Omega NZL-32 for sailing

dmcleod

Anyone own one and have an opinion on it? I sail in Toronto on Lake Ontario and am thinking of one for the weekly race series I crew in. Starts are the most important part of the race and this seems like a great watch for the purpose.

I had been considering a Lemania Elvstrom from the 90's but after discovering that parts are no longer made for it, I abandoned that idea since servicing isn't possible. The Omega is new-ish in comparison and has a decent water resistance rating. I don't really want a digital watch when something analogue exists to perform the task.

RI Omega Fan

https://www.ronstan.us/marine5/analogue-clearstart.asp

The ubiquitous Ronstan ClearStart is now available as an analog watch. Click on the link above for more info. It might be just what you’re looking for.

scapa

I have raced as a skipper and crew for too long now, and while I quite like this Omega, and the genre of the "regatta watch," I've been using my trusty G, Ronstan and Seiko yacht timers for years, simply because of the bang and crash cycle of (especially) dinghy and small yacht racing. I find that I prefer an auditory as well as visual cue, since I'm generally doing a few things at once. Here's mine:

dmcleod

Nice big indicator on that Seiko

scapa

Yep -- it's a terrific regatta watch, straightforward to use and reliable, with some foibles having to do with the hand reset mechanism in some examples of the breed. Used to run around 150.00 - 250.00 on eBay -- until a few "watch collector" articles drove the prices right up.

I even use mine in Lasers and Finns -- which can be pretty chaotic in the run-up to the horn.

I seem to remember that there was a recent-ish article on new examples of regatta watches and will post it here if I can dig it up. Always to meet another sailor, and I taught and coached for several years around TO.

studeb

I would go for the Seiko over the Omega, dial dots too small on the Omega. I liked the Drachen, nice lines, like the FD.
I would have thought that the lemania can still be serviced, just have it pressure checked each year.