Common problems and fixes

A position typed slightly wrong, either the fix or the destination. A common trap is copying a destination's coordinates from a website: they can be for the town centre, or simply wrong, and a mistake of a few minutes can change the distance by many miles.

1. Look at the read-back under each box (for example 38°02.090'N) and check it against your chart or plotter.
2. Read the Estimated position line: does it name the place you meant?
3. Before saving, read the line that says, for example, "Netsel Marina is 15.8nm at 28° true from this position." If it does not match your plotter, the destination is wrong.
4. Or use Choose destination on map and tap the harbour itself.
5. To correct a fix you have already saved, open the Log and tap Edit.

On Plan changed? Update destination, the name box starts with the old destination's name. Replace it with the new one, then type or pick the new position. The app now asks for a new name when the position has moved, and starts a new trip for the new destination. Check the line under the destination ("... is 18.6nm at 116° true from this position") before saving.

This happens when degrees and minutes are typed as if they were decimal degrees: 37°03.090' typed as 37.3090 is 37.309°, which is 37°18.5', about 15 nm further north. Choose Deg Min (or Deg Min Sec) with the Format buttons above the position, then type the degrees in the first box and the minutes in the second, exactly as your plotter shows them. If you type a decimal point in the degrees box in Deg Min, the app says so in red rather than guessing. The read-back under the box shows how the app has understood it. See Typing positions.

The app refuses to save a position it cannot understand rather than guess, and says why in red under the box. Check that the Format matches what you are copying from, that the degrees box holds a whole number in Deg Min and Deg Min Sec, and that minutes and seconds are under 60. Type the numbers only and use the N/S and E/W buttons for the hemisphere.

Use the small N and E buttons beside each latitude and longitude box. Tap to switch to S or W. In the Mediterranean you will almost always want N and E.

A few reasons, none of them faults:

• The figures are from your last fix. They do not move on as time passes. If your last fix was 90 minutes ago, you are now closer than the app says. The first line of the Latest read card shows how old the fix is, and turns amber after an hour. Add a fresh fix.
• Straight line. The app measures the direct distance to the destination, not a route around headlands.
• Speed. Arrival time uses the SOG you entered with the fix (or your cruising speed if you left it blank), not an average over the passage.
• Time zone. Arrival times on the Dashboard are in your phone's local time; the pre-departure screen uses UTC.

The first trip was not ended on arrival, so the next passage's fixes ran on into it. Tap Arrived - end this trip on the Dashboard as soon as you are in; no final fix is needed. Your next fix with a new destination then starts a new trip.

Two fixes were saved at the same position, often by pressing Save twice or saving again to correct a reading. The app now asks before saving a fix at exactly the last position. To correct a reading, open the Log and tap Edit on that fix rather than adding a new one. To remove a fix saved by mistake, tap Edit and then Delete this fix.

The distance between your last two fixes does not match the speed you reported, which usually means one position has a typing error, often in the longitude. Find the fix in the Log, check the read-back, and correct it with Edit. The app then recalculates.

Enter COG in degrees true, as shown on your chartplotter or GPS. Do not use a magnetic compass heading: the app compares your course with true wave and wind directions, so a magnetic figure skews the angles a little, and leeway or current skews a heading further.

Use the Port / Stbd button beside the true wind angle box. Many phone number pads have no minus key, so the button sets the side. Type the angle without a minus sign. The report shows it as, for example, "TWA 85° port".

A difference that large almost always means the wind angle was entered on the wrong side (see above), or apparent wind was entered instead of true. Check your instruments are showing true wind angle and speed, and correct the fix with Edit in the Log. Comparisons are skipped when either wind is under 6 knots, as light-air direction is unreliable.

It is where the waves come from relative to the boat, measured from whichever end is nearer: 20° off the stern means waves arriving from just to one side of dead astern. It is a relative angle, not a compass bearing. If there is no wave direction, the app uses the wind and says "Wind comes from" instead. See OK, Watch and Concern.

Course up needs to know your heading. Enter a COG with your fix (or add a second fix so the app can work out your course) and the button appears under the compass.

1. Check Location is switched on for the phone (Android: pull down the quick settings; iPhone: Settings, Privacy & Security, Location Services).
2. Check the app is allowed to use location: iPhone Settings, Med Sailing Weather, Location, "While Using the App"; Android Settings, Apps, Med Sailing Weather, Permissions, Location.
3. Below deck or right after switching Location on, the phone may need a minute to find satellites. Try again on deck. If a fresh position takes too long, the app uses one from the last five minutes.
4. You can always type the position from your plotter instead.

On iPhone, tap Done on the bar above the keyboard. On any phone you can also drag the page down to close it. Tapping a button such as Save works first time with the keyboard open.

The page scrolls to keep the box you are typing in above the keyboard. If it does not, scroll the page up by hand; there is extra space at the bottom of each form for this. Updating to the latest version fixes this on the Pre-departure screen.

The app follows your phone's text size. With very large text, the Dashboard stacks the compass above the figures so nothing is squeezed. If something is still cut off, please email a screenshot and your phone model.

Usually no signal, or a weather server briefly busy. Your fix is saved and nothing needs re-entering. When you have a signal, open the Log, tap Edit on that fix and save it: the app re-runs the weather check.

Anchorage data, and marina data outside the Mediterranean, come from free OpenStreetMap servers that are sometimes overloaded. In the Mediterranean the marina and harbour search uses the list built into the app, so it should not fail. The app retries automatically; if it still fails, wait a moment and tap the search button again. Your position stays filled in. Update to the latest version if you see errors such as 406 on every search.

The details come from OpenStreetMap, a volunteer map, and many smaller marinas have not been filled in. Check a pilot book or cruising guide, or call the port authority.

The map needs a data connection to download the chart. Without a signal, type the destination instead. Once you have a signal, close the map with Cancel and open it again.

The 24-hour outlook is built from your last fix. Add a fix first, then tap Refresh outlook. For conditions before you leave, use Plan a passage on the Dashboard.

Sometimes the forecast does not include the earlier hours needed to work out the three-hour trend, so the app shows only the current reading. The next fix normally includes it. See the barometer warning.

To keep watching with the screen off, the app needs location "all the time" and must not be put to sleep by the phone. Check these in order:

1. Location all the time. iPhone: Settings, Med Sailing Weather, Location, Always, with Precise Location on. Android: Settings, Apps, Med Sailing Weather, Permissions, Location, Allow all the time. If the At anchor screen or the Dashboard shows a red "will NOT sound with the phone locked" warning, this is the cause.
2. Notifications allowed, including sound. The alarm is a notification as well as a tone.
3. Battery settings (Android). See the next item for your make of phone. If the At anchor screen shows "This phone may put the alarm to sleep", follow its steps or tap Open app settings.
4. Do not swipe the app away while you are relying on the alarm. Leaving it in the background is fine.
5. Test it. Start the alarm with a small circle (10 m), lock the phone, walk 30 to 50 m past the edge of the circle and wait about half a minute.

Many Android phones close apps in the background to save battery, which can stop the anchor alarm and the weather watch while the phone is locked. Menu names vary a little between models and Android versions.

• All Android phones: Settings, Apps, Med Sailing Weather, Battery, choose Unrestricted (sometimes called "Don't optimise" or "No restrictions").
• Samsung: also Settings, Battery (or Battery and device care), Background usage limits. Make sure Med Sailing Weather is not in "Sleeping apps" or "Deep sleeping apps", and add it to Never sleeping apps. Turn Power saving off while you rely on the alarm.
• Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO: Settings, Apps, Manage apps, Med Sailing Weather. Set Battery saver to No restrictions and turn Autostart on. In the recent apps screen, press and hold the app and tap the padlock so it is not cleared.
• Huawei and Honor: Settings, Battery, App launch (or Launch), find Med Sailing Weather, turn off "Manage automatically" and allow all three options (auto-launch, secondary launch, run in background).
• OnePlus, OPPO and realme: Settings, Apps, Med Sailing Weather, Battery usage, allow background activity (and turn off "Optimise battery use" if shown).

For more detail on a particular model, the independent site dontkillmyapp.com lists the steps for most makes of phone.

Check the swing radius: it must cover the chain out plus the length of the boat, and a little more for GPS error. Under trees, cliffs or a bimini the GPS can wander by 10 to 20 m, so keep the phone where it has a clear view of the sky. Placing the anchor where it actually went down, with "Anchor dropped" as it goes or on the map, also helps. See At anchor in the user manual.

1. Check notifications are allowed: iPhone Settings, Notifications, Med Sailing Weather; Android Settings, Apps, Med Sailing Weather, Notifications.
2. Check a Focus mode, Do Not Disturb or battery saver is not holding them back.
3. The reminder is set for one hour after your last fix, so it only appears once you have added a fix.

They come every two hours while a passage plan is active, and stop at your planned departure time. To stop them sooner and keep the plan, tap Stop the reminders (keep this plan) on the pre-departure screen. They also stop when you log your first fix underway, or when you tap Cancel this passage plan.

No. Nothing needs switching on. The app only knows your position when you add a fix, and reminds you an hour after each one.

Everything is stored only on your phone, with no account or cloud copy. Deleting the app, or clearing its storage, removes the data, and it does not move to a new phone. To keep a record of a passage, export it from the Log as a CSV file.

1. Install Apple's free TestFlight app from the App Store first.
2. Then, on the iPhone, tap the public test link in your invitation email. Do not type anything into "Redeem".
3. Tap Accept, then Install.

The app only appears in TestFlight after you tap the invitation link on the iPhone itself. Open the email on the phone and tap the link.

1. Make sure the Play Store is signed in with the same Google account that was invited. If you have several accounts, switch to that one in the Play Store.
2. Open the tester invitation link first and tap to become a tester. Only then use the download link.
3. A new test version can take a few hours to appear in the Play Store. Try again later.