Heavy Spray and Eye Glasses!

[Chris Scheck]

Seems I remember motocross racers, who take more mud in the eye than just about anyone, came up with a solution a few years back. They wear goggles with tear away plastic lenses. They have 6 or 7 layers that they peel off one at a time as their vision clouds over. Hopefully, by the time they've gotten to the last layer, the race is over.
Here's another idea ... sail with two pairs of glasses. When one gets frosted, switch to the spare. Then hand the first one to the first mate who is hiding under the dodger and let him/her (them?) clean it off for you.



cscheck@aol.com

[yves feder W1UX]

This may sound like a trivial question, but its one of those things that just gets under my skin. Perhaps I'm not the only one...and maybe someone has come up with an answer. When going to windward on a windy day in a choppy sea, often I get a face full of spray. Even with the dodger up I get it. Getting wet isn't what bothers me. But when salt water gets on my eyeglasses everything gets distorted and if the salt dries, its very annoying. Its hard to wipe the glasses off effectively because everything you have around you in those conditions its also wet and it just schmears the eyeglasses even more. I could wear goggles or a face mask. I've seen pictures of those round the world racing guys in the southern ocean ( a miserable place) in their heavy weather gear that included a sort of a helmut/ face mask combination. I'm not talking about anything quite like that but it is easier to wipe off goggles or a face mask and still see decently (even if those are smudged) than having the optics of the eyeglasses compromised. I get under the dodger as much as I can but I have to come out sometime. Any of you "optically handicapped" captains have a method of dealing with heavy, constant spray?

Warren Kaplan
Sine Qua Non
CD27
Oyster Bay Harbor, New York

Hi Warren! I think there are two choices:
1. A set of miniature windshield wipers, with motor powered by small Nicad watch cell. Has to have spray accessory so you can squeeze rubber bulb with free arm (other is grasping tiller due weather helm:)Product now being developed by "MyopicSailors Limited" :)
2. A miniaturized set of spinning glasses, such as used in bridges of large ships, motor driven of course. Problem is large rubber belts might obscure vision somewhat!

SERIOUSLY Warren I would keep a small spray bottle of fresh H2O in the cockpit with a handy bunch of paper towels stored under foulWX gear, and spray/wipe periodically, at least until the above products find their way to the market!!

Read your "single handed sailing" posting with great interest too Warren. Great ideas. Gotta check with you and adopt some of your ideas!

Best,
Yves
S/V "Alphee"
CD27 #4 (1977) (18)
Stonington, CT



saltwater@tinyradio.com

[Warren Kaplan]

Hi Warren! I think there are two choices:
1. A set of miniature windshield wipers, with motor powered by small Nicad watch cell. Has to have spray accessory so you can squeeze rubber bulb with free arm (other is grasping tiller due weather helm:)Product now being developed by "MyopicSailors Limited" :)
2. A miniaturized set of spinning glasses, such as used in bridges of large ships, motor driven of course. Problem is large rubber belts might obscure vision somewhat!

SERIOUSLY Warren I would keep a small spray bottle of fresh H2O in the cockpit with a handy bunch of paper towels stored under foulWX gear, and spray/wipe periodically, at least until the above products find their way to the market!!

Read your "single handed sailing" posting with great interest too Warren. Great ideas. Gotta check with you and adopt some of your ideas!

Best,
Yves
S/V "Alphee"
CD27 #4 (1977) (18)
Stonington, CT

Yves and others,
Thanks for conjuring up all these suggestions. I may have stumbled across a viable solution this evening. While rummaging through the depths of a basement closet, one that is reminescent of a dungeon, in that whatever is put in there is rarely seen again, I found an old diving/snorkeling mask! I blew 20 years of dust off of it and the face plate looks in very good shape. Layers of dust must be a great protectant. I think I'll commute the mask's sentence out of the basement dungeon and transfer it to a cockpit locker aboard Sine Qua Non. Just the thing to keep the splash off my eyeglasses on those blustery sails! I could also use it to dive below SQN and get the barnacles off the prop and knotmeter! Divine Providence must of had a hand in the timing. HA!

Warren Kaplan
SQN
CD27
Oyster Bay Harbor, NY



Setsail728@aol.com

[Will W.]

I don't wear glasses yet but I used to use Rain X on my motorcycle visor. It helped a lot in that situation, Perhaps it would help on the glasses as well. Or maybe that is why those pro's wear that helmut/visor arrangement. Will

This may sound like a trivial question, but its one of those things that just gets under my skin. Perhaps I'm not the only one...and maybe someone has come up with an answer. When going to windward on a windy day in a choppy sea, often I get a face full of spray. Even with the dodger up I get it. Getting wet isn't what bothers me. But when salt water gets on my eyeglasses everything gets distorted and if the salt dries, its very annoying. Its hard to wipe the glasses off effectively because everything you have around you in those conditions its also wet and it just schmears the eyeglasses even more. I could wear goggles or a face mask. I've seen pictures of those round the world racing guys in the southern ocean ( a miserable place) in their heavy weather gear that included a sort of a helmut/ face mask combination. I'm not talking about anything quite like that but it is easier to wipe off goggles or a face mask and still see decently (even if those are smudged) than having the optics of the eyeglasses compromised. I get under the dodger as much as I can but I have to come out sometime. Any of you "optically handicapped" captains have a method of dealing with heavy, constant spray?

Warren Kaplan
Sine Qua Non
CD27
Oyster Bay Harbor, New York

willwheatley@starpower.net

[Gary L.]

Good heavens, man, why would yo be standing at the wheel going to weather? That's why they invented auto pilots and wind vanes. If you go below and pull the hatch closed, you don't eat any spray at all.

Tom,
Alas, I am but a poor sailor with rudimentary equipment destined to be lashed to the tiller through all measure of wind and wave. The malestrom comes! The sails are bent southwest for Oyster Bay! I am resolute at the tiller, although soggy and half blind from the incessant spray, while a tillerpilot with my name on it sleeps cozily on a shelf at West Marine! I'll retire to Bedlam!

Warren Kaplan
Sine Qua Non
CD27
Oyster Bay Harbor, NY

Bedlam, is that near Boston? Warren, Shanghai someone, preferrably someone you don't know, but Bedlam is a good place to start.

Gary



dory@attbi.com

[Michael Britt]

I had LASIK about 6 years ago when I was racing Hobies. Best sailing investment you can make.

duckbill cap pulled way down low.

This may sound like a trivial question, but its one of those things that just gets under my skin. Perhaps I'm not the only one...and maybe someone has come up with an answer. When going to windward on a windy day in a choppy sea, often I get a face full of spray. Even with the dodger up I get it. Getting wet isn't what bothers me. But when salt water gets on my eyeglasses everything gets distorted and if the salt dries, its very annoying. Its hard to wipe the glasses off effectively because everything you have around you in those conditions its also wet and it just schmears the eyeglasses even more. I could wear goggles or a face mask. I've seen pictures of those round the world racing guys in the southern ocean ( a miserable place) in their heavy weather gear that included a sort of a helmut/ face mask combination. I'm not talking about anything quite like that but it is easier to wipe off goggles or a face mask and still see decently (even if those are smudged) than having the optics of the eyeglasses compromised. I get under the dodger as much as I can but I have to come out sometime. Any of you "optically handicapped" captains have a method of dealing with heavy, constant spray?

Warren Kaplan
Sine Qua Non
CD27
Oyster Bay Harbor, New York

mbritt@eyedocs.com

[Ken Coit]

Assuming that someone with a Cape Dory and an email address like eyedocs.com is an eye surgeon, perhaps you would like to state some statistics on the odds of an unhappy experience with LASIK? My eyes are too precious, but I'd like to see the stats anyway.

Thanks.

Keep on sailing,

Ken Coit
CD/14 #538
CD/36 #84 Parfait
Hailing Port: Raleigh, NC
Sailing from: Beaufort, NC

I had LASIK about 6 years ago when I was racing Hobies. Best sailing investment you can make.

duckbill cap pulled way down low.

This may sound like a trivial question, but its one of those things that just gets under my skin. Perhaps I'm not the only one...and maybe someone has come up with an answer. When going to windward on a windy day in a choppy sea, often I get a face full of spray. Even with the dodger up I get it. Getting wet isn't what bothers me. But when salt water gets on my eyeglasses everything gets distorted and if the salt dries, its very annoying. Its hard to wipe the glasses off effectively because everything you have around you in those conditions its also wet and it just schmears the eyeglasses even more. I could wear goggles or a face mask. I've seen pictures of those round the world racing guys in the southern ocean ( a miserable place) in their heavy weather gear that included a sort of a helmut/ face mask combination. I'm not talking about anything quite like that but it is easier to wipe off goggles or a face mask and still see decently (even if those are smudged) than having the optics of the eyeglasses compromised. I get under the dodger as much as I can but I have to come out sometime. Any of you "optically handicapped" captains have a method of dealing with heavy, constant spray?

Warren Kaplan
Sine Qua Non
CD27
Oyster Bay Harbor, New York

parfaitNOSPAM@nc.rr.com

[Ken Coit]

Assuming that someone with a Cape Dory and an email address like eyedocs.com is an eye surgeon, perhaps you would like to state some statistics on the odds of an unhappy experience with LASIK? My eyes are too precious, but I'd like to see the stats anyway.

Thanks.

Keep on sailing,

Ken Coit
CD/14 #538
CD/36 #84 Parfait
Hailing Port: Raleigh, NC
Sailing from: Beaufort, NC

I had LASIK about 6 years ago when I was racing Hobies. Best sailing investment you can make.

duckbill cap pulled way down low.

This may sound like a trivial question, but its one of those things that just gets under my skin. Perhaps I'm not the only one...and maybe someone has come up with an answer. When going to windward on a windy day in a choppy sea, often I get a face full of spray. Even with the dodger up I get it. Getting wet isn't what bothers me. But when salt water gets on my eyeglasses everything gets distorted and if the salt dries, its very annoying. Its hard to wipe the glasses off effectively because everything you have around you in those conditions its also wet and it just schmears the eyeglasses even more. I could wear goggles or a face mask. I've seen pictures of those round the world racing guys in the southern ocean ( a miserable place) in their heavy weather gear that included a sort of a helmut/ face mask combination. I'm not talking about anything quite like that but it is easier to wipe off goggles or a face mask and still see decently (even if those are smudged) than having the optics of the eyeglasses compromised. I get under the dodger as much as I can but I have to come out sometime. Any of you "optically handicapped" captains have a method of dealing with heavy, constant spray?

Warren Kaplan
Sine Qua Non
CD27
Oyster Bay Harbor, New York

parfaitNOSPAM@nc.rr.com