A Backup Plan When Your Navigation Gear Fails

Most Kuwait trips stay close to shore, so it is easy to lean on a phone or chartplotter for everything. Then a hot, humid day drains the battery, the screen fogs, or the unit simply quits — and you are out on the water with no position. A backup plan is not paranoia; it is the difference between a tidy return and a stressful afternoon. The fix is not expensive gear; it is a habit you repeat before every launch.

Before You Leave: Put the Plan on Paper

All the work happens before you push off. Electronics die; paper does not.

• Write your key coordinates in a small notebook: launch point, the spots you plan to fish, and the channel entrance you will return through.
• Mark your waypoints, and keep the route home known by sight, not just on a screen.
• Note the day tide times on paper from the B7R app before you leave. Shuwaikh and Shuaiba tides are not always the same, and the difference matters when you cross a shallow bar on the way back.
• Keep a second copy of the same notes as a photo on your phone. A written backup stays with you when the screen does not.

A small notebook and a hand compass cost almost nothing, yet on the day you need them they matter more than any device aboard. Check your points before you leave.

When the Gear Dies Mid-Trip

First move: stop, hold still, and prioritise. Do not spin around trying to fix the unit in choppy water.

• Shut down anything drawing battery, and save your spare phone for emergencies.
• Lift your head and find the known landmarks: Failaka island, Khor Abdullah, and Al-Joon. These fixed points bring your bearings back fast.
• Set a hand-compass heading toward the shore or the marina you want to reach.
• Ask which way the swell is running and where the wind is coming from; the water tells you your direction.

If you carry a paper chart, mark your estimated position on it and draw a straight line toward your destination. An estimated line beats sitting still with no direction.

Continue or Turn Back?

This call belongs to the skipper, and one rule never changes: never gamble lives for a fishing trip.

• Continue if: the distance left is short, the weather is clear, and you still have a companion and enough daylight.
• Turn back if: the sky is building, sunset is close, or the area holds rocks and strong currents.
• If you are unsure, turn back. Returning is never a failure.

Asking for Help and Anchoring

If the situation is serious, calling for help beats pushing on. State your position, how many people are aboard, and your condition. The B7R app includes an SOS button that gives you a fast way to call without having to think it through. If the boat is stable and depth allows, anchor and rest instead of drifting with no aim.

Set the anchor from the bow rather than the side, and give it enough rope to bite on the first pull. If the water is deep and the rope cannot reach bottom, do not force it; keep a controlled drift, clear of rocks and with your bow to the wind.

Before you leave, tell someone ashore your route and your expected return time, and leave them your number. If you are late, they know where to start looking.

Download the B7R app free: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.q8dm.b7r