First Off Shore Race!!!

[Grasshopp]

I am doing the Melbourne to Stanley race across the Bass Straight.
I am excited and worried. I have all my gear (PFD, PLB, strobe, harness, ect.) the only thing that worries me is seasickness. When I have to go below to pack the spinnaker I have a tendency to come back up very green. I figure that if I don't go below I will be okay, but that is not practical in a long race like this. I have tried bands, kwellease, Dramamine. The next thing to try is the patch.

Wish me luck.

 

[sinnettc]

Remember to put the patch on BEFORE you start the race!

Good luck!

 

[Mike Holibar]

I found Kwells quite good but I get best results if I start taking them the day before I sail. Patches are good too but can make you very thirsty. I recommend packet orange juice, plenty of sugar for energy, and it tastes the same coming up as it does going down. If there is any chance to get settled aboard before sailing that may help as the stresses of departure especially for skippers can bring on sea sickness as well. Apparently it is also wise to avoid spicy foods as well.
Good luck in your race,

 

[kloudie1]

Best of luck to ya, and congrats.. You'll find it to be quite fun!! Bonine or the patch for me. I rarely get sick, but find those two don't make me drowsey like Dramamine.. If I know it will be a bit rough, I take Bonine the first day..

 

[saltygator]

My wife swears by the Ginger tablets and Ginger Gum. It has made a difference.

 

[Ken Prichard]

Tried them all. Bonine gets my vote!

 

[Union36]

Patch all the Way!

Seasickness has been on of my biggest 'fears' getting on the big water. I was called to move a yacht from Loreto, Mexico to San Diego. Cruising along the Sea of Cortez would be cake. But, coming up the Pacific is what had me worried and as there were only the 3 of us bringing up the boat, I was pretty much 3rd man (woman) out. I had heard the patch worked pretty well so I called the Doc & got about 6 of 'em. Before we left San Lucas around the cape I put a patch on that morning. I am sooo glad they have the patch now, it was amazing. When we started out & hit the big Pac, the Subzero refer decided to start popping out of the wall, I went in and braced myself against it while my husband ran down to the engine room to get the tools to keep it in its place. While bracing up against the reefer, I could look out the back of the yacht & see the swells & the waves...oh my..I began to get queasy but was able to fight it off due to the patch. The rest of the trip was one I will never forget as I had no idea sailing an 85' yacht with a 20' beam good be so crazy! That heaven for the patch or I wouldn't have made it. Good Luck & keep the patch on!!

 

[Union36]

As an aside, I noticed some people like the ginger products. I found that these worked for mild nausea but other than that, its' the patch for me baby!

 

[Rick Sylvester]

Hey fellow fore-decker

Yeah, the spin repack can suck. On a longer race keep in mind that you can usually take your time and so don't have to do it all in one go. If you start feeling bad pop up into the cockpit for a breather.

Be safe and have a blast (as only fore-deckers can.)

Oh, BTW, are you a member of the union?

You can get the shirt here:

http://www.sailinganarchy.com/purchase/buy.php

 

[Nicky17000]

Re: Hey fellow fore-decker

Homeopatic tablets - Arsenicum Album.
Very safe, no dizziness and you can repeat them frequently without overdose.
I would also take with me 'Bach Rescue Remedy', very useful in stressful situations as an instant pick me up.

 

[John Nantz]

85-footer up the coast

Union 36 - that's a nice boat. A friend of mine had one and it was very nicely built. Really liked all the teak inside. For info, he later installed a cabinet above the sink counter (perpendicular to the centerline) for holding more galley-related items.

The rest of the trip was one I will never forget as I had no idea sailing an 85' yacht with a 20' beam good be so crazy!

What? Three crew on an 85-footer going up the coast? If it was sail, it was probably power roller furler and primaries for the jib, power main halyard winch, and power everything else??

Seasickness: What bothers me is the smell of cigarette or cigar smoke and other foul odors like that. Another thing that is a downer is a large following quartering sea that causes the vessel to roll significantly from side to side. The latter can be alleviated by either going dead-downwind or coming up enough to put more pressure on the main so the boat doesn't roll so much. In a race this option can be a looser, though.

Another downer is being "worried", and especially worried when conditions are very unfavorable and after the sun goes down. Listening to all the noises from the water against the hull, rigging, and the cabinetry squeaking and groaning - this doesn't help. Try to stay where you can see the horizon or go to where there is a neutral motion like just aft of the middle of the boat and near the waterline.

 

[Ross]

Re: 85-footer up the coast

Myth busters worked on the motion sickness problem and found ginger to be the most effective. They use a contraption like NASA uses for training future astronauts and tried all of the remedies.

 

[captainsteveaustin]

An apple a day

The cruise boat people say that if you eat Red Delicious Apples during your cruise you will not get seasick.

 

[Ray T]

Re: An apple a day

I have found the first thing you don't do is drink a lot of red wine the night before you leave. Other than that the patch for me was the way to go.

 

[captmikem]

Re: 85-footer up the coast

Hey, John,
I sailed around the world on an 80 foot Frers cutter built by Palmer Johnson with my wife. Easy boat for two people to handle who know what they are doing. Spinnaker had a sock, poles were carbon fiber, simple Jiffy Reefing, everything led to the base of the mast where it is easy to see and operate. We did have hydraulic furlers on the two headsails, and one hydraulic winch on deck that made it easy for reefing. My wife weighed about 110 lbs.
We raced from Turkey to Israel with one added crew.
As for seasickness, unless I am ashore for about six months it does not bother me, I am lucky, but I have found ginger to be the best.
And... fear.. I have seen very seasick people get over their sickness quickly when they thought we were about to be boarded by pirates...

Mostly, people just get over it, just nice to make them comfortable until they do.

Michael

 

[John Nantz]

Michael - I'm impressed!

I sailed around the world on an 80 foot Frers cutter built by Palmer Johnson with my wife. Easy boat for two people to handle who know what they are doing.

Well, maybe know "what they're doing" - but, I'd think those jib sheets are a tad over 1/2-inch, right? And the primaries, surely they were powered. If not, with a "J" like that it would be a lot of cranking, but then with ocean sailing one doesn't tack that much so maybe that's not that big of a deal.

Still, ..... those sails carry a lot of horsepower.

Spinnaker had a sock, poles were carbon fiber, simple Jiffy Reefing, everything led to the base of the mast where it is easy to see and operate.

But the "canvas" must be pretty heavy duty stuff so helping to flake it you'd think wouldn't be easy. And the boom would be up pretty high too.

And flying a chute - with a pole it was probably symmetrical. What if it hour-glassed? Could the sock take care of that? I've had chutes hourglass and sometimes they can be really difficult to get undone. One time I even had to go up the mast to pop the snap shackle to get it down. Flying a chute short-handed can be tricky sometimes.

I'm impressed. But then these "Open Sixties" guys race single-handed but then an 80-foot cruiser is a lot more tonnage.

Wonder what Lin and Larry Pardey would say about the manageable sail area??? Probably have to revise their figures.