RipCurrentRadar
A hyperlocal rip-current and structural-obstruction forecast for the German Bight that ingests wind, swell and tide data plus bathymetry around known obstacles (like the Pogum Bohrinsel ruin) to issue a colored risk rating per break — surf schools and rental shops can show it on a wall display.
North Sea surf schools, kit rental shops and water-sports clubs briefing customers each morning
- Per-break risk rating (green/amber/red) updated hourly from wind + tide + swell APIs
- Embeddable widget for surf-school websites showing today's rating
- Storm and obstruction alerts pushed to shop staff phones
- Weekly email digest to regulars so they only see the rating if it changed
Pogum specifically and the Wadden coast generally are seeing more kiters and foilers every year; localized risk tooling for the pros who brief them doesn't exist.
Pogum and the East Frisian coast have a small, seasonal North Sea surf scene; while Google Trends supports 200+ 'pogum' queries, the addressable paying base of German Bight surf schools and kit rentals is tiny and largely hobbyist.Dangerous Currents - National Weather Service ↗
NORDR (Pelagic Labs) covers the North Sea incl. bathymetry and tide gates but skips Germany; global apps like Surfline/Surf-Forecast lack local structural-hazard layers, and Quiver widgets show generic conditions — no one models obstacles like the Pogum Bohrinsel ruin.NORDR | North Sea Surf Forecast App with Buoys, Alerts and Custom Spots ↗Free Surf Conditions Widget for Surf Schools | Quiver ↗
Ventus proves surf schools pay ~$39/mo for management software and Quiver monetizes widgets for schools, but most German Bight surf/kite schools are tiny seasonal operations with very limited software budgets.Ventus - Software for Surf, Kite & Watersports Schools ↗
North Sea storm-surf activity and Wadden kiting/foiling are steadily growing with climate-driven weather, and the Pogum Bohrinsel ruin is a permanent bathymetric hazard — safety briefings are a recurring daily need.BSH - Marine-Forecast ↗
Public BSH and NOAA wind/swell/tide feeds plus bathymetric charts are accessible, but accurately forecasting rip currents around sub-sea structures is research-grade coastal hydrodynamics — well beyond trivial to build.BSH - Marine Forecast ↗