Rolex

patrick_y
[PuristSPro Moderator]
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Sometimes there are two or three digital countdown clocks on the boat.

And I could see the large countdown clock on land. On huge boats, like in Americas Cup, they have real professionals. With hundreds of millions of dollars on the line - the budget of some teams - these real professionals don't use watches neither. They're not even looking at the countdown clock. But, they are all super aware of the timing - they're envisioning where the boat will be every minute from now and constantly re-assessing due to wind conditions. And last but not least, all their helmets have headphones and microphones, so the crew is communicating with each other the timing. So these helmets with their built in radio communication devices are definitely utilized in the start sequence.  I can say with strong confidence that nearly no professional nor amateur sailor uses a wristwatch for the 10 minute countdown.  With enough experience, judgment, and paying attention to the wind conditions, the crew can forecast if the boat is going too quickly (and will thus be over the finish line when the race starts, necessitating a go-around) or too slowly (and then the boat will be too far behind the finish line, thus losing time).  I have not really seen in the past 20 years anyone truly relying on a wristwatch for the start sequence.