Spectacles/Glasses for sailing - advice please

S

simon501

Well-Known Member
Joined
7 Jan 2005
Messages
157
Location
UK
Visit site
I never know if it's spectacles or glasses - only needed them for a year....

But.....

I am currently using varifocals. My eyes arent that bad according to the opticians but I find having to adjust my head in order to read (using the bottom of the lens so head up) or distance (using top of the lens so head down) a real pain in the neck :D

I also have to take them off when walking as looking down loses focus unless I walk with my head down.

So, your recommendations please for specs. used for sailing, driving or everyday, and any tips etc. would be most welcome to this relative newbie to the wonderful world of specs. :irony icon:

p.s. I can't wear contact lenses.
 
I've worn glasses full time since I was 18 (used to just put them on for classroom blackboards and shooting, before that). Only things of relevance to sailing are

1) They get rain or spray on them, which is annoying. A cloth to wipe it off from time to time is handy, though if it's heavy there's not much point trying. If it's been salt spray rather than rain I rinse the lenses in fresh water at the end of the day, otherwise the dried salt is hard to see through.

2) A strap to hold them on is a good idea if your sailing is boisterous. For example, if you handle spinnakers and flogging jibs on a pitching foredeck. When sailing on square-riggers I fit the strap every time I climb aloft. I don't bother for normal yacht cruising.

I don't have varifocals though :)

Pete
 
Aside from some kind of strap to avoid losing them, I really cannot think of any strong factors in favour of one kind relative to another - they are all a pain in the neck and all get contaminated with spray.

What are your grounds for saying you cannot wear contacts? Have you tried, or is it just an optician's opinion? I was told by my regular optician that my eyes were far too dry, but I asked at another optician and they agreed to give me a trial with the latest daily disposables. I certainly cannot wear contacts for 12+ hours, day after day, but I can manage seven or eight hours once or twice a week without too much discomfort - enough for most pleasure sailing activities.
 
My personal overall advice re the varifocals would be to persevere in wearing them all the time, I found that I got used to walking/adjusting head position fairly quickly- but lost the knack of it all if I tried spending any time without them.

I've just been to the opticians today, (no change in prescription so no new glasses needed-phew! major expense avoided!) and his major recommendation re sailing was to ensure the health of my eyes by getting enough protection from the sun- wear a big-brimmed hat, use prescription sunglasses etc. I personally have some 'overlookers'- sunglasses that you can wear over the top of your normal ones. I have two pairs, so if one pair gets covered in salt spray I can do a quick change!

I don't think I look too bad in them.....

ps before anyone says you don't need the 'Q' flag for France- I was approaching French Polynesia, Hiva Oa iirc
 
Last edited:
If your eyes "aren't that bad", do you really need the things? Otherwise I'd recommend separate pairs for deck and chart table. I have glasses for both near and far but neither are particularly strong and I cope (better than some of my crew!) without them but with binoculars for long distance buoy recognition and the like and a LED lit magnifying glass for chart work. Even with my reading glasses, the magnifying glass helps identify those pesky wee crosses hiding in the detail.
 
thanks

Many thanks for your responses.

My OP might have been slightly misleading as I was only prescribed them a year ago and up to that point only needed light reading specs (1.5).

The optician said my eyes were not too bad, i.e. the level of correction needed was minimal.

I do need specs. now for reading and detail distance so I went for the varifocals as they are a 'combined' option and (IMHO - out of igronance) the only option for driving combining looking at the dash and also being able to see what not to hit.

I also have 2 spare pairs at strategic locations, as well as spare reading glasses, just in case. And a multitude of that microfibre stuff for removing the wave/rain residue :)

Thanks again,

Simon
 
simon501 said:
Many thanks for your responses.

My OP might have been slightly misleading as I was only prescribed them a year ago and up to that point only needed light reading specs (1.5).

The optician said my eyes were not too bad, i.e. the level of correction needed was minimal.

I do need specs. now for reading and detail distance so I went for the varifocals as they are a 'combined' option and (IMHO - out of igronance) the only option for driving combining looking at the dash and also being able to see what not to hit.

I also have 2 spare pairs at strategic locations, as well as spare reading glasses, just in case. And a multitude of that microfibre stuff for removing the wave/rain residue :)

Thanks again,

Simon
Click to expand...


if reacto you get prescription sun glasses
 
I've worn varifocals for a few years, I find them the best solution. I have clear ones and prescription sunnies. I have no trouble walking, sailing or flying using them. You get used to moving your head more.
Don't go for very small frames though, you need a reasonable height of lens or the "vari" is too compressed. It is less critical than it used to be with the latest lens designs known as "freeform".
I've actually found ASDA Opticians very good and far cheaper than anywhere else. I can't remember what make of lenses they use but they are freeform.
 
My advice as a long term sailor and glasses wearer is to get frames with the sides that spring in.

This keeps them in good contact with your temples and IHMO it is much more effective (and comfortable) than an elastic strap.
 
I’ve needed glasses for years so I can see straight edges in the distance, drive, spot buoys etc. Just to add to the joy, now need another set so I can read – especially by the interior light on board.

Tried varifocals at first but found them really hard to use so decided to go the separate pair route.

When we left home, I carried six pairs of glasses. I had two each of the distance (which are also photochromatic) and close range lenses, all using the same frame so I could cannibalise if I damaged any.

A good idea, but doesn’t overcome the problem of loosing a lens overboard from both pairs of distance glasses within 2 weeks – well, not when each time it was the left lens.

The other pairs are my deck glasses – distance prescription. Now I realise you Brits don’t see much sun, but I’d suggest getting some serious sun glasses with corrective lenses – and get them polarised – wonderful in anchorages.

They are also the big aviator style with a good wrap around to cut down the reflected glare off the sea.
 
I use a retainer like this

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Gill-Floatable-Sunglass-Retainer/dp/B002APURSI

They have a rubber band that you can tighten up against the back of your head so that your glasses don't droop. They have rubber tubes that go over the end of your glasses to make them less likely to snag on things. They are available in garish colours so you can find your glasses, and they are supposed to float, but I haven't tested this one.
 
I've been seriously short-sighted since child-hood, and can't really remember not needing correction. During my teens, my sight was deteriorating constantly, and I must have been one of the few people who had contact lenses prescribed on the NHS as early as 1970, when they were still regarded as an expensive luxury!

However, I've worn contact lenses since 1970, and would never consider anything else for distant vision (just now it isn't an option; other issues mean that glasses can't correct my distant vision). With increasing age and other eye problems, I wear reading glasses over contact lenses for close work, but because all the major correction is done by my contact lenses, cheap reading glasses are perfectly adequate and mean I can use different strengths for different purposes; a stronger pair for close "hobby" work, a middling set for reading, and a weaker set for the computer. These glasses are cheap enough that I can keep pairs wherever I need them - for example, a set lives permanently on the chart table, next to the computer, by the chair where I read and so on.

For distant vision, I'd recommend single-vision contact lenses, and if you can adapt to them (I had to; no option when I started using them), use gas-permeable hard lenses, which are far easier to care for on a boat than soft ones; hard lenses are cleaned with something that kills anything; soft lenses have to use a much milder cleaning and soaking solution because they absorb the chemicals. The stuff I clean mine with says not to get it in the eye, but it means that I can be much less careful withthe cleaning regime.
 
I have varifocal reading glasses- top half for computer screen, bottom half for reading- stops me getting neck ache when using the computer! I put them them on and off a lot when sailing on yachts, especially when navigating, and tend to stuff them in a pocket when I don't need them. When dinghy racing I leave them on shore and ensure that my crew is young enough to read the course book.

I've always been fairly rubbish at putting glasses back into a case, so unsurprisingly I used to break and bend a lot of pairs of glasses when sailing,especially when yacht racing. This did not matter much when I bought reading glasses in bulk from Tesco or Boots, but the varifocals are too expensive for this approach.

For the last few years I have had flexible frame glasses, which bend when you accidentally sit/ lean on them and then spring back to shape. They have taken some abuse over this time , but are still going - I recommend them to anyone as ill-disciplined as me in spectacle ownership. I think that they were Pentax frames from Specsavers. Not cheap initially, but over time probably better value than going through loads of cheap pairs.
 
Troubadour said:
But not so good when the axis of polarisation clashes with your LCD display instruments and you have to lean over with your head horizontal to see the numbers! Serious problem.
Click to expand...


Very true - the sparkie who helped me install all our instruments tells the story of a stinkboat owner who had him back 3 times, getting more irate each time, claiming his new instruments weren't working.

Yep, polarised lenses.
 
simon501 said:
I went for the varifocals as they are a 'combined' option and (IMHO - out of igronance) the only option for driving combining looking at the dash and also being able to see what not to hit.
Click to expand...

I don't like varifocals because of the distortion in the transition areas but I find bifocals are fine for driving.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Other threads that may be of interest

S
Making Beading to fit a bend and having a 60° vertical profile.
Replies
5
Views
257
STATUE
S
stav
What sailing jacket have I worn out so I can ask for a new one from Santa?
Replies
9
Views
451
Boathook
Boathook

Share this page

Top