sea sickness

[hellosailor]

Have used the relief band and like everything else, it works sometimes. Doesn't have the effects that heavy meds have, but if you have to turn it up the higher settings have the distinct feel of a rat chewing at the tendons in your wrist. (Which still beats being seasick.) You MUST place the electrodes very carefully, and keep them in position, or it will stop working as it slips out of place. You can also get the disposable model (same gear without the ability to change the battery) for way less.

[Adaero]

I also have the same concerns with a trip from Cape Town coming up. I have never actually thrown but I know I can feel very iffy for the first 12 hours or so. I make sure all chart work etc is done prior leaving so I don't have to sit inside. Make up some sandwiches, flask of coffee also before leaving. Then either helm or be extremely anal about sail trim as it helps to focus the brain on something other than feeling rough.
For the Southern Atlantic trip I have 2 different perscription drugs on-board, an electronic wrist band, ginger biscuits and also ginger capsules. If anyone is sick make sure you have plenty of Dioralyte on board to try and keep them re-hydrated.
If all else fails make sure you have plenty of buckets on board.

[hellosailor]

Adaero, food can affect how queasy you may be. IIRC caffiene is actually not recommended. No caffiene, alcohol, smoking, for 24 hours beforehand, and no greasy foods or hard to digest ones. Although some of us would say no caffiene is just plain cruel.<G>

[imagine2frolic]

June the 6th I left Miami for Bimini in 20 to 30 knots east winds. My 7 yr old nephew was sick as can be. He finally tossed his cookies all over the cockpit floor. He then went down to sleep, and woke the next morning with a much flatter sea behind the islands. He snorkeled with sharks, barracudas, rays, and every other fish the Bahamas have to offer. Even a lion fish at Big Major.

We sailed as far as Staniel Cay before we returned to Miami. When he was leaving the boat he asked if he could return on my next trip.....WHAT A TROOPER!and now a SAILOR...........

[freetime]

Originally Posted by oldsalt_1942

The only sure fire cure for sea sickness is to sit for a couple of hours under a tree.

Thank you everyone...but this one is best

[dacust]

As Gord pointed out, it's the confusion between the ear and the eyes that causes seasickness. But why should that make us sick? Because those same symptoms can occur with poisoning. So the body gets those symptoms and decides that for safety's sake, lets get rid of the stomach contents in case that's the cause.

Basically you should avoid anything that might add to those symptoms that make the body think you are physically sick.

Reduce the ear/eye confusion.
Avoid anything that makes you feel queasy or alters your physiology, like caffeine, alcohol, hard-to-digest foods, etc.

It's important to see how it all fits together.

Once you have addressed all the environmental/physical factors, THEN start experimenting with remedies. The remedies that work best for you after a night of eating ribs and drinking may be different from what works when you are physically in top condition.

[nautical62]

I'm get motion sickness fairly easily and one of the my most miserable experiences ever is related to sailing and that fact. After waiting out a norther for over a week, I finally left solo for Bimini from Angelfish Creek in my 26-foot pocket cruiser. The winds were SE at 25, and the forecast was for them to remain that way. However, my experience had been that they often died by 5-10 knots or so during the night. Unfortunately they increased to 35 knots and I found myself sailing close hauled in steep seas with 2 reefs in the main and a headsail barely bigger than a storm jib. Despite taking Meclizine, I found myself puking over the side for hours on end. There was no horizon to watch at night. Often the waves would hit without warning, sometimes seeing the stars dissapear to windward provided some warning. I finally found some relief when the vomiting was replaced by dry heaves and I realized there was no longer any need to lean overboard. A few spits afterwards sufficed. The worst part was I ended up 8 miles upwind and up current from Bimini and could not make any notable progress upwind against the stream, wind and waves. In my condition there was no way I was going to go below, study the charts for other options and enter more waypoints, so I turned around and headed for Palm Beach. Once, on a broad reach with a warp out, life was considerably more comfortable. (I always knew this was my fallback if it got bad enough) That might have been the end of my cruising had I not had an obligation to meet someone. The following night I crossed to West End in 15 knots with no problem, but the bruises would remind me of that night for the next two weeks.

That experience and others have helped me to better figure out how manage my motion sickness:

1. LITTLE THINGS THAT HELP - Refraining from drinking the night before, good sleep, not going below, staying hydrated, focusing on the horizon, sipping ginger tea all help, but in the end, for me medications are essential if there will be any notable sea state.

2. MEDICATION - Meclizine and the Scopolimine patch seem to be equally as effective for me, but I prefer meclizine. Both make me drowsy, but it's easy to forget to replace the patch and it gives me cotton mouth. I find having meclizine built up in my system over time is much more effective than taking it one shot before sailing. I like to split my dose between two times a day. My experience is that it makes many people drowsy for about 24 hours after taking it. To deal with this, I start taking it well before I sail at a time I can afford to be drowsy, such as a day on the plane.

3. WRIST BANDS DON'T WORK - At least not for me and others I've directly observed. While I've read some people swear by them, I've thrown up in mild conditions using them and have seen others do the same. It never hurts to try though, as long as the consequences of them not working are acceptable.

4. PREPARATION: Preparation is always important in rough seas, but if you get sea sick, it's even more important. I try to make sure there is no reason for me to go below. I have warm drinks in a thermos. Backpacker meals similar to Meals Ready to Eat, mean I can enjoy a warm meal simply in the cockpit. Studying the map, coming up with contingency plans and entering them in the GPS mean it's easier to alter plans if necessary. Being able to reef simply from the cockpit is even more appreciated.

5. TIMING WEATHER: Choosing to leave when I did was in part due to scheduling and having to meet someone. I thought I had allowed plenty of time, but having to wait out a cold front for over a week, was pushing my schedule. Waiting one more day would have made all the difference. Being prone to motion sickness may mean being even more conservative when it comes to weather windows.

6. WARPS/DROUGS In following seas, these have been of great benefit to me in reducing boat motion. It also reduced the strain on my autopilot. Coming back to Florida after that rough night, I improvised one using about 100 feet of line, a small pot and a folding dinghy anchor for weight.

7. SEA KINDLY BOAT - If you get seasick, you may wish to place seakindliness up on the list when boat shopping as compared to performance. What really brought me some comfort on my first heavier displacement pocket cruiser, was knowing it could take more punishment than me without much work on my part. For the opposite reasons, I got rid of a Telstar Trimaran after only one cruise to the Bahamas. Ease of operation in rough conditions has as much to do with systems, like reefing as the boat itself.

8. CHANGE YOUR CRUISING GOALS: If you've tried all the means of dealing with motion sickness you can think of, but it's still making your cruising miserable for you or someone in your family, consider a different approach. It may be better to modify your dreams than give up on them all together. It's one of the factors that made me change from having a small pocket cruiser in Florida to having a larger boat with a charter company. I spend almost as much time sailing, but I'm in much more protected waters, have a larger, more sea kindly boat and don't have to sail sleep deprived. I've modified my dreams of crossing an ocean to dreams of lazily working my way through the Bahamas.


These have been some of the lessons I've learned the hard way. Many have been previously listed in this thread and many may not apply to everyone or all situations. However, I hope sharing my experiences and what has improved things for me will help others who suffer motion sickness from learning things the hard was as I have.

[hellosailor]

Nautical-
Ask your doctor for an Rx for Scopace, it is scopalamine in PILL form, which means you can better control the dosage. Let it dissolve under your tongue, and it gets into the system quickly, no worry about the pill coming back up with lunch if you've waited too long.
I never could get a clear answer on dosage though, i.e. whether it is "so many mg per eight pounds of brain" or "so many mg per pound of body mass". I find the pills easier than messing with patches, though. Taken as needed, stopped when needed, no "patch on patch off" and three days to deal with.

[nautical62]

hellosailor - Thanks for the heads up on the scopace pill. I'll give that a try. I've also heard very good things about Stugeron which I understand is not currently available in the U.S. Is this true and also does anyone know if it's available in either the Bahamas or BVIs?

[Curmudgeon]

As a child I sailed on the old S.S. Laos (12,000 ton passenger freighter operated by Messageries Maritimes) from Saigon to Marseilles. On the four-day run across the Indian Ocean from Bombay to Djibouti the weather was so rough that even the crew was sick. Plus there were 500 pilgrims to Mecca who had come aboard at Columbo as steerage passengers huddled on the foredeck as the ship's bow went under on almost every wave. They must have been miserable.

At least I was too sick to be scared. I took no medication, but being on deck helped, as did chewing on crusty, stale French bread. It's the only thing I could keep down. So French bread is another remedy that might work for some folks.

[gtmopat1]

Over the years I have suffered from seasickness a number of times, from small boats to large ships. I have found what many others said here. Proper preparation prior to the cruise is essential if you are prone to suffer.

Spend the preceeding days on the boat so your body aclimatizes to the motion.
Don't engage in activities which would aggravate or cause inner ear issues.
Lay off alcohol and types of food which are condusive to causing heartburn or acid reflux.
If you have a cold or inner ear issue or nasal congestion wait until it is over.

For me these seem to work. When I get to the point that my body has "sea legs" when I go on the dock I am ready to go. Unfortunately for me it seems that once it starts the only way to stop it is a day or two at anchor or at the dock.

Thanks for the info about the Scopace Rx I intend to take some along on my next cruise. Have a great day.

[Minggat]

Nobody is saying anything about the wrist zapper thing. You know, the electronic seasickness cure all. I've heard good about them. It's funny that I have spent big bucks on all kinds of things for the boat, but when it came to doing something really good for my wife, I still haven't gotten around to it.

My little asian wife, who is still wondering what the attraction to boating is, has been a real trooper on the boat. And she has lost her cookies more than once. I think it would be $150 bucks well spent just to find out if it makes a difference for her. She has used the acupressure wrist bands and said that they help. I really need to do the most I can here, huh?

Oh, but the way, moving the boat from So Cal to La Paz, I hurled. So while I'm sure that just being a good husband, I may also benifit from it. Hopefully in more ways than one.

[Karletto]

in maritime school we used to make bwllllllaaaaaaa sounds/ puking sounds next to guys with seasickness on the top of every wave hihi
kids..

i was seasick once after all night drinking and 65 feet dives; that time the sea was force 3
i' ve heard that the best technique is to be outside, in the cockpit and look the horizon
maritime officers have seasickness too and it can be minimized

[hellosailor]

Minggat, I've commented on the Relief Bands. They are US FDA approved for morning sickness in pregnancies and similarly effectivve for seasickness. Nothing works for everyone--but these work as well as most meds do. Cost shouldn't be more than $100 or so, you only need one. The POSITIONING of the band is critical, 1/4" off either way and it won't reach the spots it needs to reach.

Set on low, it is mildly effective and easy to ignore. Set on high (5) and it feels like a rat chewing on your wrist tendons, but that's way better than being seasick.

[freetime]

Look at the horizon...yes, but at night?