I just use a basic waterproof digital watch, much cheaper than buying a full racing watch. Sure, it doesn't have all the features, but I figure there are so many other ways I could improve my race before I spend that money...
Mines a fairly basic casio, cost me about £20. Has stopwatch and countdown on it so does everything I need it to do without the cost of a sailing specific one.
I use the Optimum Time OS 315 Yellow Sailing Watch.... I really like it because it counts me in and beeps on the start line. I would recommend it but it costs about £40 so it is expensive
In the past I used the various Timex/Casios on my wrist. Tried them on the mast, but digits weren't big enough for my eyes. Switched to the Ronstan watch with digits that most masters could see.. Works well for that (and only that, it screams "nerd/dork" if you wear it on your wrist)
I use the Optimum Time OS 315 Yellow Sailing Watch.... I really like it because it counts me in and beeps on the start line. I would recommend it but it costs about £40 so it is expensive
FWIW I ordered an Optimum Time OS315 watch online from the UK. It took 10 days to arrive from the UK to the US West Coast, which seemed pretty good to me. It ended up costing about $64 US compared to around $100 for the Ronstan version so it was worth the wait.