Well with another watch at the bottom of the wet stuff I now need a new watch.

I want one that looks OK (well as good as any digital ever can) and has a countdown with a sync feature.

It also has to have a moulded strap (i.e. no pins that can get knocked out) and no velcro.

Suggestions?

Rick

You guys are not reading the question ... I want one that looks OK as well.

I don't think the big yellow is in that bracket ...

Optimum do one with an integrated strap so you wont loose the pins. Also comes in charcoal.

Rick

You are dressed head to toe in black neoprene that shows every inadequacy of your figure. Your buoyancy aid makes you look pigeon-chested. You cap is tied to your buoyancy aid by a bit of string. Your sunglasses are kept on by similar means. Your harness is called "nappy style" for good reason. How exactly is a good-looking watch going to rescue that image?

Argos cheapy at £10. I think mine is a Timex Ironman but, in truth, it was "the one on special offer". Watches, hats and sunglasses are consumable items. You lost your last one to the deep. What makes you think the next won't go the same way?

Rick,

I've been using a Timex Bodylink system which has a GPS unit and heart rate monitor that it interfaces with (GPS unit size of 2 matchboxes - goes in pocket of spray top easily).

I've found it really interesting sailing with this as it will give you a countdown for a race, then time the race.  If you then stop the timer at the end of the race, it will give you all the data for the race such as max heart rate, av heart rate, av speed, max speed, distance sailed, etc etc.  Also gives up to three lines of data (you can choose) in real time, which has been an eye opener.

OK, I know GPS is banned from most dinghy classes, but I'm only using it for interest purposes rather than advance navigation and then only in club racing.

On an hours club race at low water (creek crawling) it's the equivalent of a good hour work out at the gym, according to the watch.

Oh, and you can also add a data logger to it if you want.  Same size as the GPS unit again, and records well in excess of what most sailors require.

Not cheap, but a good fun toy.

best regards

Paul

What happens when you tack?

I tried digital watches for a while and once forgot to change my watch from my usual analogue one so I used the second hand. My starts were consistantly better! It is probably due to 'seeing' how much time is left rather than it just being a number. This is also why flying instruments are very often still like this despite being on digital displays - it puts the value in context.

I'd be interested if anyone else has had this happen or if I'm just weird

  Perfect answer   That justifies that £12 watch from Asda I've been wearing every day for more than 2 years!

Cheap casio is the way to go if you wear two watches but I like to stick with the same one when I go away to an event ... and I don't like to wear a nasty plastic watch all the time ...

Rick

The don't do watches

I would agree with m_liddell that a second hand is far easier to 'read' for starts than digital.

I use the cheapest Timex in the sale that was water resistant but looks reasonably tidy in everyday life, so I don't have to have two watches.

Anyone got/used one of these?

http://www.suunto.com/suunto/main/product_short.jsp?CONTENT%3C%3Ecnt_id=10134198673959341&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=9852723697223384&bmUID=1162316923952 - http://www.suunto.com/suunto/main/product_short.jsp?CONTENT% 3C%3Ecnt_id=10134198673959341&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=9852 723697223384&bmUID=1162316923952

My big brother said this to me once when I crewed for him years ago. I didn't understand it than and not sure I do now - I always put it down to age (and what you grew up with - digital watches were pretty neat when I was growing up)! I've never owned an analogue watch and struggle to find the second hand with a quick glance when looking at someone elses. I just know where I have to be relative to the line at about 1:30 to go and committed by the 1 minute gun. 

The old Memosail was an analogue watch purpose made for Sailing .  It only counted down from 10 minutes and had no sync button. The 10 minutes were on a disk that rotated so that every minute, a number dissapeared. So for instance, at 3 minutes, 3-2-1 showed but at 1 minute only the number 1 was showing! It's best feature was a big bright orange sweep second hand that was fantastic for 'seeing' the last minute and in particular the last few seconds.

For a laugh, actually I think beer was at stake) we once tested how easy it was to read vs a digital by stopping both (at the same) random time, and covering / uncovering it for a very short time. The Memosails' analogue sweep hand was far, far easier to read quickly. In fact, it was virtually impossible to uncover and re-cover the watch without the time to go being seen and understood. The digital however took far more time to see and read. In short, the merest glimpse of the sweep hand resulted in an accurate time whereas the digital display had to be seen for considerably longer to have any chance of being read.

These watches were however expensive and like most analogues didn't last. I had such good memories of my Memosail that when one came up on Ebay a year ago, I bought it.

Mistake!

It leaked, wasn't reliable (the disk kept jamming or jumping  a minute) . I quickly remembered that most Memosails suffered like this even when relatively new and it soon gave way to a modern digital.

My perfect starting watch would incorporate a modern Digital (with all the usual digital features such as sync, adjustable timing etc) but with large analogue sweep hand. If anyone can also make that look good I'll be amazed.

I think the M3 was cheaper than the Regatta on eBay ...

Gold Rolex - even if I could afford one I wouldn't ...

Rick