Thespot2be is the interactive spot guide for your windsurfing, kitesurfing, wingsurfing and surfing community.
Thespot2be is a collaborative site, made by windsurfing, kitesurfing, wingsurfing and surfing riders for riders. Discover new spots, take advantage of personalized spot recommendations, check the weather forecast, chat with the community and share your sessions.
The first and most complete application of the Garmin store for surfing (sea and river) and paddle surfing, currently available in 4 languages (English, French, Spanish, Italian).
Seven screens are available:
- screen 1: main screen (current speed, the number of left and right surfs made since the beginning of the session, the elapsed distance, the temperature, the time in stop / pause mode, or the chrono in running mode, and the indicator GPS signal quality (green = good, orange = medium, red = poor or nonexistent), and your current HR with colored HR zones
- screen 2: screen of the current session (accelerometer, heart rate with colored HR zones, the last three data of the last surf realized, in white (time - distance - speed), and the three data of the best surf realized during the session, in orange (time - distance - speed)
- screen 3 (only for high memory devices): uses the same data as the second screen, but in graphical form, with the addition of the time (in 12/24 hour format) and the current speed (see the descriptive image below for more explanations)
- screen 4 (only for high memory devices): "Ideal Spot" geolocation screen. This screen allows you to record your GPS position on the water at any time, and return to it using a heading and distance indication (see explanations below)
- screen 5: mapping screen (compatible models) with the track of your session and the visualisation of the "Perfect Spot" -> please see below for more explanations
- screen 6: screen of the best surf realized with, the best time, the longest distance traveled, and the best time, compared to the best surf over all the sessions
- statistical screen: the total number of surfing, the total distance, the surfing and swimming times, all sessions combined, in value and represented on a ratio gauge (surf time in purple and swimming time in pink)
- end session screen: displays a summary of the main data obtained during the session
The following data are recorded in the FIT file:
- in graphic form:
- as laps:
- in the activity summary area:
Note: all the options set in the menu are permanently saved into the watch so, no need to configure them each time you launch the application.
Note regarding models with semi-octagonal screen (Instinct 2, 2S and Descent G1:
due to their lower amount of memory, and their monochrome screen truncated by the physical circle, the application has the following differences compared to other models:
Apart from these differences, all the other functionalities are strictly identical to the other models.
Given its complexity and time spent developing, the price of this application is set to 11 US dollars.
For further detailed explanations, you can consult the detailed images below.
Despite all the care taken in this application, it could remain some hidden bugs, or possible malfunctions. Therefore, thank you to contact me directly by email to inform me rather than posting bad comments on the site, I will then do what is necessary to fix the issue as soon as possible. Thank you in advance.
Currently unemployed, I develop applications for the Garmin community to stay active and in the wind.
The paid version can be unlocked via my Paypal account (see the link above), with the possibility to pay with credit cards too.
Don't forget to mention, in your PayPal comment or your additional email, your identifier number (displayed on top of the popup screen when launching the app for the first time), in order to be able to calculate your activation code.
Please, feel free to enjoy !
Entering the activation code
For all watch models, the activation code is entered directly from the application menu:
long press to the UP key (or swipe left on touchscreen devices) then go to "Tools -> Activation Code -> Unlock Code"
When your activation code is not already set and saved into the app, you will find, within this menu, your ID number instead.
Trial period / Testing the app
Users without a registered license have the possibility to start a session and test the application for a maximum of 20 minutes, each day. During this period, all data and metrics are properly calculated, and will therefore be saved into the FIT file.
Arrived at the end of the 20 minutes, the application will then automatically switch to pause / stop session mode: here, you will always have the possibility to browse all the screens (to see the results on the screen), or to leave the session, either saving it or ignoring it.
The duration of 20 minutes can be combined on the same day: 1 session of 20 minutes, or 2 sessions of 10 minutes, etc.
When starting / launching the application
You will be greeted with a welcome popup screen which, depending on whether you are female or male, will match with a custom image, as below. This screen, which will be displayed during about 5 seconds, also shows you the current version number of the application, which allows you to see, at a glance, whether it is up to date or not.
Preparing and using the app
- launch the application, like any other application
- first, you should set the application to your needs (background color, units, etc.). To do this, enter the application menu (long press the UP button) and select the parameters at your convenience. All the choices made in the menu are permanently stored on the watch so there is no need to re-enter them each time the application is launched.
- the application offers you two surf detection modes, an automatic mode and a manual mode:
- once all the parameters are fixed (detection mode, surfing speed, trigger duration threshold, etc.), you can exit the menu to return to one of the application screens
- point the north of your watch facing the waves to recover their course in degrees (at the top right of the main screen, you have a red area indicating the current course); this setting will allow you to determine and record your surfs right or left side for each surfed wave). You will notice that the value indicates a heading increased by 180 ° compared to in front of you, in fact, the waves going towards you, they therefore follow an opposite course of 180° in relation to your watch, facing the waves
- finally, launch the application by pressing the START key (the red zone of the waves course becomes green)
Note regarding the wave axis recovery (new behavior introduced from version 2.61 of February 12, 2023):
wave heading retrieval works differently depending on whether you have retrieved weather data or not.
- scrolling between screens is achieved by just pressing the UP or DOWN key. When the wide screen is displayed, UP and DOWN keys change the type of data displayed on the top and bottom fields
- you can pause the session by pressing the START key then "Pause" menu, and resume recording with a second press on the same key then, "Resume" menu
(pause = orange dots, active = green dots, stop = red dots)
- to end the session, you press the START key, a menu appears, proposing you to either reject or save the session. Then, a summary screen will be proposed to you, summarizing the main data of the session
- to quit the application in stop mode (when no session has been started), click on the LAP button, not on the START button
- the current time is displayed in the following 3 modes: when the application is waiting to be started, in pause mode, and in the minimalist screen otherwise, the timer is displayed.
How to set and use weather web services
First of all, I should point out that this functionality is only available on models with 1024 KB of useful memory for applications, that is to say, applications with mapping and / or music options.
First, go to the website offered by the application (currently only one):
the link directly brings you to the presentation page of the proposed formulas, the free version is on the left, click on the "Sign Up" button, enter the requested information. Once your account is created, you will be able to access the dashboard, which will then give you access to your API key.
Remember to keep this API key, because it can also be used in the future, in case you have to re-enter it in the application following a replacement of your watch, for example.
Your key received, you will then enter it in the application settings, in the field corresponding to the site you have selected. To do this, connect your watch with your smartphone and open Garmin Connect (or a computer with Garmin Express). Select the Surfing application from the list of your applications, and open the settings: four fields appear at the top of the page. Copy and paste your API key in the corresponding field and confirm your entry. There it's done, the API key is automatically transferred to the Surfing app. Note that yours keys are automatically saved on your watch, in the permanent settings of the application, so you will not have to re-enter them, unless you change your watch.
Note: if the API key has been saved in the field of the settings file, but you can't see the corresponding menu in the web service menu of the application, please proceed as follow:
- activate the bluetooth mode of the watch and connect it with your smartphone then, launch the Garmin Connect application
- launch the Surfing app on the watch, and stay on the main screen
- on your smartphone, in Garmin Connect, go to the list of the applications installed on the watch, select the Surfing application and open the settings tab
- the API key(s) should appear; otherwise, re-enter it (them) and save the modifications
- this time, the API keys must have been sent to the application on the watch
Finally, to be able to use this function, and thus recover the wind data automatically in the application:
The request collects all the infos displayed on the pic below, and all the necessary data of the app are automatically calculated regarding this request so, everything is automatic. You just need to continue to point your watch towards the waves just when you start your session, like before.
Result of the request ----->
8-hour weather forecasts
From version 1.90 of the application, it manages weather forecasts for a period of up to 8 hours.
If you use the following weather web services StormGlass, you will automatically obtain the weather forecast for the next upcoming 8 hours.
These forecasts are stored directly on the watch disk when they are collected, to be used then, hour by hour, during the session.
This therefore means that, during the course of your session, the weather data such as the air temperature, the wind axis, and its speed will be automatically updated, hour by hour, and in a completely transparent manner, at each change of plain hour (2 p.m. - 3 p.m. - 4 p.m. - etc); so you don't have to do anything other than retrieve the forecast before you start your session, that's it, then the app does the rest!
This new feature is very useful because the change in weather data (wind axis and speed) will have a direct influence on a large number of calculations performed by the application (efficiency of your navigation in relation to the wind axis , etc), and the resulting results, hour after hour, will be automatically reflected within the application.
Whereas previously, when you entered or retrieved weather data manually or through a weather web service, this data did not change during the session, even though the weather conditions could change during the session, that is often the case!
This adds a little more precision and reliability to all calculations performed by the application.
The forecasts stored by the application are checked every 30 minutes, in order to not have any one hour delay.
For example, if you retrieve the weather data at 2:10 pm, the next check will take place at 2:40 pm, no change since it is not 3:00 pm, next check at 3:10 pm and there, any possible change in the weather data, and so on until the eighth hour stored.
If you retrieve the weather data at 2:45 pm, the next check will take place at 3:15 pm and therefore, the weather data may be updated since the time is no longer the same (we went from 2 to 3 pm).
Even better: let's imagine that during the day, you ended your morning session to take a little lunch break, for example. Two hours later, you relaunch the app for your new afternoon session, so two hours have passed in between. Well, at the time of this second launch, the data will be automatically updated according to the new time.
On the other hand, if this second launch takes place beyond the 8 hours of the stored forecasts (for example, you end the first session at 10 am, and you restart the second at 7 pm), you will only retrieve the last data. known at 10 am. If you want to be up to date, you will therefore have to update this data again by reconnecting to the weather web service in order to retrieve the updated data.
Finally, if after having retrieved the weather forecasts you subsequently update the weather data manually, the forecasts file will be instantly deleted from the watch disk, then you will lose all the forecasts stored for the upcoming hours (considering that if there has been a manual modification a posteriori, this probably means that the forecasts were not reliable or stable in relation to the real conditions on the spot). So, if you want to find these forecasts, you will need to collect new data again.
Note:
• forecasts are retrieved over a maximum period of 8 hours so, if you start your session at 1 pm for example, the application will have access to forecasts until 8 pm (the eighth hour is also included)
• forecasts are blocked by default from 10 pm, since no rider is supposed to sail… at night. So if you start your session at 4 pm for example, you will only get the forecast for the next 6 hours
• you can see how this weather forecasts feature works, and its repercussions within the app, by viewing the following video:
This video shows the Surfing application in action (which uses the swell data from the StormGlass site) but, it works exactly the same way in the Surfing application, except that instead of the swell data, here the axis and wind speed data are used instead
Tides forecast up to 48 hours
When you collect automatic weather data as explained just above, you also get automatically the tide forecasts, up to 48 hours.
If there are available, you can view the tide forecasts by entering the "Tools -> Tides - Display Forecast" menu.
"Perfect Spot" geolocation screen
This screen allows you to record your GPS position at any time when you are in the water and, when you have surfed a wave and want to come back to this point, you just need to follow the instructions displayed on screen , and there you go !
This can be very useful when, for example, you find an ideal starting point for surfing and you want to be able to come back to it after having drifted hundreds of meters after a surf, for example. With this screen, you will thus have the possibility to easily retreive this "ideal point".
Operation:
A GPS point has just been defined and saved by pressing the BACK/LAP button, the sweet spot is saved
The blue cursor indicates the course to take to head for the sweet spot. The black line, north of the dial, serves as a reference point which, when the cursor is aligned with this line, will indicate to you that you must go straight ahead.
The blue cursor is aligned with the black line on the north side of the watch, pointing straight ahead towards the sweet spot.
The angle in degrees tells you the course to follow, as well as the distance separating you from the defined GPS point (in meters or yards, depending on the unit you have selected in the option menu)
Note:
Scores Menu - View the global statistics
Scores Menu - Reset data/scores
You have the option to reset two types of data:
Note that the reset is an irreversible function, all data will be lost after this action.
Scores Menu - Assign values / scores
This feature allows you to manually assign a value to the data displayed on the "Stats" screen. This can be useful for example in the case of a replacement / change of your watch, and you do not want to loose all your global statistics. The data entry follows the same order as the data displayed on the "Stats" screen, to simplify your input.
Minimalist screen
This screen presents the essentials and the minimum information, with an extended font (time, chrono, current speed, and colored arches - see the meaning of these arcs on the descriptive image below). This screen is easily readable during navigation, especially for surfers with a visual weakness and who can not wear their glasses in navigation.
This screen is activated in the application menu - Wide Screen -> Display on/off
When it is activated, it is displayed when the session is started and therefore active. When you put the session in pause mode, this screen disappears to make room for all other screens, so you can, for example, see your performance / detailed information when you pause. When you restart your session, the minimalist screen reappears again.
When this screen is selected and displayed:
GPS constellations (only for SDK 3.2.x compatible models)
If you find that your GPS track is not accurate enough, you can modify, directly into the application, the GPS constellation used by the application. You will have the choice between several constellations, only those which are compatible with your specific watch model, and available on it at a given moment. This option is activated by the menu "Options -> Constellation", and thus avoids you having to do it outside the application, before its launch! Simpler, and faster than ever.
Note: as Garmin updates your watch's firmware, the number and type of these constellations may vary, so check the list in the corresponding menu from time to time.
Features specific to touch screens
On the majority of models with a touch screen (some older models are not compatible with this feature), you can directly access certain common functions via two types of screen shortcuts:
- a short press (just tap on screen) on a delimited area of the screen
- a long press, either on a delimited area, or anywhere on screen
For more detailed explanation of these touch areas and the functions involved, see the descriptive image below.
Quick access menu
On models with a compatible touch screen, and compatible with SDK version 3.4.0 minimum, a long press on the lower right area of the screen opens a quick access menu to certain functions, thus saving you from having to navigate the main menu and its sub-menus to access these functions. However, this function can only be used in stop or pause mode, to prevent this menu from being triggered during a session.
On compatible non-touchscreen models, access to this quick menu is via a long press on the BACK/LAP button.