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Sailng watches and Earls Court

On the thorny subject of sailing watches navigator Nat Ives gives his views on what he uses on yachts:

As a navigator, I have a few more uses for the watch than just the Start Countdown. I currently own two watches:

1. An Optimum Time Series 1
2. A Suunto Yachtsman

I bought the Optimum Time unit begrudgingly in Cowes one regatta when I had left the Suunto on the mainland. It was inexpensive and a doddle to use which was handy as I had to figure it out on the way to the start. It is easily set and reset and syncing is easy too. The big numbers (for a wrist watch) make it easy to read at a glance too. I normally set the alarm to the High Water Portsmouth time when racing in the Solent, not so it goes off in the middle of a race but so I can flick to that page if I need to remember it. The countup feature after the start is handy when handicap racing to know the elapsed time. I have used the watch a lot as it is light and not as bulky as the Suunto and it has proved rugged and reliable, I regularly swim in it as well so water resistance has been well tested. For me this unit just lacks two crucial features.

1. Seconds on the real-time screen – At yacht regattas the Race Committee often do a time check over the radio at the start of the day and then run all racing to this time. If you happen to miss a flag hoist or sound signal then a quick glance at the time means you can usually guess what the start time is once you spot the flags that are flying. Without seconds on the real time display it is impossible to sync your watch or know the exact time.
2. A Bezel – I find the 360 degree bezel present on some watches extremely useful for remembering compass headings, bearings of other yachts, Wind directions or working out the TWA of the next leg and likely layline numbers.

The Suunto Yachtsman watch was not cheap and considering the price I have been somewhat disappointed. The main faults are that it eats batteries (although it is light for its size so there is probably a trade off here), is very difficult to use (and to remember how to use) and is fragile. Water resistance had been good but the strap and the fittings to the case fell apart surprisingly quickly. Fortunately a dealer sent me a demo model with no internal workings for free and I was able to rebuild the strap and fittings with a bit of cannibalism.

Features-wise it has everything discussed above including a bezel and seconds on the time display (default is date under the time but one button press changes this to seconds for a short period if you can remember which button). I principally bought it because of the barometer for offshore racing and have been pleasantly surprised by the performance in this department so in that aspect it has done what I wanted it to. It also has an inbuilt compass but despite calibrating it according to instructions this is extremely inaccurate; like all small electronic compasses it needs to be level and does not like moving up and down vertically - both things are hard to satisfy on a rolling yacht. Some markings on the buttons for the main features and better build quality would make this a very complete watch , if expensive - oh and bin the compass!

Hope this is helpful for your readers.



On the subject of Earls Court Boat Show and what we all think of it Charles Althorp writes:

I thought your article on the Earls Court Boat show was particularly poor and bore little relationship to the show I visited.

I found it a beter show than Excel of the last few years - in part because of its diversity, yes there are no long lines of identical yachts or power boats, but what is there it actually much more interesting.

For example it was good to see Gypsy Moth being properly displayed on the water where she belongs, the James Caid - merits an article in itself.

Other examples he Moth is interesting for those who havn't seen one in the flesh and Bouncer was interesting when compared with the 14. (for those who don't know Bouncer is a Nat 12 designed by Jo Richards in the later 1970s). The 6m were interesting, there were some J boats I hadn't seen before I could go on - some of the power boats were worth a look.

Also the food is a lot better, it is easier to get to and there were things for the children to do.

All in all more interesting and fun as a family day out than Excel and most importantly the show has atmosphere sadly lacking at Excel.

Why all the negativity? Why isn't the RYA at the show? Why is it when asked many former exhibitors at Earls Court and current exhibitors at Excel refuse to comment i.e an emphatic "NO Comment" when asked why they didn't go to Earls Court.

That is a much more interesting story, perhaps a bit of investigative journalism might be appropriate? Or would that be perceived as rocking the boat a bit too much?

Not really. The issue of boat shows is not really core to what we do and we're already fairly sick of political shenanigans with the Olympic and America's Cup debacle. Now if these weren't going on... Living in west London I am hugely biased in favour of a show in Earls Court. Since our report on Friday I have been in again and the general feeling is mixed in terms of how trading is going for exhibitors. J-UK's Paul Heys told us he is pleased with the show and that many more of his clients have come to visit than would have at Excel. Of course the worry in terms of Earls Court (hurrah!) v Excel (boo!) is that both shows fall flat on their face and we end up with no London Boat Shows. We sincerely hope the Earls Court show succeeds but finds its own identity compared to Excel.

Those wishing to contribute their views on these topics, or the America's Cup and Olympic situations or the demise of the 60ft trimarans - please email us at batmail@thedailysail.com