Bad Day or Dream Sunk ?

[CharleyAnna]

I'm responding as a fellow dreamer/person working on my 'goal'.
Just a few nights ago while crewing a race right before a storm, I too became seasick. It's the worst feeling ever! I too questioned my dreams, thinking I must be crazy to want this. I felt foolish because I was the only crewmember that was sick. I had all the same thoughts as you....can I really tolerate this feeling every time I set out to sea?? I hadn't taken any medications--for fear of being too drowzy to crew.
So anyway, I don't have any advice, but just wanted you to know I'm right there with you!!!
Anna

[thinwater]

Never been queasy from motion in my life. That you folks can face that down and keep on going... I'm impressed.

[Corpus]

Great responses all around. However I was also wondering how common this was. Not getting sick so much as, difficult passages in general. Are we talking a few times a year, or every other trip? Yes difficult is very subjective...let's say going up wind in 20+ mph. As to the idea that the sea sickness goes away after a day or two, that doesn't sound very good at all. Is that two days every trip or every new sailing season?

[Capt Phil]

My experience with delivery crews is that if they are going to get sick, it happens in the first day or two, then they adjust to the motion and are fine. Can't corrolate success of using or not using drugs to settle the stomach but they sure work for a lot of folks. I can only recall one individual over the years who never did make the adjustment and was ill all the way from Costa Rica to San Diego, the first port I could put him off. Useless the whole way... he never sailed with me again... think he moved to Kansas.
Women seem to fair better than men but I think that may have something to do with women being more prepared to use a patch or bonine while the guys feel they can tough it out. Most everyone who sails or spends time regularly on the ocean doesn't seem to suffer the mal de mer if they go out every week or two for at least an overnighter. My regular crew and I used to do shorter deliveries and charters that lasted for a few days up to a week or two and everyone managed well unless they imbibed too much in port. I always kept a dry boat on deliveries and when I was working.
Skippering boats for clients, when guests were ill, I always kept a vial of bonine handy as you seem to be able to take it after you begin to feel queasy and it usually works, don't need a prescription either. Also, having folks stay out of below decks and either in the cockpit or wheelhouse and watch the horizon usually settled their tummies down.
Finally, a cardinal rule, anyone feeling ill needs to be directed to the lee side of the vessel... cheers, Capt Phil

[sww914]

It's different for everyone and even the same person in the same situation might respond differently on a different day. I eat a little bit all day long and I never feel sea sick. If I don't munch all day at first I do get sick. Cinnamon rolls and granola bars work for me. Diesel exhaust makes it worse.

[Butler]

Oh yeah... bloody diesel! I dunno if the constant smell of it underway or the cheif's menu selections of ham and pork chops in my first duty week of patrol or the old hands hanging out in the mess smoking the fattest cigars they could get while watching me dive for the aircastle hatch every 15 minutes or so while trying to put up a meal but I'm thinkin that this probably is what hooked me up with some good sea legs. That diesel smell is like madelines to Proust now... ah the green walls of water rolling by and the steady roll and plunge!

[Seahunter]

Originally Posted by Butler

Oh yeah... bloody diesel! I dunno if the constant smell of it underway or the cheif's menu selections of ham and pork chops in my first duty week of patrol or the old hands hanging out in the mess smoking the fattest cigars they could get while watching me dive for the aircastle hatch every 15 minutes or so while trying to put up a meal but I'm thinkin that this probably is what hooked me up with some good sea legs. That diesel smell is like madelines to Proust now... ah the green walls of water rolling by and the steady roll and plunge!

Worth repeating, especially with your expression of Proust. Yet the definitive Proust expression of the "cruiser" may be; "The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes." Perhaps Hemingway is more pertinent to this discussion; "A man can be destroyed but not defeated." (Old man and the Sea).

[Butler]

...nice pairing with the quotes Seahunter

[Dkdoyle]

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.

One not so fun sail. No no don't give it up. Sailing is being in harmony and challenging yourself. 20 knots plus is probably more then you were ready for but you did the right thing and got back in successfully. Take pride in yourself and also learn a lesson. Go out on a nice day and have fun. You will gain your sea legs and cofidence. I sail in tampa bay and it can and does get wicked out there when it kicks up. I assume you know to try to take waves on a little angle instead of straight on. Much easier on you and the boat. All the best.

[Last Call]

What do you mean by wind over tide ?

[MarkJ]

Originally Posted by Last Call

What do you mean by wind over tide ?

When the wind is blowing one direction but the water is flowing in the other direction the waves the wind makes will be taller, shorter in length between, sharper and can be quite nasty.

[Corpus]

So I might be the worst sailor out there, but I am out there. Tried to make the trip again. Got close, ran aground, got free, then all hell broke loose.

"You know that feeling when you're boat is sailing away and you're not in it?"

All my efforts of sail trimming and what not, never made the boat go as fast as it did when sailing away from me. Strait up wind too.

I learned a few things though.
(posted them at "Lessons learned after running aground...")

[rgscpat]

Look at any misadventures this way... you're enriching your "story fund", and in your case it's been at very low cost. Some sailors spend hundreds or thousands of dollars for a good story, so consider yourself fortunate!

[btrayfors]

Corpus,

Good for you! Get right back on that horse.

Good responses above, but no one directly addressed your question about how frequently you might encounter the rough conditions you had on the first trip.

The answer depends more on where you are sailing and on your ability/willingness to abandon one destination for another.

The absolute worst kinds of seas are those which occur over shallow water. The Chesapeake Bay, especially off Pt. Lookout where the Potomac River meets the Bay, can be downright treacherous, even for experienced sailors in sizeable vessels. Five or six foot square waves, with a very short period, can build in less than an hour if the wind strengthens and the tide is in opposition. Extremely uncomfortable. I'd much rather be at sea in a blow.

Albemarle and Pamlico Sounds in NC are similar. I'm not familiar with the area where you're sailing, but from your description it sounds much the same.

Lesson: wave action in shallow waters can be terrible, and can induce seasickness very quickly.

You already learned that all you need to do is turn downwind to have a much smoother (and faster) ride. Next time you encounter such conditions, you might try different points of sail to see how you and your boat behave. That will give you a good idea of what's doable in terms of relative direction to the wind and waves, and help you to choose your routing accordingly in case the wind blows up enroute.

As others have said: hang in there. I've suffered terribly from seasickness for many years (and once lay in the scuppers for days on an offshore trip the other side of the Atlantic). Twenty years ago, though, I discovered Scopalamine patches and found that they work like a miracle with me and don't have any of the bad side effects that some persons experience. Now, on long offshore passages I put on a patch before leaving. Don't need them on inland waters; even the dreaded Chesapeake square waves in a blow don't affect me like they used to.

Bill

[Sailing Cowboy]

Originally Posted by Corpus

So I might be the worst sailor out there, but I am out there. Tried to make the trip again. Got close, ran aground, got free, then all hell broke loose.

"You know that feeling when you're boat is sailing away and you're not in it?"

All my efforts of sail trimming and what not, never made the boat go as fast as it did when sailing away from me. Strait up wind too.

I learned a few things though.
(posted them at "Lessons learned after running aground...")

Oh man. I had a good chuckle at that one. You are going to look back at this and it will be a humourous memory. Not laughing at you but with you as all of us have had misadventures. I for one have had tooooo many but thats what shapes us and gives us character. As one ole timer use to tell me riding horses in the mountains "If it doesnt kill you, it can only make you stronger". Much truth in that. You are being stretched out of your comfort zone and its a beautiful thing. Keep at it. No such word as cant or quit. The feeling of having quit is much much worse than trying and failing a bunch of times and then becoming a master of your challenge. If that makes any sense.