Iris 50 Handbearing Compass – Plastimo

The Plastimo Iris 50 is a handbearing compass small enough to live in your buoyancy aid pocket and quick enough to use while the start sequence is running.

Before the start, it turns what you see into numbers. Sight along the line to find the favoured end, take a bearing on the windward mark, and note the wind direction every few minutes so you know whether you are in a left or a right phase when the gun goes. From the coach boat it does the same job for the whole squad. On a bigger boat it is your check on a mark, a headland or a boat that might be closing.

A prism projects the card to infinity, so the bearing and the target are in focus at the same time, with no parallax. The card is graduated every degree, gives you a 20° field of view and stays steady in a chop. You can also read it from above like a normal compass.

The photoluminescent lighting charges in daylight and needs no batteries. A soft bottom cell keeps bubbles out of the fluid, and the soft-touch housing takes knocks and doesn't slip in wet hands. Balanced for zone AB, which covers Europe and the rest of the northern hemisphere, with a 5 year warranty from Plastimo.

Why Plastimo

Plastimo is a French marine equipment brand founded in 1963, and compasses are what it built its name on. The Iris 50 is one of the signature instruments in its range.