To catch a tide one day, you’ll want to wake very early and creep out of bed without disturbing your nearest and dearest – or whoever lies beside you. So how do you manage when plainly jangling alarm clocks are no answer? Here’s my solution.

Visit the Royal National Institute for the Deaf website on HYPERLINK "http://www.mid.org.uk" www.mid.org.uk – not the most obvious place for sailing gear- where you’ll find a range of products designed to help those with hearing difficulties. Forget the earphones for TV and radio listening. Ignore the ‘doorbell/lights’. You can also ignore the extra loud alarm clocks, but concentrate instead of a range of vibrating alarms they have for sale. Some are digital clocks with an extension pad which you tuck under your pillow but, most useful are the wrist watches which simply vibrate at alarm times.

I have recently purchased one of these and found it very helpful. It came at a little under £20 including postage, and is like any normal digital watch displaying day, date and time. It also has an elapsed time and stopwatch facility, plus two vibrating alarm settings. What’s more it’s waterproof down to 50 meters.

Unfortunately the instruction book appears to have been translated by a Japanese speaking German cab driver who had failed his English O level, but never the less, did it as a favour to a mate, in a hurry and on the cheap. It is only marginally more helpful than the original Japanese, I should think. But with the help of a grandchild or two – who seem to intuitively understand electronic gadgets - you can soon puzzle your way through.

Oh, and by the way, if you’re a music lover and go to a lot of concerts, you can also arrange for it to go ‘Beep, beep’ during the quietist parts of the music, just as everyone else seems to do. However, beeping is optional, not compulsory, as you can vibrate instead.