Contact lenses for sailing ?

[Boo2]

Hi,

Just starting out with contacts and wondered how people here get on with them for sailing ? I currently use bifocal glasses but glasses generally are a pain in a boat due top spray etc. Ideally I'd use bi/varifocal contacts but my understanding (from my optician) is that these have a near focus part in the centre and a far bit around the edge, not ideal for spotting buoy types in the distance I'd have thought ? Alternatively I've heard of people using different lenses in each eye, one for near and one for distant, obviously this loses binocular vision but I wondered how this pans out IRL on a boat ?

Any suggestions or comments welcome...

Thanks,

Boo2

 

[colingr]

I have the two strength option which works well. One distance and one reading. I found, once I got used to them, that this works well everywhere.

Worth keeping some eye drops nearby though as the wind will dry your eyes out. I use the Optrex ActiMist spray.

 

[maby]

I use multifocal contacts and they are simply wonderful - for me. They give me near perfect vision at all distances simultaneously and there is no reduction in distance vision in the central zone. That said, they are not for everybody - my wife tried them and got pretty grotty vision simultaneously at all distances!

Obviously, unlike glasses, you can't select the section of the lens in use by adjusting the angle of your head, so the multifocal contacts work by having multiple concentric rings that focus at different distances. That being the case, you will always be seeing an image that simultaneously included areas that are in focus and areas that are out of focus - they rely on your brain's ability to not notice the "inconvenient" bits of the image - similar to the way in which we simply tune out the blind spot that we all have in the retina. My brain is good at ignoring things, my wife's is not!

Different lenses work for different people - I tried several variants and settled on the Alcon Dailies AquaComfort Plus Multifocals. They are perfect for me - the optician reckons that my vision rates at better than 20/20 with them in - and I am very long sighted - I am not functional at any distance without glasses.

 

[Alan ashore]

I'm a bifocal wearer too, and I don't wear contacts ashore.
Single vision contacts in both eyes used to work well for me at sea, with reading glasses available below, but as the long sight part gets worse with age, then I am finding the one lens solution better. When doing that I keep a pair of binos with the focus adjusted asymmetrically, and woe betide anyone who changes them!

Now it's just occurred to me that with one contact in, it would be worth keeping a pair of distance glasses with one lens in my pocket, and a pair of reading glasses with the other lens, at the nav station. Never thought of that before.....

I must say that I'd be interested to try varifocal contacts, but like you I'm skeptical.

A.

 

[maby]

...

I must say that I'd be interested to try varifocal contacts, but like you I'm skeptical.

A.

They really are worth a try - any of the large chains will give you a trial set free of charge. I've just put mine in and I'm typing this without any problems... If I turn my head, I can count the leaves on a tree fifty yards away and the antennae on a mobile phone mast a mile away on the other side of the valley.

 

[vyv_cox]

I have worn contact lenses for many years and have canoed, surfed and sailed in them throughout. I have only ever lost two of them, surfing in heavy waves, and always have my eyes open underwater.

For the past five years or so my left lens is half a dioptre lower than it should be (-5.0 instead of -5.50) and I find that a perfectly acceptable compromise. I have tried the multifocal ones but found distance vision less good than with the other option.

 

[PhillM]

I'm with the other, multi-focal work a treat. Drops, yes, spares too. But basically they just work.

I have scattered a few of the £1 reading glasses for use over the top if I need very fine detail or am tired.

I also like that I can wear ordinary sunglasses over the top too. Much cheaper than keep losing, treating on etc, prescription glasees.

 

[doug748]

I tried close vision correction but did not get on with either method. No problem, as PhillM says, a few pairs of reading specs does the job. A pair live by the plotter, chart and in my pocket.
As a kid I had bottle end glasses and contact lenses were the first thing I had to have when I started to earn money. The adjusted present day cost was well over £1000.
Just the very best thing you can do.

 

[shaunksb]

I have scattered a few of the £1 reading glasses for use over the top if I need very fine detail or am tired.

I also like that I can wear ordinary sunglasses over the top too. Much cheaper than keep losing, treating on etc, prescription glasees.

I'll second that.

I don't use bifocals as they are not yet made in my prescription but reading glasses down below and sunglasses up top.

A spare set in the heads and a spare set of glasses.

The only issues are when you are on a night watch or on call and I tend to just wear my glasses then.


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[duncan99210]

My wife uses the two strength lens solution for her vision. She has pretty normal distance vision but crap reading distance vision. She originally asked for prescription lenses for her dive mask when she could no longer read her gauges when diving and was pointed in th contact lens direction by her optician. She uses daily disposable ones, cheap as chips.

On the other hand, I can't get on with contacts but use varifocal specs. Worn in conjunction with a baseball cap or similar peaked cap, I find that I can cope with most weather conditions. By the time I'm getting blinded by the rain, you can't see much anyhow.... And that's the point when I get my wife to come and take over the helm, as she can see when I can't!

Both of us have lots of cheap reading glasses scattered about at home and on the boat for really close work or for time when you need to see at night and haven't time or inclination to fiddle about with contacts.

 

[Burnham Bob]

I wear single vision contacts for sailing as distance vision is important and spray and rain don't affect you vision. My near/middle vision is good enough to see the gps and echo sounder but not the chart plotter which is closer. At £2.00 a pair (go to the local tat shop not an optician or chemist) reading glasses are disposable and I sling a pair around my neck for looking at close stuff . If they go overboard I have several spares. Helps with fixed focus binos too - just set them once and you're away.

 

[VicMallows]

Having worn contacts for 45 years, I've settled on a slightly different approach as age has set in. For ideal distant vision I need -6.0/-5.5. However at that strength I then need +1.5 reading glasses to see anything closer than 2m. So most of the time I use -5.5/-5.0 which gives quite adequate distant vision, and still allows me to read instrument, chart, etc. (If I know I will be doing extensive close-up work I will choose an even lower power). Whichever strength contacts you are using you can 'top-up' with appropriate glasses either for distance or close.