Introducing Ultra: Advanced VMG & Tactical Performance Analysis in Waterspeed
For sailors, foilers, and racers, performance isn’t just about speed — it’s about making the right decisions on the water.
Today, we’re introducing Ultra, a new advanced feature set in Waterspeed built for athletes who want deeper tactical insight into how they sail, foil, and race. Ultra brings together a dedicated suite of VMG and wind-aware performance tools that go beyond raw numbers, helping you understand why a session unfolded the way it did — and how to improve next time.
And importantly: Ultra sits on top of everything Waterspeed already offers. All your existing tracking, session history, and insights remain — Ultra simply unlocks a more advanced layer of analysis for those who want it.
Because Ultra works across all Waterspeed integrations, advanced tactical analysis is available no matter how you record your sessions. Same gear, same setup — just a new level of insight.
A New Level of Tactical Insight
Ultra is designed for moments when marginal gains matter: race training, tuning sessions, speed runs, and tactical debriefs. It introduces deeper, more contextual metrics that reflect how performance sports on the water actually work — shaped by wind angle, course geometry, and decision-making under pressure.
Advanced Legs & Runs Analysis
Ultra breaks your session into clearly defined upwind and downwind legs, allowing you to analyze performance segment by segment rather than relying on a single session average. This makes it easy to compare port and starboard tacks, evaluate performance before and after setup changes, and see how consistently you’re executing across repeated legs and runs. The result is a clearer, more tactical view of each session — turning everyday training into structured, race-relevant learning.
VMG (Velocity Made Good)
VMG sits at the core of Ultra. Instead of focusing purely on top speed, it shows how efficiently you’re converting effort into progress toward your target — whether that’s upwind, downwind, or toward a mark. It’s the metric racers rely on to separate fast sailing from effective sailing, revealing when sailing slightly slower actually gets you there faster — and when pushing harder is quietly costing you distance.
True Wind Angle
Ultra introduces True Wind Angle analysis based on the wind direction you set or pull in from the forecast, rather than just your heading. This allows you to see how consistently you’re sailing optimal angles relative to the expected wind, separate technique from changing conditions, and understand how different setups perform across sessions. It provides a stable reference for tactical analysis — helping explain why performance shifts from one run to the next.
Gain / Loss Analysis (Distance & Angle)
Rather than just showing where you went fast or slow, Ultra reveals where you gained or lost distance — and whether that came from speed, angle, or both. This makes tactical trade-offs visible: whether a higher angle was worth the speed loss, whether an aggressive line actually paid off, and where small inefficiencies added up over time. It’s the kind of insight usually reserved for post-race debriefs, now built directly into your data.
Polar Chart Performance
Ultra introduces Polar Charts that visualize how your performance varies across wind angles and speeds. Polars help you understand your personal or setup-specific performance envelope, identify strong and weak angles, and track improvement as technique or equipment changes. They’re especially powerful for tuning gear and validating changes with objective data rather than feel alone.
Performance vs Target Speeds
With Ultra, you can measure your actual performance against target or expected speeds instead of relying on gut feel. This gives you a clear reference point — whether you’re consistently hitting expected numbers, where you’re underperforming relative to conditions, and how close you are to your potential in real-world sessions. It’s about turning ambition into measurable progress.
More Authentic, Sport-Specific Performance Analytics
With Ultra, Waterspeed becomes even more aligned with the realities of sailing, foiling, and racing. These aren’t abstract fitness metrics — they’re sport-specific tools designed around how athletes actually think, train, and compete on the water.
Ultra is for those moments when you want to go beyond “how fast was I?” and start answering:
Was that the right line?
Did this setup actually help?
Where am I leaving performance on the table?
Ultra is available now as an advanced feature set in Waterspeed.
If you’re ready for complete tactical insight — this is your next step.
