Motion Sickness?

[sailortonyb Allied Mis]

Sea sickness quick test question.....Do you like rides?

If you like most carnival rides chances are you wont become sea sick. If they make you queasy, then more than likely you will be sea sick. I was a commercial Captain on crew boats in the Gulf of Mexico for a few years. Way back when, we had to make our runs no matter what. I have seen new men come out on boats and look like they were going to die. We even begged them to be taken back to shore and they refused. Sick as all get-up for 2 or 3 days and then be fine and NEVER BE SEASICK AGAIN. I have seen new men never get sea sick.Then, on the other hand, there were those like me that never really got their sea legs. I am still prone to seasickness. I am much better now than before but still prone. It is the worst you will ever feel. It is 100 times worse than your worst hangover. I have tried just about everything except for the patch. If you find yourself getting queezy, get OUTSIDE, stay cool to cold if possible and look at the horizon or lie flat on your back with your eyes closed and you will be fine. If it is your turn to steer, you will also be ok because you are distracted. Also VERY IMPORTANT....read my lips VERY IMPORTANT....do not eat anything greasy. Stay away from butter on your grits, oil on your salad. Coffee can also be stomache irritant. Make sure there are lots of saltine crackers on board. Never have a completely empty stomache. If in any kind of doubt, take a Bonine (Chewable meclazine)the night before you leave. That will get some of the chemical into your system before you are exposed to rough conditions. Most motion sickness pills including meclazine will knock your d*** into the dirt. You will remain very tired and sleepy for a few days until you body gets used to them. Follow DR. Tony's recommendations and you will be just fine....Have a blastOne more thing, you have much less chance of motion sickness on a sailboat than a powerboat. Sailboats have a much gentler motion.

 

[Brian D]

I have to agree with...

All comments regarding fresh ginger. Not store bought ginger snaps, but freshly baked ginger cookies. The ginger must be fresh. Start taking it a good 24 hours before your trip so your body gets use to it.Good luck.

 

[Rick9619]

Havng been forced to study "sickness"

Back in my day when I was teaching kids to fly, I encountered air sickness alot. Some people are prone to it.. no matter what. One kid threw up in his oxygen mask and said he was fine. What the hell is that smell.. dead eggs and sewer? Heck, our slip mate has a "hunerd ton license" and she still gets seasick. Takes meds and deals with it. I read about the Sidney to Hobart that was a catastrophy. Seasoned sailors got seasick so.. that being said. It is 30% substance and 70% in your mind. You know that feeling you get right before you hurl. Wet toungue.. stomach moving.. ohhh and you know you are commited... where did I put the head... arghhhhh! Im gonna put my big toe on the floor.. that should help... right.Good ideas below but the bottom line is its like the common cold.. no cure. Hell if I could eat some "moose twit" I would, but its just a cover story. Just eat something that is easy to see again and then "control our mind". If you havent been prone to it, and it appears your not, you already have it beat. "Passive" seasickness is fine.. heck I bet Ross has had that "Actve" is the good stuff. If you are getting that feeling DONT go below, take an extra watch, take the helm, find the point on the boat where the pitching fulcrum is shortest and plant yourself. Dont sit around searching within for symptoms and you will be fine. Find something to concentrate on. The beauty of being at sea. How wonderful!Cheers and watch for that sand bank at the mouth of the Columbia.. tis a b!tch.

 

[Ken Prichard]

Guaranteed Cure

There is only one - sit under a tree!

 

[PrincessoftheLake]

Everybody calls them my seasick cookies

I have a recipe for molasses cookies that I load up with finely diced crystallized ginger. I usually have a batch on board since I make up a double batch at home, roll the dough into balls and freeze them. Then when we are going to the boat I bake whatever is needed. I generally pass them around shortly after breakfast, regardless of conditions and will administer them after that depending on need. I know there are lots of remedies and I am not saying this is the only one or the best but this strategy has not let me down yet.

 

[Ross]

Crawling around on the fore deck furling the jib in

four foot seas. I have my head down, can't see the horizon, concentrate on the job at hand, welcome a little spray in the face, hope Nancy can keep her wits and not freeze. To busy to get sick but would rather be standing up. Job done, back in the cockpit, all is well. I can get a little queasy once in a while and the first sail in spring is planned as a gentle one. After we get our sea legs we are fine. My son can't stay below deck in the slip when the power boat wakes are large and frequent.

 

[seadaddler]

Princess

Sounds like great cookies even if not forseasickness.Not much of a baker but many my wife might like to makethem ahead for those times when she might get sick.What's the secret.I have a friend that insists on going with us sailing but alwaysgets sick even when its not really rough,once she got so sick we had totake her to the hospital,she is not on my sailing list sorry to say.Nick

 

[Richard Bryer]

No fun

being seasick. My wife is very prone to motion sickness and has gone to clinics, consulted specialists etc. One of the main causes seems to be a large difference in her inner ears between sides. This seems to make her very sensitive to any changes in motion like wave action, air turbulence, riding in cars on twisty roads etc. It does make a difference when she can anticipate changes as in when she drives- boats or cars. She has tried gravol, the patch,bracelets, ( hates ginger) the best seems to be Cinarizine (sp) which is sold as Stugeron from Jannsen. Unfortunately it is not sold in US or Canada. If you do use this use only the 15mg size- the larger size is for treatment of epileptic siezuyres I believe.I do agree that one can be more prone to ss if one expects to suffer. But the feeling is very real and very unpleasant. I have seen her black out in severe casesAntother test is whether you can read in a moving car. if you can it is a better chance you will be ok. My wife cant even think about doing that.

 

[Mike B]

Calm the nerves

On the Chesapeake I'm fine but the ocean is another story. Rollers from astern can rock and roll you into feeling less than chipper. I also find that if I keep my nerves calm I'm fine. As soon as I get nervous I tend to get that feeling. Once I settle myself down it goes away. I also find that if I'm at the helm it takes care of it, something about the eye hand coordination. Whenever I have someone with me that starts to feel queezy I have them take the helm. That usually helps.

 

[Don12480]

Still storm season

I would wait a month or more before attempting that trip - we are still in the winter storm pattern off the coast. see current conditions below seas 6 meters 16 seconds - that 20 feet with 21 knots of wind and ot could be worse. The Government of Canada has some weather buoys off the coast and also in the Straight that give current conditions and I have seen a lot worse. At least these are 16 seconds apart.Skip to:Additional Weather Office related links on the page The Meteorological Service of Canada menu La Perouse BankCurrent Conditions Observed on: Tuesday, March 11, 2008 at 16:00 UTC from Environment Canada Temperature7°C Pressure102.0kPa Wave Height6.0m Wave Period16sec Sea Temp.N/A WindW 21 knots Environment Canada Weather Forecast --------------------------------------------------------------------------------Marine Forecast issued for West Coast Vancouver Island South. Issued: 4 AM PDT Tuesday 11 March 2008 for the period ending 4 AM Wednesday with an outlook for the following 24 hours. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------Synopsis: A 995 millibar low near the Charlottes will continue to move northeast and weaken further today. A strong ridge is expected to build in the wake of this low today and will lie along the bc coast Wednesday morning.Over northern waters gale force southeast winds ahead of the low will veer to gale to local storm force northwesterly in the wake of the system and ease to light winds near the ridge. Wind will rise to strong to gale force southeasterly behind the ridge.Over central waters including northwestern Vancouver Island gale force southerly winds ahead of the low will veer to gale to storm force west to northwesterly behind the low and to light near the ridge. Winds then rise to moderate to strong south to southeast west of the ridge.Over most southern waters winds will rise to strong to gale force southerly then shift to strong to gale force westerly behind the Low. Winds will ease to light near the ridge and to light to Moderate southerly west of the ridge.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Forecast: Storm warning downgraded to gale warning. Winds southwesterly gales 35 to 45 knots shifting to westerly 30 to gales 40 this morning. Winds easing to northwest 20 to 30 near noon and to northwest 10 to 15 this evening then to light overnight. Periods of rain ending this evening then cloudy periods. Seas 5 to 7 metres subsiding to 3 to 4 this evening and to 2 to 3 overnight. Outlook. Winds light rising to moderate southeasterly. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------Copyright © 2008 Environment Canada All Rights Reserved  --------------------------------------------------------------------------------[ Graphics Off ] [ Format for Print ] top Important Notices and Disclaimers --------------------------------------------------------------------------------Created: 2002-12-31Modified:2008-02-27Reviewed:2008-02-27URL of this page: http://www.weatheroffice.gc.ca/marine/marine_e.html?46206--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Canada wordmarkThe Green Lane™,Environment Canada's World Wide Web Site.Additional Weather Office related linksMeteorological Service of CanadaWeather Warnings5-day WeatherText ForecastsMarine weatherAviation weatherSeasonal forecastsRadar ImagerySatellite ImageryLightningWeather MapsHurricane InformationSea Ice InformationAir Quality ForecastsPast WeatherBusiness ServicesSkywatchersMSC CareersFrequently Asked QuestionsLinksCanada wordmarkEnvironment Canada signature barThe Meteorological Service of Canada menuText-onlyFrançaisContact UsHelpSearchCanada SiteWhat's NewTopicsPublicationsWeatherHomeAbout Us

 

[Joseph Shirley]

Don, With Don of White Rock's Post the are at least four

unrelated posters who are familiar with those waters at that time of year who have suggested you should wait. If you don't, sea sickness may not be the least of your problems. Even on the inland waters of Puget Sound, we had a little front of about 45 knots come through this morning. If you wait for a weather window, wait longer.Joe

 

[fredsb]

Beer

Helps alot!

 

[Paul H]

Don...

Just moved my boat from Vancouver to Nanaimo (a couple of weeks ago)...and let me tell you that the trip was less than pleasant...and that was just across the Strait of Georgia. Once I was out there, I was thinking that I should have waited a little longer...I agree with Don (from White Rock)...if you can wait...then wait. If you can't wait...and still want something for seasicknesn...try ginger. While I have never had the experience of being sea sick (knock on wood)...I've seen it work for many others...Cheers,

 

[Don-MT]

I appreciate

I appreciate all of your responses. There is no compelling reason to move the boat immediately. We are waiting for a clear weather window. As I follow the weather out in the North Pacific there is still a train of lows that, although they seem to move off to the north, string strong, multiple fronts that are greatly affecting the costal weather. We will wait until the jet stream realigns to a more spring/summer pattern. It is always helpful to get “local knowledge” in unfamiliar waters. Thanks for all of your concern and input.Shine On!Don

 

[Don-MT]

Just a thought!

It seems that Ginger is the most recommended preventative/cure for motion sickness. If Ginger is good, is Mary Ann any better?Just a thought. Shine On!Don

 

[jimq26]

Sheesh Don - what a question

Mary Ann is serving time in jail at the moment for a narcotics offence.