Pete, your next move (assuming you've read enough Stuart Walker), in regards to "seeing" what the wind is doing, would be to get some type of compass, a speed puck or tactic, onto your spin pole, and learn how to use it to identify shifts, both persistant and occilating.

We didn't need a compass because we had the land (as well as other boats) as a backdrop to see what was happening, ie. lifted or headed.