~/apps/surfer/support

Surfer Support

Wind, weather and forecasts for windsurfers and surfers. Pick your spots, set the wind you love, and see at a glance where it's on.

What Surfer does

• Wind for any spot: speed, gusts and direction right now, the next 48 hours and the coming days, for any beach you tap on the map or search for.
• Your wind range: choose the wind speeds you enjoy; wind in your range is green everywhere in the app.
• "It's on!": see at a glance which of your favourites has good wind right now, and when the next good stretch is coming.
• Spot profiles: Surfer suggests which way the beach faces, so it can tell onshore, cross-shore and offshore wind apart and warn you about offshore wind. Add the wind directions that work, the type of water and your own notes.
• Wind alerts: a heads-up from the forecast, a message when the wind turns good, or both.
• Widgets for the home screen and lock screen.
• Session log: log your sessions with gear and notes; the wind is filled in for you.
• iCloud sync: your spots and sessions on all your devices.

Getting started

1. Open Surfer and tap Open map. Search for your beach, or tap the sea where you ride.
2. Tap the star to save it as a favourite. Surfer suggests which way the beach faces; you can adjust it under Edit on the spot's page.
3. Open Settings (the gear) and set My wind range and your wind unit.
4. Tap the bell on a favourite's page to get wind alerts.
5. Add a widget: touch and hold your home screen or lock screen, tap Edit, then Add Widget, and search for Surfer.

The ? button on the home screen explains every feature in the app.

Questions

What does "It's on!" mean?

A spot is on when the wind is inside your wind range (Settings) and comes from one of the spot's good directions (its spot profile). Without a spot profile, any direction counts.

Where does the weather come from?

From Apple Weather. Forecasts are models, especially close to the coast, so always check the conditions on site. Surfer is not a safety or navigation tool.

The beach direction is wrong.

Surfer guesses it from the map, and headlands, bays and islands can fool it. Open the spot's page, tap Edit and adjust the slider, or tap "Detect from map" to try again.

I didn't get a wind alert.

• Check that notifications are on: Settings > Notifications > Surfer.
• "In advance" alerts need at least two good hours in a row in the forecast. They arrive at 08:00 on the day, or at 19:00 the evening before if the good wind starts early.
• "When it's on" alerts depend on iOS letting Surfer check in the background, which happens a few times a day; they can arrive a little late. Background App Refresh must be on: Settings > General > Background App Refresh.
• Focus modes and Do Not Disturb can hold back notifications.

The widget says "Couldn't load the wind".

The widget fetches the weather by itself every couple of hours. Check your internet connection and open the app once; the widget then refreshes.

My spots and sessions aren't on my other device.

Both devices need to be signed in to iCloud with the same Apple Account, with iCloud turned on for Surfer. Settings in the app shows whether iCloud is on. The first sync can take a few minutes.

Do you collect my data?

No. Your spots and sessions stay on your device and in your own private iCloud. See the privacy policy for details.