Sailing with glasses :)

pclancy

This may be a silly question so soz in advance

Just about to start a keel boat training course down here in Wellington, NZ having stared out at the lovely harbour for years yearning to sail.

I wear glasses and was wondering what other sailors do to keep them on your head and not have them vanish to the bottom of the ocean every time you fall in or the boat lists too far, do many people just tie them onto your hat or something or is there a better solution for half blind boaties?

HeidiHeidi

Possibly not the answer you were looking for, but taking up sailing at a lateish age while wearing glasses was what finally pushed me over the edge into getting my eyes lasered - best thing I ever did, and I'm sorry I didn't get it done 10 years earlier!

My experience is that sailing and glasses really don't go together at all! Can you wear lenses? My eyesight (at the time, I think things are different now) wasn't suitable for lenses, so it was glasses or surgery. No contest there for me!

Failing that, find yourself a good, tight band for the glasses, and be prepared to wipe them of salt very often indeed! My heart was broken switching between glasses and (prescription) sunglasses - I couldn't see very well in wide open spaces without glasses, so I had to have one or the other on - not a particular problem if you're just crusing, but racing it was a major PIA, and wildly impractical.

Best of luck with your course, and I hope you find a solution that's practical and economical!

pclancy

Yeah laser is something i'd love to do but funds don't permit it for the foreseeable future. Good points about constantly being covered in sea spray its going to drive me mad! I was also thinking that maybe perscription swiming goggles might do the trick. I kayak quite often but don't get very wet as its just around the harbour or gentle river runs.

Steve

Goggles are no better than glasses, the salt crust grows just as quick.

Best advice I have is to secure them to your head best you can - growing up as a young lad on the foredeck, I lost many pairs to the deep (also watches, they pop off just as quick) when confronted with a fast moving spinnaker pole..

I eventually recently got laser done but that didn't improve things, it just meant the splash sound was made by expensive sunnys rather then expensive glasses

Anyways, the best thing that worked for me was a home-made 3mm spectra strap with a hangmans knot on each end that gripped the glasses arm and had about 25mm clearance behind my head. Served me well for 20 years.

Delphi91

pclancy wrote: »

This may be a silly question so soz in advance

Just about to start a keel boat training course down here in Wellington, NZ having stared out at the lovely harbour for years yearning to sail.

I wear glasses and was wondering what other sailors do to keep them on your head and not have them vanish to the bottom of the ocean every time you fall in or the boat lists too far, do many people just tie them onto your hat or something or is there a better solution for half blind boaties?

I too wear glasses, very light ones that caoul easily fall off, so, depending on the type of frame, you could invest in a set of
http://www.force4.co.uk/7616/Force-4-Fabric-Glasses-Retainer.html

or

http://www.force4.co.uk/7617/Force-4-Cord-Glasses-Retainer.html

I bought mine in the local Specsavers, so have a look in the NZ equivalent.

the keen edge

When I wear sunnies they're held with a retainer like the first kind linked above.

They work a treat, I haven't lost a pair yet and I'm the Bowman.

cbreeze

the keen edge wrote: »

When I wear sunnies they're held with a retainer like the first kind linked above.

They work a treat, I haven't lost a pair yet and I'm the Bowman.

Neoprene spec savers are what I use - then a hat or balaclava to keep the rig in place.

pclancy

Cheers folks. First lesson tonight. Clear skies and 20-40Km winds so looking foward to it

ISAW

Use a shoelace to tie them on and wear a hat with a peak.

HeidiHeidi

ISAW wrote: »

Use a shoelace to tie them on and wear a hat with a peak.

I had to give up wearing baseball caps while sailing - lost count of the amount of them I've lost (and yes, I know I could tie them onto my jacket) - every time I look upwards to see the sail or windex, whoosh, off it goes. Again.

Hope your first lesson was good, OP - 20-40kts is plenty wind!!! What sort of boat are you on?

ETA - oops, just noticed that you said 20-40km winds! Not as bad, but still plenty!

pclancy

1st lesson on Monday night was lovely and calm in the end, gorgeous sunset over Wellington harbour and light winds. We spent it motoring around, learning some basic stuff and practising berthing and basic motor handling.

2nd lesson last night was really intense. 20-30Kt gusts, we motored out a bit the raised the main sail and got to grips with that. Then everyone got a turn at the different positions and practising what to do to during a tack, trimming the jib and use the winches etc. Finally raised the jib and got up to about 15 kts with the boat practically on its side! Great fun and really good to actually get stuck into real sailing. Really enjoyed the helm and mainsail positions the most.

Still a lot of stuff to take in but practise makes perfect and already the terms and names for different parts are falling into place.

I'm amazed how tight a donut keelboats can pull

irlrobins

I'm a regular sailor and and even more regular glass wearer. But when out on the water, I wear contact lenses. Complete life saver, as I'm usually up the point end and glasses would never survive up there. Even wrap around oakleys that fit tight to my head have had a few close calls.

One of the guys I sail with wears his glasses and keeps them attached to his body using the retainers linked by someone above. But he has lost a pair and had others badly squashed.

Ideal situation is not to have to wear glasses (laser or contacts) but if you need to, get a retainer strap on them so if they are knocked off your face then at least they shouldn't go overboard.

Smooth sailing!

pclancy

Hope its okay to share a few photos here, finished the five week course and got my level 1 yachting NZ cert. Had a fantastic time and some amazing weather mixed up with some terrible weather so a good range of wind and sea conditions to learn in. Here's a few, i'll upload more again if thats cool:

Pigeon Reaper

you'll have some friction on the Jib sheets setup like they are. Nice pics though

Steve

Pigeon Reaper wrote: »

you'll have some friction on the Jib sheets setup like they are. Nice pics though

Yeah, looks like it should be lead outside the shrouds - would need to see a pic on the wind though. Lots of boats lead inside when using a blade headsail.