band on both the Wind and Tide charts so you can see at a glance how conditions look across the day.

Conditions Panel

Below the score card, four tiles show the key metrics measured during the best window:

Wind Forecast Chart

The first chart shows 24 hours of hourly wind data starting from the current hour:

• Teal line (Sustained) — steady wind speed in knots.
• Amber dashed line (Gusts) — peak gust speed in knots.
• Green shaded band — the best sailing window.

Tap anywhere on the chart to see the exact sustained and gust values for that hour. The note below the chart states the window start and end times.

Tide Charts & Table

Tide Prediction Curve

The second chart shows the full-day tide height curve in feet above MLLW (Mean Lower Low Water), with the best window shaded in green. Tap to read the exact tide height at any hour.

Tide Events Table

Below the chart, a table lists each high and low tide event for the day with its local time and height in feet. High tides appear in teal; low tides appear in muted grey.

All times are displayed in local time as reported by NOAA.

7-Day Forecast

Tap 7-Day in the bottom navigation to open the full-screen 7-day outlook. Each day card shows:

• Day sailability score (0–10) with quality badge
• Best departure and return window for that day
• Wind range and peak gust
• Precipitation probability
• Dominant wind direction

The 7-day view uses the same scoring engine and preferences as the Today view, so a day that scores green here will score green on the main screen when that day arrives.

Sailing Preferences

Tap the ⚙ gear icon or the preferences row at the bottom of the dashboard to open the Preferences modal. You can set:

• Location / Marina — choose from 32 Gulf Coast preset stations, a custom GPS location, or "Current Location" to use your device's GPS. Stations are grouped by state in the dropdown.
• Wind Min / Max (kt) — your ideal sustained wind range. Hours inside this band are rewarded; hours outside are penalized.
• Max Gust (kt) — any hour with gusts above this value is scored 0 (automatic no-go).
• Duration (hrs) — how long your sail will be (1–12 hrs in half-hour steps). Determines the width of the window the app searches for.
• Tide Preference — Any, Incoming (flood), or Outgoing (ebb).

Tap Save & Refresh to apply the changes and immediately reload live data.

Changing Location

The location bar at the top shows your active marina and NOAA station. Tap Change to open the quick-chooser:

All 35 Gulf Coast Stations

Marina Map View

Tap the Marina tab in the bottom navigation to open the full-screen Marina view.

On Mobile (phones)

The view opens in full-screen list mode. A map/list toggle button (🗺) appears in the top-right of the header. Tap it to switch between the marina list and the full-screen map. Tapping Focus Map on any marina card automatically switches to the map and centers on that marina.

On Tablet / Desktop

The view shows a side-by-side split: marina list on the left, live map on the right.

Marina List

• Shows all 35 built-in stations plus nearby marinas pulled live from OpenStreetMap within a 30-mile radius, sorted by distance.
• Every card has an ⛽🍴 Ashore button — fuel and food within walking distance (see below).
• Use the search bar to filter by marina name or region.
• Each card shows name, star rating, distance, address (tappable → Google Maps), phone (tappable → dials), and operating hours.
• Cards with a ⚠ Advisory badge indicate facilities with hurricane damage or construction — see the Navigation Advisory section.
• Tap Set Active to make a marina the active location and reload weather/tide data for it.
• Tap Focus Map to pan the map to that marina.

Map Panel

• An interactive map (OpenStreetMap) shows all marinas as pins that cluster at lower zoom levels.
• Tap a pin to see a pop-up with address, phone, hours, and a "Set Active" button.
• Use the GPS icon in the top bar to snap your current position onto the map.

Fuel & Food Ashore

Every marina card has an ⛽🍴 Ashore button. Tap it and the card expands with what's within walking distance of that dock:

• Fuel first — a marine fuel dock if one is mapped, the marina's own fuel listing, or the nearest road gas station as an honest fallback. If nothing is mapped, the app says so plainly: call ahead.
• Eat ashore — the five nearest restaurants, bars, and cafés within about ¾ mile, with cuisine and distance. Many boats don't have a galley; this is for crews who tie up hungry.

Featured Partner Listings

Some Ashore panels include a ★ featured listing from a local dock-and-dine partner with an offer for SailWindow crews. Real partner offers say exactly how to redeem (show the screen or say the code word). Listings marked "Example listing" show how the spot works — that space is open.

Drawbridges Nearby

A collapsible 🌉 Drawbridges nearby panel sits above the marina list, showing every drawbridge within 60 miles of your active location, nearest first. Each entry gives:

• The bridge name, waterway, and Gulf ICW mile marker.
• Its opening schedule in plain English — e.g. "Daily 6a–7p: at :15 & :45 only."
• The VHF hail channel (Florida bridges monitor channel 09) and the federal regulation citation.

If your stretch has no drawbridges — like the entire Panhandle GIWW — the panel says that too, so you can stop wondering.

Navigation Advisory

A collapsible Navigation Advisory banner appears at the top of the Marina list. It covers facilities that are technically listed as "open" but have suspended transient docking, fueling, or shore power due to hurricane damage or ongoing reconstruction.

Tap the banner to expand the full advisory. It is organized by storm event:

• Panhandle — Hurricane Michael: Panama City Downtown Marina remains non-operational; Tyndall AFB Marina has been fully rebuilt; Mexico Beach Marina is fully open.
• West Coast & Tampa Bay — Helene & Milton: Clearwater Beach Marina, Dunedin Marina, and Safety Harbor Marina & Pier are under reconstruction through 2026.
• Southwest Florida — Hurricane Ian: Fort Myers/Fort Myers Beach — large corporate-backed marinas have rebuilt; smaller operators may still be limited. Call ahead.

Marina cards for affected facilities display an ⚠ Advisory pill badge and show current status in the hours field.

Custom Location

For marinas not in the built-in list, open Sailing Preferences → Location → Custom GPS / NOAA Station.

• Custom Marina Name — a display label, e.g. "Clearwater Marina."
• Latitude & Longitude — decimal degrees (e.g. 27.9759, -82.8001). Passed to NWS to fetch the wind forecast grid for that exact location.
• NOAA Station ID — a 7-digit number from tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/map. Used to fetch hourly tide predictions.
• Tap Use Current GPS inside the modal to fill in latitude and longitude automatically from your device.

Feedback Tab

Tap Feedback in the bottom navigation (the speech bubble icon) to open the feedback form. You can report:

Select a category, fill in the marina name and details, and tap Send Report →. Your email app opens with the report pre-filled and addressed to the SailWindow team. An optional email field lets us follow up if we need to verify the report.

Subscription & Free Trial

7-Day Free Trial

When you first open SailWindow, a 7-day free trial begins automatically — no credit card required. A countdown banner at the top of the screen shows how many days remain. You have full access to all 32 Gulf Coast stations during the trial.

Free Tier (after trial)

After the trial ends, SailWindow remains free with access to 5 Tampa Bay & Pensacola stations:

• Tampa — Hooker Point
• Tampa — Egmont Key
• Tampa — Gandy Bridge
• Pensacola
• Pensacola Beach Pier

Locked stations are marked with 🔒 in the location dropdown and on marina cards. The 7-Day forecast, Custom Location, and GPS location also require an active trial or subscription.

Paid Subscription

A subscription unlocks all 32 Gulf Coast stations plus every future coast expansion (East Coast, West Coast). Plans are $5.99/month or $49/year (save 32%). Tap Upgrade → in the trial banner or select a plan in the subscribe screen — checkout opens in a new tab via Stripe. When your payment is complete, return to SailWindow and tap I've paid — Activate ✓ to unlock everything.

Scoring Algorithm

Each hourly period is scored on a 0–10 scale, then the best consecutive block matching your trip duration is selected.

Hard disqualifiers — score becomes 0

• Wind below 4 kt or above 26 kt
• Gusts above your Max Gust preference
• Precipitation probability ≥ 70%
• Forecast text contains "thunder," "severe," or "tropical"

Scoring deductions (starting from 10)

Window selection

For each candidate departure time, the app averages hourly scores across the full duration and also considers the minimum score in that block (70/30 weighted blend). This guards against windows that look good on average but contain one dangerously bad hour.

Tips & Troubleshooting

Data won't load

• Check your internet connection — the app requires live access to NWS and NOAA APIs.
• NWS occasionally returns HTTP 500 errors. Wait a few minutes and tap Refresh Live Data.
• If a banner warning appears, the app continues showing the last successfully loaded data until you refresh.
• Weak signal at the dock? If a load drags or fails, a 📶 banner suggests the fix most boaters already have aboard: marina Wi-Fi or your boat's Starlink. When the connection returns, the app refreshes itself automatically.

GPS location not working

• Your browser must have location permissions granted. Check your browser or phone settings and allow location access, then try again.
• GPS auto-selects the nearest of the 35 built-in NOAA stations — coverage spans the full Gulf Coast from Brownsville, TX to Key West, FL.

Score seems unexpectedly low

• Check your Wind Range in preferences — a very narrow range (e.g. 12–14 kt) will score most days poorly.
• A "No-Go" on gusts overrides everything. If today is gusty, no window will score above 0.
• Verify you have the correct location — tide and weather data are highly location-specific.

Refreshing data

Tap the ↻ Refresh button at the bottom of the main screen, or the circular arrow icon in the top bar. NWS updates its hourly forecast grids roughly every hour. Weather data is always fetched live; marina map data is cached for 24 hours.

Dark / Light mode

Tap the moon/sun icon in the top-right corner to toggle between dark and light themes. Your preference is saved automatically. Note: the Navigation Advisory uses high-contrast colors in both modes for legibility in bright sunlight.

Navigation tabs

• Today — the main dashboard with live score, best window, and charts.
• 7-Day — ECMWF-powered 7-day sailability outlook.
• Marina — full-screen marina list and interactive map.
• Feedback — report marina status changes, corrections, or app feedback.