Bad Day or Dream Sunk ?

[Capt Phil]

Don't give up the dream/goal, corpus... my first trip to sea I spent the first 24 hours huddled under a canvas tarp in the bow of a towboat pulling a barge across Georgia Straits in a full gale puking my guts out. Spent the next 50 or so years on and off at sea and never got sick again, and in some pretty awful weather. I've sailed, cruised and delivered many a boat and the 'green' feeling the crew has usually passes within a day or two. Keep at it! Capt Phil

[WarmWaters]

Originally Posted by Corpus

The dream:

-save money
-practice sailing
-buy better boat
-sail Caribbean and beyond (around the world?)

Yesterday:

I planned to anchor in Shamrock cove on the other side of Corpus Christi bay for my first overnight trip. The winds were supposed to be 15-20 mph. Well I think the winds were 20+ and the bay was extremely choppy. Two hours later I had only traveled about two of the ten miles and started to feel sea sick. Feeling sick and seeing no end in sight I turned back. Now I'm seriously doubting my dream.

The negative:

-If I can't make it across the bay how am I going to cross oceans?
-How will I handle rough weather when more than a few miles from safety?
-I'm a baby when sick, could be a problem.

The Positive:

-I was beating into the wind and sailing against waves bigger than found on many beaches. Waiting for better conditions would have been wise.
-The way back was great running down wind. Set the autopilot then sit back and relax.
-There are always reasons not to do something, this might be just one more obstacle to overcome.

Corpus,

As a military pilot, a can offer some advice and insight. The symptoms and causes are the same. I have some examples of people that I know personally that should help you keep going.

Me: I was a fighter track guy so in my training I was upside down more often than not, not to mention pulling Gs all day. In the beginning I got passively airsick almost every flight in the very beginning (passive meaning I got airsick but didn't actually puke). The only thing that kept me from puking was calling the rest of the sortie off and flying straight and level back home (on the seas you don't have the option to just tell them to go flat :P ). However, after a few weeks of constant exposure to it every day, the problem went away COMPLETELY. The lesson to earn from this, is to KEEP getting back out there as much as possible to get your body used to it. Even once you beat it, if you get away from it for a lengthy period of time, you'll have to fight your way back into the game.

There were other people in my class that puked every flight for awhile but got over it with time (obviously if you didn't get over it in a certain length of time, you got booted).

Those with severe cases worked with a doctor at the program who got in your head mentally and used a chair set on ball bearings...spent hours accelerating and decelerating, often blindfolded, changing the angle of your head tilt here and there to change the angle that it was working on your inner ear..etc etc. The guys would puke over and over during these sessions..however, this program worked for 90% of the time..and this is ALL natural..no medications.

Moral of the story, keep getting on the water as often as possible. Also, it's not easy, but try not to think about it. Once you get the worry in your head, a lot of it IS in your head. Just keep pushing at it if it's something u want. The medications can help, mentally and physically. If you use some of that stuff, once you start feeling better, start trying to go without.

Let me know if you have any Qs.

-WW

[WarmWaters]

Sorry for the typos in the last post.

But another addition..keep yourself busy!

When I was fighting the whole getting sick thing in the air, the instructor pilots, knowing this, would keep my hands and mind busy by telling me to do this or that. This helps A LOT when fighting any type of motion sickness.

My wife gets seasick from time to time......so when I see that she's not feeling 100% I ask her to coil/flake lines, prepare for an often unneeded tack, account for our safety equipment, etc..anything to keep her busy. This almost always seems to help.

Best of luck!

-WW

[Paul Elliott]

Here's one more bit of encouragement: Many people get seasick, and by far the majority get over it in a couple of days. Most people can prevent it completely with the appropriate medication. Please don't assume that you've got an insurmountable problem.

In my own case, if the conditions are unpleasant I will usually get seasick. I am able to tough it out and usually after 24 hours I am in good shape, and after 48 hours I am fine. Knowing that I will soon be feeling better makes the initial discomfort easier to handle. My seasickness experiences have been during multi-day passages, but I'm pretty sure that the tolerance also builds up over several days of daysailing. Once I am accustomed to the motion, I can spend a week or two on shore and be fine when I get back on the water.

There are several medicines that work well to eliminate the initial sickness. Many people use the Scopalamine patch with good results, and I've had good luck with Bonine. If I start taking Bonine 24 (or better, 48) hours before getting on the boat I feel fine. I stop taking it after three days.

Everyone is different, we all respond to varying sea-states differently. You will no doubt need time and experience to determine what works, and what doesn't work for you.

[ozskipper]

Originally Posted by Corpus

The dream:

-save money
-practice sailing
-buy better boat
-sail Caribbean and beyond (around the world?)

Yesterday:

I planned to anchor in Shamrock cove on the other side of Corpus Christi bay for my first overnight trip. The winds were supposed to be 15-20 mph. Well I think the winds were 20+ and the bay was extremely choppy. Two hours later I had only traveled about two of the ten miles and started to feel sea sick. Feeling sick and seeing no end in sight I turned back. Now I'm seriously doubting my dream.

The negative:

-If I can't make it across the bay how am I going to cross oceans?
-How will I handle rough weather when more than a few miles from safety?
-I'm a baby when sick, could be a problem.

The Positive:

-I was beating into the wind and sailing against waves bigger than found on many beaches. Waiting for better conditions would have been wise.
-The way back was great running down wind. Set the autopilot then sit back and relax.
-There are always reasons not to do something, this might be just one more obstacle to overcome.

Sounds to me that you didnt analize the forecast and attempted to sail to the wrong place in the wrong conditions with the wrong experience as a result.

Thats a lesson learned. You probably wont do it again for a while. Preparation in the furture will help.. ( it also depends greatly on the boat, the crew and a multitude of of other variables- but the weather is the one variable you cant control)

The good thing is that you experienced it. Now start the research on how to depower the boat and sail to windward in stiff breezes..

Keep going, keep learning and dont stop till youre half way round the world. From there you will be on your way home

[tager]

I vote give up.

[tager]

Just kidding.

[forsailbyowner]

May be the last thing you feel like doing but eat something. Ive seen
eating something cure quite a few green sailors

[troymclure]

I get seasick occasionally. Used to a bit when I was younger and sailing with the family, went away after a day though. Nowadays I have a good hurl every now and again and that's pretty much it.

I do use some seasick tablets on occasion as well.

As to bad day or dream sunk?

"Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better." Beckett.

[thinwater]

I am stunned that no one pointed out that 2 hours of getting pounded is light. Yes, cruising has relaxing times and days of glorious sailing, but getting pounded for 6-12 hours or more is just not that unusual. Unless you are very conservative with your passage planning, it will happen like that numerous times each year and surviving that strugle is part of the sense of acomplishment we get. You need to enjoy the strugle some days. You need to take punishment (physical and phsycological) and just keep going.

If you think you'll be single-handing, all of this goes double, and as you've learned, any moral support must come from within. As for illness, I gave up some off-shore aspirations because my back is no longer dependable enough. I know that if my back goes into spasm I have no crew, as it is more than I can strugle through. I wasn't happy to make that admission.

Im just being realistic. You can practice and learn to minimize the mistakes and the strugle. Really, it gets much better. You can also decide that dreaming about sailing around the world may just be some one elses dream, not yours. There are some great things on land and the US is a great country. Not all cyclists should ride across the country. Not all climbers want to suffer for months on the slopes of Mt. Everest, just to prove a point. Many sailors (me) enjoy extended coastal trips, 50-mile bike rides, and climbing rock and ice at the local crag and in smaller mountains; that is my dream and I have it right in my hands.

Don't give up, but don't fixate on this dream as all or nothing. Enjoy sailing and see where it leads. The more options, the less devastating the failure of any one dream will be. Or as we all tell the young victim of a failed love, there are many fish in the sea. When I was in college I was an aspiring bike racer, very fast, and destroyed my knee in a crash. I became an obsessed rock climber, but my fingers became wracked by tendonitis and injuries. I started sailing, but a bad back and family are challenges. Now my knee has recovered (took 30 years), my fingers are better (and so are my skills), and I have more time to sail (and a better boat). Persistance pays.

[cbtucker]

Tom - Thanks for that realistic viewpoint. I'm an aspiring sailor, and I like to hear the really awesome stuff about sailing, but understanding also that there are challenges ahead, and that we need to be prepared to deal with them will be very helpful in our journey. And if it doesn't work out to become fulltime liveaboards sailing all over the world, then we can just alter plans a bit, and still enjoy getting out there.

Good sailing to all!

[boatman61]

Mate.... I've been puking on and of for years...
Solo is not that bad as I can control events, sights etc and meal times to suit my needs... nowadays its down to mainly a queasy feeling.. occasionally
However on deliveries its another matter....
I hate the smell of fish... so a crew member sitting upwind with a Tuna and Mayo sandwich in a F7+ is gonna have my guts roiling in short order... or someone masticating openmouthed... BLAHHURGGG...
But its controlable and I work through it... you may be like me and never totally shake it... or one of the lucky ones who has a short phase and then comes out the other side with no further problems...
Just drink diluted Lemon & Barley or Lime Juice with a tad of sea salt to keep your minerals in some order and something in your belly... nothing worse than empty belly retching... it can cause serious damage if it lasts long enough.
But the 'Joyfull Days' are well worth the occasional discomfort... I've found..

[imagine2frolic]

Originally Posted by sww914

You fell down more than once when you were learning to walk.

Now it's time to pick yourself up, and dust yourself off. Sailing is not always a slick magazine cover. There will be other trials for you to overcome.

When I left S.F. for Mexico single-handed. I questioned myself going out under the Golden Gate. I was a newbie, and I was determined to continue on. I was deathly ill for 48 hours, but eventually it passed. 3 days later when I came into Morro Bay. I was deathly ill standing on terra firma. Eventually it all passed. 20 yrs later I still get a wee bit quesy at times. It's not often, but it is a price I am willing to pay for being here. BEST WISHES in it passing, or finding something to fix what ails you. It's will be all worth it.......i2f

[Capt Phil]

What a marvelous set of responses to your concerns about your dreams of sailing, corpus. If nothing else, it gives you a window on the soul of sailing and cruising bretheren who have been there and done it.
One thing about CF, you get a wealth of experience to support or discourage your aspirations, what ever they might be... cheers, Capt Phil

[Seahunter]

LOL, the good news is that after 3 days of sloshing back and forth in your own puke, you'll either be cured of seasickness or so dehydrated a single beer will kill you. If you stick this sailing thing out you'll be laughing about the dreaded cruises in a few years, becoming a "seasoned" sailor who's paid the dues and qualified to carry the moniker "Skipper".

Cheers