Paddler, Waterman, Waterwoman, Surfer, whatever you like to call yourself, we tend to spend a lot of time on the water, near the water, or thinking, planning and scheming to be on the water. If Tides and wind direction are important to you, then you have probably found yourself wearing a tide watch, sailing watch, etc. that includes them. BUT, what if you value GPS information also? I’ve resorted to wearing 2 watches in the past! Want speed and distance too? We’ll your almost out of luck. It is extremely difficult if not impossible to find one watch that includes Tide/Wind/Speed/GPS information. And if you do, displaying the info in a simple formate will be less than ideal. Enter the Apple watch.
I do not pick up every new piece of technology. I have been exposed to it my whole life, starting computer programing in the 1980’s. But tech can easily be more detrimental to daily life than beneficial. Do you find yourself looking at your phone when you hear a ding? Every grabbed your phone due to a vibration to find out it wasn’t even vibrating? Social media can easily occupy too much time, put stress on real relationships, or just creep into your life too much.
For me, I want current Time, Date, Wind direction, Next low tide, and Swell size easily accessible at all times. It allow me to squeeze in a surf or paddle when I can. It keeps me abreast of the ever changing conditions around the island that I live on or far flung waterway. If you live near or far from the water, I suspect you would enjoy the same. In using what Apple calls “complications”, yeah not the best choice of words, you can customize your watch face or supplement it with beta from other apps installed.
For Tide, wind, and swell, I use CRNT and Tides. You have to carefully check any tide app and listed station that you use, I have found grossly incorrect info for my area on CRNT. Tides gives me my central, foundational info of rising or falling, next tide time, and height. I use CRNT for swell size. Ebb tide is another app that can display tides on your watch face also.
I also want my current speed displayed when I paddle for fitness. And my average/max speeds and distance/time to review when I am done. I use Paddle logger or Watersports tracker for this info.
I run too, and I find the built in Apple Workout app for this. It has plenty of info and after a run, you can view the extended info on your phone. A huge added bonus and main driver for me to explore the Apple Watch is…..streaming audio to my AirPods from my Apple Watch. No more running with my phone. I am always looking for ways to minimize the use of my phone in my life and this is a big development!
Sure, there are many other apps available. More complicated ones, etc. But, I find, having just a handful, that I actually use is best. I become more familiar with them also. It makes it easier to find the app, start my workout and get it done. I keep the above critical info on my watch face. Then I only go to my apps menu to start a paddle or run.
And here is the last bit of info. Learn how to turn off all the notifications from your Apple Watch that you do not need. Mine does NOT ring, beep, or even notify me of messages. I have removed all extra apps that I can. I have turned off any integrations that I can. The end result, I get the info I want & keep my freedom.