Waterspeed: using data for more speed, more fun, and more community

In the high-stakes world of grand prix racing, from the 50-knot flying machines of SailGP and the America’s Cup, data has become one of the key drivers of performance.

The modern professional operates in an era where there is nowhere to hide; every degree of rudder angle and every millimetre of wing camber is scrutinised by data analysts, high-performance coaches, and even their brothers and sisters in arms. For the rest of us – the weekend warriors in sailboats as well as the wingfoil and windsurfing addicts – that level of analysis has been out of reach. Either because it’s too expensive, too complicated, or both.

Waterspeed is helping solve that problem. It’s democratising data for watersports enthusiasts. If Strava is the digital glue that brings the cycling and running worlds together, Waterspeed is rapidly becoming the essential layer for anything that moves on water.

To understand the power of having this tech on your wrist, take a look at Paul Campbell-James. ‘CJ’ is one of the most in-demand sailing pros, and the wing trimmer for the Northstar SailGP team from Canada. During the Auckland SailGP event earlier this year – a weekend of ferocious, boat-breaking conditions – during one particularly wild bear-away at the top of the course, the Canadians clocked a staggering 101.98 km/h on the official SailGP telemetry.

CJ was wearing his smart watch running the Waterspeed app at the time. “Waterspeed actually recorded me at 102.3 km/h,” CJ tells The Foil. So why the faster speed? “That’s because I’m on the outside of the turn – the ‘outside of the roundabout’ - so I’m actually covering more distance than the boat’s central sensors. It’s always nice to see a higher number!”

But for a pro like CJ, it isn’t just about the ego-boost of a triple-digit speed reading. While SailGP generates billions of data points through the Oracle Cloud, it doesn’t track the human element. “Waterspeed lets me clock mileage and average speeds, but it also pulls in my heart rate,” he explains. “That’s something the boat data doesn’t give me. It knows when I’m stressed or when I’m blowing hard. When I’m analysing the day afterwards, seeing where the physical exertion peaks is invaluable to me.”

Away from the seriousness of the SailGP circuit, CJ uses the same app for his recreational wingfoiling, proving that the tool is just as effective for testing consumer gear as it is for F50s. “I’ve been testing new Armstrong foils recently, changing the angle of the rear wing to see if I can find more top-end speed,” he says. “It’s a really quick, useful way of checking in. You don’t have to rely on ‘seat of the pants’ feel; you have the actual numbers to see what’s working."

Waterspeed’s head of marketing, Matt Sproson, is excited to see where the app is headed and how it can be the catalyst for change in the watersports world. “Waterspeed was created seven years ago out of simple frustration,” he says. “Our technical founder, Max, got an Apple Watch for his birthday and went sailing. He couldn’t find a dedicated app to record his activities outside of the native Apple Watch experience. He decided to build his own, and after posting it on the App Store, it gained organic traction.”

Over time, it grew from a simple recording tool into a ‘one-stop shop’ for water sports. Waterspeed supports Android and iOS, most smartwatches and GPS devices. “Unlike Strava or Garmin, which are ‘land-trackers first’, we were designed specifically for the water from day one,” says Sproson. “We provide depth in post-activity analytics that others don't. You can record using just your phone in a waterproof pouch, but the real value is in the data: best speeds across 20 different intervals, foiling efficiency, tack and jibe analysis, and VMG (Velocity Made Good) analytics.”

CJ is one of a growing number of sailors who are increasingly crossing over into other watersports like wingfoiling, which is where Waterspeed is seeing its biggest growth. While sailing remains a core focus, wingfoiling has exploded on the platform, overtaking sailing in 2025 in terms of total activities recorded. Whether it’s downwind foiling, eFoiling, or pumpfoiling, the common thread is a younger, tech-savvy generation that wants to measure progress.

This digital engagement is why organisations like the Austrian Sailing Federation have signed on. They aren’t just using it for Olympic hopefuls; they’re using Waterspeed to activate their entire member base through month-long challenges, even extending into niche disciplines like ice sailing. It’s about keeping people motivated during the off-season and providing a leaderboard that feels alive.

Perhaps the most high-profile success story is the partnership with Le Défi Wind in the South of France. For the uninitiated, Le Défi is the Woodstock of windsurfing – a mass-participation marathon that pits hundreds of riders against the brutal Tramontane winds.

The partnership starts weeks before the first starting gun, providing training challenges and content featuring windsurfing legends like Ben Proffitt and 41-time world champion Björn Dunkerbeck. They provide advice on everything from gear prep to off-water strength training, ensuring riders aren’t just showing up, but peaking for race day.

Once on-site at Gruissan, the digital layer becomes physical. Male and female leaders don branded Waterspeed yellow jerseys, results are displayed on a giant countdown screen, and a dedicated ‘Waterspeed Corner’ becomes the hub for post-race analysis. It turns a solitary GPS track into a shared community experience.

The “Strava-fication” of the water is most evident in the app’s monthly challenges. By creating digital segments and time-based goals, Waterspeed has found a way to keep the community active between events.

"Our mission is to connect watersports through a digital layer," says Sproson. "Whether it’s to keep efoilers and pumpfoilers competitive year-round, or local clubs in the UK and Nordics using us to run virtual races, it’s about motivation. We don’t want to be another social network with just a feed and ‘likes’. We want to help people plan. We want users to be able to see who else is out, what the conditions are like at a specific spot, and what gear people are using. Our mission is to be the ‘connecting tissue’ for the global water sports community through data and discovery.”

Even the pros are hooked by the competitive pull of the app. CJ recounts a team wingfoiling day in Auckland: "We had a speed contest and finished the day checking everyone's top speeds. I actually lost the competition to Tom Ramshaw – he’s got no fear, so he goes a bit faster than me!"

As an ex-Olympic campaigner in the 49er class back in the 2010s, CJ says he would have loved to get access to the kind of data now available to him through Waterspeed. "If I were doing an Olympic campaign right now, it would be the first bit of electronics I’d put on the boat," he says. "Back then, we used very basic mapping tools, but being able to compare tacking angles and exit speeds so quickly on an app would be a fantastic tool."

The beauty of Waterspeed lies in its attention to detail. Unlike multi-sport apps that treat a sail as an afterthought to a run, Waterspeed understands the nuances of the water – the difference between foiling time and “struggling” time, the impact of tide, and the specific metrics required for windsurfing and sailing.

Whether you’re trying to shave a second off your gybe transition or aiming to join the 50-knot club, digital data will give you accurate feedback, rather than relying on the bias and wishful thinking of human memory. In a sport where we are constantly searching for the edge, having a digital coach on your wrist might just be the most cost-effective upgrade you can make.

For more information on Waterspeed and to engage with the many challenges and growing community of watersports addicts, visit waterspeedapp.com.