When I learned to sail, this is where we were taught to look: the small flag on the top of the mast.

Yee~ And the wind indicating red strings that are attached to the sails themselves!

Thats a great idea actually! Will fit the style as well! Neat!

Great suggestions here! I already have a streaming type flag on the Spanish galleons I could repurpose for the main user ship for better wind clarity

Definitely want to make an effects pass soon to improve visual clarity of the wind sprites and other basic things like cannon fire, hits, etc