When something needs you, a banner appears at the top of the screen, under the status strip. On the Helm it lies over the top of the chart, so the data never moves. Only one alarm shows at a time: the most severe, then the newest. The others wait behind it.
Read the banner
- The kind in large type: Collision risk, Anchor dragging, Off track.
- The value that set it off, larger still: 0.12 nm, 62 m.
- What it is about, beside or under the value: the ship's name, the time to the closest point, the anchor circle.
- +1 at the right when another alarm is waiting. Tap it to see them all on Safety.
The shape tells you the level, even in Red mode or at a glance:
| Level | Banner | Sound |
|---|---|---|
| Critical | Solid fill with a striped edge | Two-tone alarm on repeat, and vibration, until acknowledged or snoozed |
| Warning | Solid fill | A double beep, three times |
| Advisory | Outline | One soft chime |
The sound plays with the ring switch on silent and with the screen locked. If you allowed Offwind's notifications, each alarm also posts one, so you see it on the lock screen.
For a moment after a banner appears it ignores taps, so a tap that was already on its way to the chart cannot dismiss it.
Acknowledge
Slide Acknowledge to the right. The sound stops and the banner moves on to the next alarm.
Acknowledging does not make the danger go away. The alarm stays on the Safety screen, marked acknowledged, for as long as the condition lasts. If it gets worse, it sounds again.
An alarm whose cause cleared before anyone answered it stays on Safety marked rectified, so nothing that happened while you were asleep goes unseen. Acknowledge it to remove it.
Snooze
Tap 5 min beside the slide to silence the alarm for five minutes without acknowledging it. The button then counts down: Snoozed 4:59. If the alarm is still active when the time is up, it sounds again. Advisories have no snooze.
On the Safety screen, each alarm in the list has the same two answers: tap Acknowledge, then slide to confirm, or tap Snooze 5 min.
Which alarms there are
| Alarm | Level | When |
|---|---|---|
| Man overboard | Critical | You pressed MOB |
| Collision risk: name | Critical | An AIS target will pass within 0.5 nm in the next 20 minutes |
| Anchor dragging | Critical | The boat has stayed outside the anchor circle |
| Anchor watch: no position | Critical | The anchor watch has had no usable position for a minute |
| Shallow water | Critical | Less depth under the keel than your setting |
| No position | Critical | No valid position from any source while recording or navigating |
| Land ahead | Critical | Charted land on the track ahead |
| Shallow water ahead | Warning | Charted shallows on the track ahead |
| Off track | Warning | Further off the active route than its limit |
| Shoaling fast, Deep water | Warning | From the depth sounder |
| Outside the anchor circle | Warning | Outside the circle, not yet confirmed |
| Barometer falling | Warning | 3 hPa or more down within 3 hours |
| No depth | Warning | Depth readings have stopped |
| Weather warnings | Warning | A warning in a received bulletin affects your route |
| Arrived at waypoint | Advisory | You reached a waypoint on the active route |
Collision alarms
Collision risk needs an AIS receiver on the boat's instrument network and a position for your own boat. For every ship it hears, Offwind works out the closest point of approach (CPA) and the time to it. A ship that will pass within 0.5 nm in the next 20 minutes raises the alarm, for example Collision risk: SEA WITCH, CPA 0.12 nm in 4 min 10 s. Aids to navigation and shore stations never raise it. The alarm clears once the ship is clearly past those limits. If your own position is lost, every collision alarm clears, because CPA without your position would be a guess.
AIS only shows ships that transmit. Keep a lookout.
While racing
Settings › Focus explains how to add Offwind's Racing filter to an iOS Focus. It holds back ordinary notifications while that Focus is on. Safety and start alerts always come through.