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Sea Sickness
I've been invited to go on a 3 to 6 day trip on a 27' boat in the Gulf this summer. Most of the time we would be at anchor diving. My parents have always owned a speed boat that we used for water skiing, but being in the ocean is a lot different than a river or lake. Both my folks have gone out on deep sea charter fishing trips, and the first time they spent the entire trip hanging over the side. Being the hard core fisherman my dad is, he kept going out, and got to the point he would feel sick, but was able to keep the contents of his stomach down. Never having been in the ocean on a boat, and the fact that knowing both my parents get sea sick, I already have it in my mind I probably will too. I've done a little reading on the subject, and found that Scopolamine, and Bonine work well to curb sea sickness. Anyone ever try these? Feb 23 12 11:13 pm Link The scopolamine patches can be effective. I wouldn't waste money on any over the counter products. It also makes a big difference staying away from greasy foods prior to your trip. Pancakes with syrup are often the breakfast of choice. But even the most experienced sailors can get seasick if the weather doesn't cooperate. You might want to start out with a short trip to test yourself out. Feb 23 12 11:22 pm Link I haven't tried either of those, but used Dramamine when I was a kid. Stay out of the boat's cabin when possible. Motion sickness happens most easily when you have the cognitive dissonance of the sea's rolling motion but you're looking at perfectly stationary surroundings. (But a 27' boat won't give you a lot of flexibility in location.) And if you can, hang out near the ship's centerpoint around which the ship pivots when it pitches and rolls. Ask the skipper. Feb 23 12 11:28 pm Link Dramamine will make you drowsy. Bonine will not (as much). When I went on a cruise, I was on Bonine for the first 5 days and even with very high seas, I was ok. Years prior, I was on a boat for a night cruise and lost my crap for a few hours, it was horrible. The last two days, I didn't feel I needed it. Guess I had my sea legs by then. Agree about the middle of the boat and being where you can see the rise and fall of the sea. But that's not always possible. Feb 23 12 11:43 pm Link I figured a test trip would be my best bet. I have a couple friend that have center console fishing boats that I could go out on. Worst that could happen is getting sicker than a dog, having them take me back in, and getting my bawls busted about it for the rest of my life. I've heard any type drug you take for sea sickness should be started a couple days before your trip to get it in your system. Might call my MD Friday, and see if he can give me something. Feb 23 12 11:44 pm Link I love Dramamine. I take it every time I have to get on a train, bus, or ride in the back seat of a car. It works pretty well. The pills are small and easy to swallow and one lasts about 12 hours I think. Also, they have a less drowsy version that won't put you to sleep like the regular version. Feb 24 12 12:17 am Link Kevin Fair wrote: Actually, the worst that could happen is you get sicker than a dog, go to the railing to hurl, fall into the water and get eaten by a shark because you've been chumming the water with electrolytes. Feb 24 12 01:34 am Link Gravol (aka, Dramamine, dimenhydrinate) works reasonably well or me. I have to be on the water for 2 hours before sea sickness starts up. Feb 24 12 01:50 am Link Ginger is pretty good at preventing or at least reducing motion sickness. The easiest way is to eat gingersnaps cookies. I think the more worried you are about it the more likely it is to happen. Dramamine works pretty well too but it can make you really sleepy as others have noted. Feb 24 12 03:18 am Link Drink lotsa rhum da night (and mornin' afore) ya sail, then git shanghai'd by Capt. Joe and I fer a bumpy ride to da islands . . . hey, if yer gonna feel like crap anyway from the hangover, the sea sickness won't seem so bad . . .  I've been on the water most of my life, there's times no matter how much of an "old salt" ya are, yer gonna end up feedin' the fish anyway . . . eat something light before you head out, try a patch if you'd like, but most of all don't get it stuck in your head that you're gonna get sick, or else ya will . . . if it does happen, keep tryin' to put something in your stomach, and keep hydrated . . . it'll eventually pass . . . SOS Feb 24 12 07:24 am Link Kevin Fair wrote: While my wife was pregnant, she swore by the "Sea Band" elastic wristbands with the plastic bump that hits the pressure point. I've never used them myself. Feb 24 12 07:47 am Link Henna N. wrote: Ginger based. Ginger is known for being an anti-nauseous product. Feb 24 12 08:07 am Link Caradoc wrote: When i was on ship, the U.S.S. Essex, knew a Navy chick who used the bracelet. Didn't help her much, she spent the whole trip in the corner sick. Although we were in front of a typhoon so the seas were a bit rough. Feb 24 12 08:14 am Link I used a scopoalamine patch when I sailed around Oahu. I was a little tired, but I didn't get sick. But I've also never shown signs of sea sickness on the rivers here in Oregon and I've spent a lot of time on the water. Feb 24 12 08:17 am Link I've lived for years with vertigo, feels like I am sea sick constantly. I do actually get motion sick from the car, train, limo (OMG its awful!!), any boat rides, even rollercoasters and airplanes. Dramamine is my friend. I used to take the less drowsy version during the day, closer to the evening I take the regular version. Although, I am so used to it now the regular version doesn't make me tired anymore. I swear by Dramamine, don't take more than one though our you'll be napping! lol I took it the whole time I was on a cruise with hubby (Florida to Mexico). I was literally green, from sea sickness. This was before I had vertigo. I went to Disney and got sick on the boat from one side of Epcot to the other. Yep, I just have NO sea legs. I keep dramamine in my bag for when I have these issues. I used sea bands when I was pregnant with my kids, they worked some. My mom has used the little dots they go behind the ears. They didn't work for me. Good luck! Feb 24 12 08:58 am Link First off, sailing, is not like bobbing up an down while fishing. It's a different motion entirely. Granted, a 27' will move a bit more given it's limited length, but the heavy keel will help. All of the above is good advice, especially the ginger. Try to procure fresh ginger root before you leave. I've sailed most of the Eastern seaboard in good weather and bad, including living aboard. Honestly? The best sea sickness remedy I know of is a hit or two off a joint. Works ever time. Feb 24 12 09:11 am Link Everyone get seasick when the condition is right. Bonnie, Dram and patch all will work. Before you head out, try it first at home. It the pill first 1 hr before the trip. If you really worry about it, go to your doctor ask for Phenergan suppository. It will work even the motion sickness is already set in. Why I know all these, go the read the first paragraph of my profile. I am a trained professional in Drugs. hahahah. Feb 24 12 09:47 am Link ... I've only tried dramimine (sp?). It mostly worked. ... Eventually, I just got used to it after a couple of days. ... Sailors a century ago used peppermint, as in peppermint life savers. I haven't tried this. ... Also, ginger (as in ginger ale) has been said to help. Again, I haven't tried it, but I like ginger ale. Feb 24 12 09:50 am Link I take fresh ginger, grind it up, and infuse in hot water for 5-10 minutes. Add honey or agave syrup if you find that too bitter. Works everytime to get me rid of nausea. Feb 24 12 10:05 am Link Scarlett Candee wrote: Go to Chinatown, buy some crystalline ginger and chew on it slowly. Ginger produces a localized effect only, does not work on CNS as other Meds. Have some ginger in your stomach makes your vomits a bit more palatable. Feb 24 12 10:20 am Link Connor Photography wrote: Haha, maybe it's a placebo effect I experienced then. Feb 24 12 10:22 am Link Connor Photography wrote: Scarlett Candee wrote: Indeed, it is. Placebo effect is real particularly in the CNS mediated event such as motion sickness, fear of flying, sexual drive and etc. Feb 24 12 10:31 am Link OK..... If I go on this adventure I'll take along ginger, Dramamine, Scopolamine, Bonine, Sea Band elastic wristbands, Phenergan suppository....the only thing that would work if the sickness was already going on, otherwise a person would just hurl anything else up before it could take effect, and a bag of pot for medical reasons. I'm going to check the boat out later today, and get more info on the trip. He's been doing research for years on something in the Gulf that he wants to find. He wont say much about it yet. Feb 24 12 11:00 am Link This would be the boat. Found out the area is no farther than a mile off the west coast of Florida.  Feb 24 12 03:53 pm Link That's so itty-bitty, you can forget about finding the center of that boat to minimize motion. You'd just better hope for calm seas. Feb 24 12 07:46 pm Link It's not the length that makes a boat uncomfortable in a seaway, it's the displacement (or lack of it). That boat does not have a proper keel, it has a centerboard. I wouldn't go a mile off shore in that thing unless I was damn sure of the current conditions, the 48 hour forcast, and had charted my own patterns. And I've sailed some long distances in small boats. I've taught coastal navigation and seamanship. I've delivered boats from Miami to Maine. I would not go a mile off shore in that vessel. Again, it's not the size. Look at the fucking windage on that thing! Without a keel to balance that out, fuck that. That boat is made for a small to medium sized lake at best. That is by no means a blue water boat. By. No. Means. Assuming you're going to go, if you do feel sea sickness come on stay topside (going below can make it come on or make it worse) and stare at the horizon. On that boat it won't matter where the hell you are. If you can helm the boat, all the better (it really does help). Feb 24 12 07:58 pm Link Paramour Productions wrote: I was thinking about the draft when I was checking it out. It would draw less than 3 foot of water, and the large upper structure would make it bob like a floater in a mild wind. I think it would be a perfect ICW boat, but agree it wouldn't fair well in blue water. Feb 25 12 12:59 am Link Dramamine with the less drowsy formula and those pressure point wrist band thingys from CVS or something. Also, my hub is a sailor, and I get so violently sick, he's had some good advice that seems to work: keep your stomach full and your bladder empty. And ginger tea! Lots of ginger tea (or just a few bits of raw ginger in a bottle of water!) Feb 25 12 11:00 am Link I used the scopoalamine patch to little effect - I can tell you that having been seasick - and then having the seasickness breaking through the patch - Was miles worse - like having cold sucks - but having a cold and being deathly hungover, is miles worse. The last time - I lost 13 pounds in 48 hours - and swore a 9 jointed oath to never go on the ocean again. Feb 25 12 06:12 pm Link Kevin Fair wrote: Your assessment is spot on. Go with it. If the boat needs that much work, let it all be done up to spec and properly surveyed, then consider it. Even then, I wouldn't be comfortable with it, just based on the design. But you're right, it would be a swell boat to do the ICW with. I've sailed to the Bahamas from Miami in the same size craft, but with a better design - I wouldn't want to cross the Gulf Stream in that. If it kicks up (which it often does) you will feel ugly, fast. Feb 25 12 08:44 pm Link |
