Goggles

[Guest]

As a spectacle wearer I am having increasing problems seeing anything when the weather is bumpy and wet. Charts and instruments are particularly difficult to see. Like most things in yachting, when the weather turns nasty, weaknesses in us and our gear tends to show itself.

I would be very interested to hear how others cope with this problem. Years ago when I had motorbikes the goggles where very effective in rain. Do they make them that fit over spectacles ?

Are those sprays any good ?


Many Thanks

 

[Gunfleet]

You can get ski goggles that fit over glasses. Of course, when you have green ones breaking over the deck you can't see out of either... but you knew that.

 

[Guest]

Thanks john !

Do the ski goggles have angled lenses like the motorbike ones ? They seemed to deflect the rain well. The spinning lens came after the motorbikes goggles but by then I was trying to pull skirt and a motor was the minimum entry level and I never did try them.

 

[Gunfleet]

They are angled and they do work up to a point. You can buy them from ski shops (amazingly) and I know this because I used to use them on my motor bike. I'm of an age where it took me a long time to come round to the full face thingy (head in a bucket). BMW solved the problem with a helmet which was both. I'll see you in the swatchways. We'll find each other easily... the only two nits wearing Cromwells and goggles!
;-)
John

 

[andyball]

Motocross goggles are ok (prob. the same as some ski goggles), and there are some large "otg" (over the glasses" frames available + various types with extra ventilation (save steaming up). Usually a curved plastic lens.

Not sure how easy it'd be to see a chart with them covered in spray though....but a damp cloth/scra[p of chamois cleans them up really quickly without taking them off.

 

[ccscott49]

Same problem, solved with safety goggles from offshore, basically the same as ski goggles, use "Nilmist" on the inside and "rain-X" on the outside, brilliant. Nil-mist was designed for inside gas masks!! But most good old style opticians still have it to prevent fogging. They work!!

 

[yachtcharisma]

May be a silly answer, but I suppose you've thought of contact lenses? I switched from glasses to contact lenses a couple of years ago and the freedom from that salty "fog" that used to appear in front of me after a couple of hours sailing is great! You can get "daily disposable" ones for about 75p per pair which mean no solutions etc to carry around, and if you want you only need to use them when sailing, stick to your glasses the rest of the time. Just a thought...

Cheers
Patrick

Sailing a Corribee in Plymouth
vzone.virgin.net/patrick.fox

 

[AJW]

I wear goggles when out on my RIB in any kind of rough / wet conditions for the same reasons. I bought a pair of Oakley H20 "o frame" goggles which alledgedly are custom designed for aquatic sports. Basically I think they are a set of clear motocross goggles. They fit over my glasses OK and once treated with Rain X are the biz, I wouldn't be without them. I bought mine online through a company called rubensmenswear.co.uk (I kid you not!)

HTH,
Alan

 

[JeremyF]

Yes, the only real solution are contact lenses.

If you tried them a few years back, try again. There has been huge advances in comfort. There are now versions that can correct astigmatism, so if that was a reason why you could not use them, its no longer a problem.

A decent optician will let you try contacts out, and not charge you if you still have comfort problems.

<font color=blue>Jeremy Flynn
/forums/images/icons/crazy.gifDawn Chorus</font color=blue>/forums/images/icons/crazy.gif

 

[Guest]

Contact lenses are a great idea, but not for everyone. I tried to get a set when I was at University, as the opthamology department there was very good. Unfortunately my eye reaction was ridiculously strong - it took four visits to get a test lens in, and even then, it only stayed in for about twn minutes before I (apparently) blinked it out and sent it spinning across the room like a miniature frisbee.
My brother had more guts, and used lenses for a few months, but seems to prefer glasses now.
The solution I've come up with is to use a pair of spectacles with cheap lenses in for sports, and put up with splashes from water and mud. Not everyone can bear this, however! One thing that does keep splashes away is a baseball cap - I usually race as bowman on small keelboats, and it can get quite wet. A cap deflects some of the oggin.
I know a fair number of mountainbikers who use goggles for downhill races, and from what they tell me, the most expensive sets are not necessarily the best. It's a personal thing, so if you're going to give goggles a go, try out as many pairs as you can get your hands on.

 

[peterb]

I have had a related problem with sunglasses.

I have a pair of prescription sunglasses, but find that the glare coming in from the side is unacceptable. I found a wrap-round 'visor' Polaroid sunglass (at Southampton BS) which fitted over the top of of normal glasses, but then managed to lose it.

Went in to one of the Boots optician shops and asked for something similar. The optician went behind the scenes, then produced a similar visor moulded from clear brown plastic. It fits over the top of my normal glasses, and fits closely to my face so that very little spray gets behind. If I get rain or spray on the front, I can quickly wipe it off with some kitchen towel. And only £10!

 

[VMALLOWS]

Sailing in glasses in drissly wet weather is certainly a real big problem...especially if like me you normally sail single handed. My lenses are -6.5 dioptre (very short-sighted) so can't see anything at all without them!

I'd worn contacts (old-fashioned hard, then gas-permeable) for over 25 years (I'm now 53) continuously with no trouble. In the last few years, as the the age-related ' long-sight ' problem kicked in, I've found it progressively more difficult to put up with the contacts........blurring occures after 5 mins or so. Also, of course I need to put on reading specs on top of the contacts in order to read the chart etc. (whereas with my normal glasses I can see over the full distance range).

I will admit I'm overdue for a checkup, and will consider daily disposables just for sailing. Any comments welcomed.

 

[Guest]

Got the same problem myself, but SWMBO certainly looks better when the spray is bouncing.....