The Tidesy Story

We live on the edge of the Pacific, where the rhythm of the tides shapes our days. The Washington coast is more than just home—it’s a place of windswept beauty, long walks on the beach, and the joyful chaos of dogs chasing tennis balls through salt air and driftwood. Every morning begins with the same question: when will we go out? And the answer depends entirely on the tide. Rising or falling, high or low—it determines whether we’ll explore the sandbars, dodge sneaker waves, or simply stroll with paws and bare feet in the surf.

But it’s not just the tide. Coastal warnings, wind speed, and direction all play a role in our daily adventures. If it’s blowing hard from the southwest, we know the poor pups will come home with sand in their eyes and seafoam in their fur. We’ve learned to check the conditions before heading out, but juggling apps, forecasts, and tide charts felt clunky and disconnected from the rhythm of our lives. We wanted something simpler—something that felt like part of the beach itself.

That’s what sparked the idea for Tidesy. A small, elegant device that could live on our desk or kitchen counter and quietly do the work for us. It would show us the tide, the wind, the warnings—all at a glance. No fumbling with phones, no digging through websites. Just a clear, friendly interface that told us what we needed to know to plan our day, whether it was a long walk, a quick fetch session, or a spontaneous expedition down the coast.

I’ve spent my career building software products, and when this idea took hold, I knew I had the tools to bring it to life. I wrote Tidesy in C++, tapping into publicly available web services to pull in real-time data. I designed the interface to be warm and intuitive, with splash screens and visuals that feel like part of the landscape. It’s not just a device—it’s a companion for coastal living, built with the same care and curiosity that we bring to every walk on the beach.

Now, Tidesy is part of our daily rhythm. It sits quietly, glowing with the pulse of the ocean, helping us decide when to head out and what to expect. The dogs still race for the ball, the wind still shifts, and the tide still rolls in and out—but now, we’re ready for it all. Tidesy was born from the beach, built for the beach, and shaped by the lives we live along its edge.

The picture shows me throwing balls to the puppies on our beach on a stormy day.