First sail of the season! But nausea strikes :-(

[JonnyQuest]

Took care of enough items on the never ending To Do list and got the boat out yesterday. We had a higher winds than expected 15 miles an hour gusting to 20. This left the Adm. and our daughter sick throughout most of the trip. Both are looking more and more prone to seasickness than originally thought. :-(

So we're going to start with taking nausea meds pro actively before heading out next time. Hopefully both of them will find their sea legs.

 

[31seahorse]

Some of the queezy feelings may be brought on by fear. Choosing a calmer day for a sail might be less exciting for you, but more appropriate for them. My wife found that taking the helm gave her more to do and think about than just being a passanger. Try giving your family jobs to do/responsibilities to attend to while sailing. Being familiar with the boat's handling and heeling characteristics will help your family feel safe and confident on board. That might ease the seasickness symptoms.

Best Wishes, Phil

 

[JK_Boston_Catalina310]

A couple other suggestions are to make sure they are on deck and looking at the horizon. If you have a dodger, you might need to open it or take it down so those prone to getting sea sick can have fresh air. Taking the helm can work really well.

For remedies, we typically just go with ginger and crackers. Ginger can sooth the stomach. We always have ginger ale and ginger pills. For crackers, we find gold fish work well.

Good luck and fair winds,

Jesse

 

[Stu Jackson]

15-20 is "normal" around here during the summer. Were you reefed?

 

[JonnyQuest]

I never thought about fear/anxiety migth contribute to nausea, but it makes sense. When we sail on better days neither have troubles, so I will have to be more judicious in waiting for the right weather days. That and Fish Cracker feed bags for everyone.

Hi Stu, I understand what you are saying about 15-20 being normal winds and good sailing. I sail inside the Mississippi Sound and since its a shallow body of water (typically 8-12 ft depths), the chop gets up quick instead of forming nice period waves--the boat is bounced around instead of riding the waves.

My main was set for reefing but I only got the smaller jib out before they were starting to look green around the gills. Perhaps if I had flown the reefed main the boat would have handled the wave action a bit better--powering through the waves more than bouncing between them?

 

[caguy]

I keep ginger root on board for guest. It last a long time and only chage it out a couple of time a year. Just slice a dime size piece and put it inside the cheek. It does seem to work.

 

[TomY]

My main was set for reefing but I only got the smaller jib out before they were starting to look green around the gills. Perhaps if I had flown the reefed main the boat would have handled the wave action a bit better--powering through the waves more than bouncing between them?

Both my wife and daughter are prone to seasickness, and sailing is the best cure. We can get into a seaway, especially if under power, and I'll know they're going to get queasy before they show symptoms. It's usually some beam seas under power and some roll.

So I avoid those conditions. Raising sail and turning off the motor is almost always an instant cure. Sailing downwind with some roll can occasionally be a problem so I'll head up a little. They like the solid heeling motion of a sailboat even going through some seas.

I've been dealing with this condition for more than 20 years and it's a condition of peoples ears mostly(neither my son nor I have their ears). I find it a good challenge to sail for them. They love to sail and go everywhere.

 

[tkanzler]

Already said, but worth repeating - eyes on the horizon, and taking the helm can often reduce or eliminate the green. I don't know why taking the helm helps, but I've experienced it myself on the few occasions where I was feeling a little green. Instant relief. Never tried the chemical approach, as I don't want to feel groggy.

 

[JonnyQuest]

Thanks to all for the excellent suggestions. Some I am employing, others I will add -- such as a slice of ginger root to chew on and ginger pills too. They know to keep an eye on the horizon and to keep busy, just couldn't happen that day.

And kris thanks for adding yourexperience; kinda worries me a bit that they might decide to take up bowling, or shopping or some other land activity and abandon sailing. Seriously, I don't want to scare them away or run them off with nausea because I chose a poor day for their comfort zone.

Like you said, its a good challenge (and responsibility) to find and make good sailing conditions for them. Good to hear it is manageable and has been a lifetime activity they enjoy.

With higher spring time winds, I swapped out the genny for the jib, and have set reefing lines on the main. Still, it was my error in judgement that I should have cancelled instead of committing.

More in another post.

 

[JonnyQuest]

What also concerns me (and should have clued me in!) is that heading south out of the harbor inlet and into the Gulf, the Atomic 4 was barely making any headway as the winds and incoming waves were almost stopping forward motion. Kinda like fighting a strong incoming tidal current. We actually ended up raising the jib for some extra horsepower and tacked our way up into the wind--shoals on either side of harbor channel approach.


I guess I could consider a 3 blade prop, but common sense is apaprently telling me to save the money and not take the family out under conditions that would make the 3 blade prop neccessary.

 

[Brian D]

I too agree that "doing something" like taking the helm or being up on deck looking for other boats or sea life helps. It keeps one's mind on what one is doing and not on feeding the fish. I also concur on the ginger route instead of OTC drugs. My wife makes home made ginger snaps and we enjoy them the day before we do any activity which could cause nausea.

Just a little anecdote about ginger cookies. During my contractor tour in Afghanistan, I had to fly many different aircraft to get to point around the country. They one aircraft I could not fly was the C130. This aircraft, without a doubt, would cause me to quickly become violently ill. However, I had my wife make and send me home made ginger snaps and it helped a great deal. Not 100% mind you, simply because my mind was already set that a C130 will make me sick.

Good luck and enjoy the season.

 

[JonnyQuest]

Another vote for ginger snaps etc over OTC drugs. We will go that route. Thanks Brian.

 

[MrBill_FLL]

I've had good luck with pepcid AC. just keeping the stomach acids in check helps. w /no side effects.

 

[25yearslater]

I was having the same problem earlier this season Jonny. Anxiety does indeed contribute to queasy feelings. Saturday's fiasco had more adreneline going and even though the wind was 17 with gusts to 25 and blue water drenching everybody nobody felt queasy. We are carrying ginger snaps and ginger ale just the same.

 

[tommays]

Both the wife and myself have to be really CAREFULL about time inside the cabin while sailing as we can both go from perfect to sick in 30 seconds IF we go inside during certain types of boat motion

I also have to be really careful when snorkeling to clean the bottom as if I lay upside down to long while working hard I can get sick as a DOG

 

[Paul F]

I messed around with ginger for years before realizing that the real thing does the job. OTC meclizine is inexpensive. Take one the night before and one in the morning and you will have no troubles. After you feel confident with the sea it is likely you will no longer need anything. As others have said having something to do, like steering the boat, helps a lot. Studies determined that laying down or standing helps. Sitting does not. Getting out on the water and feeling comfortable will give you confidence. I find that going against the wind and waves motoring at less than 3 knots is the worst.

 

[Roadking Larry]

I spent my Navy career in the submarine service. Round hull submarines do not ride well on the surface and we still had to make the occaisional surface transit for various reasons.
I wasn't particularly susceptical to motion sickness my self but witnessed varying degrees in my shipmates from a little queasy to completley incapacitated.

Saltine crackers to scopolamine was available. Dramamine was the most common used. We had a rider once that had a severe reaction to the scopolamine patch and we had to turn around and get him off the boat.

I've seen the pressure band used and have no experience with it but the dedicated users swear by it.

Offering a victim of sea sickness a big bowl of warm mayonaise, sardine and anchovy soup is not a recommended remedy.

 

[oldersalt]

Feed them canned peaches. More than any thing else, they taste almost as good coming up as they did going down. Alternative cure? Go sit under a tree.

 

[JonnyQuest]

Offering a victim of sea sickness a big bowl of warm mayonaise, sardine and anchovy soup is not a recommended remedy.

Hah! that one is right on with my demented sense of humor, Larry!

Kudos to Oldersalt's funny about sitting under a tree for a while.

Good news is wife is eager to point out that she normally does not get sick sailing. She's a trooper.

Scopalamine: truth serum for my wife? I don't think I can handle the truth!

 

[CrustyGunny]

One of our professors at the University of New Orleans School of Naval Architecture has spent his career working in the area of motion sickness. Dr. Thomas Dobie has developed an extremely effective cognitive-behavioral method of desensitizing people to motion sickness. His method addresses the psychological rather than the physiological aspects of motion sickness. His method is equally effective for people experiencing airsickness, carsickness, or seasickness.

The common thread that I pull from what he teaches, and what I read from these various replies, is that the variation in response to motions is mostly psychological. Anxiety about the motion sickness creates an anticipation of the nausea. Previous bad experiences can train people to lower their response threshold. Most of the effective drugs suppress the response along with alertness. The ginger works because people believe it does. Same with the pressure point bracelets. Most of the other techniques involve various levels of distraction.

I suggest that anyone interested in his method get in touch with him. His contact info is at: http://www.uno.edu/coe/depts/name/faculty/dobie.aspx