Strong-Wind Season: A Backup Plan for Your Trip

Kuwait's strong-wind season runs roughly from June into September, driven by the shamal — hard north-westerly wind — plus the shorter, sharper summer bwarikh. The weather rarely fails politely. It flips the day before your trip, after you've already booked everything.

Read the wind two days ahead, not on the night

Checking the sea at night tells you almost nothing, because conditions rebuild at first light. Look two days out, then look again at midday before you launch. If the wind is already steady north-westerly, assume it holds. If it's shifting, assume it shifts again and keep your backup plan warm.

B7R gives you a live sea-state and wave readout, plus the Shuwaikh and Shuaiba tide tables on one screen, so you're reading numbers instead of guessing.

Set your number before you leave the house

The single most useful thing you can do is agree a wind limit in advance. Not at the slip, not after five opinions — before. Decide the number that cancels the trip and treat it as final.

• Up to 12 knots: normal trip.
• 13 to 18 knots: inside the bay only, close to the exit.
• 19 to 25 knots: don't launch.
• Above 25 knots: postpone — even the bay gets ugly.

Build a backup plan, not a shrug

A backup plan isn't "we'll go somewhere else". Write three options and hand each to a person: one watches the water, one sorts food and tea, one calls the crew. That way a cancelled run doesn't cancel the whole day.

Options that actually work: an in-bay session near Shuwaikh or Shuaiba, a shore-side session on the coast, or a group decision to push everything back two days.

If you do go out in strong wind

Stay inside the bay and keep the harbour behind you. Don't load fuel for long runs, tie down anything that can fly, and watch the wave readout climb — shallow water gets rough fast. Expect more spray and a shorter trip, and plan the return while you're still comfortable.

Safety before fuel

Tell someone ashore where you're going and when you'll be back, and keep a charged phone in a dry bag. Know how to use the SOS button before you need it. If the trip is starting to annoy you, the trip is over — go back.

Log the day, even when the wind wins

Write down why you came home early: wind, waves, or bad timing. The catch log in the B7R app keeps that record, so after a few trips you know which days of the month work. The seasons info fills in the rest of the picture.

Don't let the shamal write off your summer. Get B7R free on Google Play and check the sea state before you load the boat: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.q8dm.b7r