A monthly tide table is the most useful page a Kuwaiti boater can keep on hand. Before you pick a launch time or plan a run into a shallow bay, the table tells you when the water rises, when it falls, and by how many metres.
High water is the peak of the rising tide. Low water is the bottom of the falling tide. Between the two the water pauses briefly, then reverses. The moon's gravity drives this, with a smaller pull from the sun, which is why tide times shift roughly 50 minutes later each day.
Every line in the table gives a time and a height. The time is the moment of high or low water; the height is in metres above chart datum. So a high water of 4.2 m and a low of 0.6 m means a 3.6 m range that day.
Around new moon and full moon the sun and moon pull together and you get spring tides: higher highs, lower lows, bigger range. At the first and last quarter they partly cancel out and you get neap tides, which are weaker and flatter. Spring tides move more water and carry more feed, which often helps fishing, but they push harder through narrow channels.
The rule of twelfths lets you estimate height hour by hour. Divide the day's range by twelve. In the first hour the water rises 1/12 of the range, the second 2/12, the third 3/12, then it tapers back with 3/12, 2/12 and 1/12 over the last three hours. Use it to check whether a shallow cut still has depth when you reach it.
Although they are close together, Shuwaikh and Shuaiba do not show identical times or heights. Coastline shape, seabed depth, distance from the dredged channels and the way each basin responds to the tide all shift the numbers. Never plan a trip into one port using the other port's table.
The B7R app puts tide tables for Shuwaikh and Shuaiba in one place, alongside sea state, a fish species guide, a catch log, a seasons calendar, navigation tools and an SOS emergency button. It is free on Google Play.
If your route crosses a shallow area, leave about an hour before high water so you arrive with margin. If you are fishing a mark that works best on the ebb, plan your return before the water drops fast. Keep at least 0.3 m of water under the hull as a buffer, and remember the table is a prediction, not a promise: wind and low pressure can add or remove water beyond the printed number.
Two minutes with the monthly table before every trip saves hours of waiting. Pick your window, do the arithmetic, then watch the water with your own eyes.
Download the B7R app on Google Play and keep the tide table in your pocket: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.q8dm.b7r