# seasick on coastal day sailing



## tlscott (Jun 26, 2006)

Hi there

So my lifelong dream is to cruise along the Eastern seaboard when I retire. I have a catalina 30 and race in local club racing regularly and 50-70 mile point to point races in Eastern Canada. I've done several deliveries of a 36 foot sailboat and a large tall ship offshore and along the coast of Nova Scotia. I certainly admit that I'm prone to seasickness. I've started taking the Scopalamine Patches and this has fixed my seasickness symptoms. 

I know the symptoms of seasickness will eventually improve after 48 hours or so. I'm wondering what to expect from all you coastal cruisers out there. Will the seasickness clock re-set everytime we come ashore or will the symptoms dissappear after a couple of days. We will very rarely every overnight the boat just harbour hop our way down the coast.

I would hate to have to buy patches continuously. My wife is affected worse than me so this may or may not define my retirement plans. We will be chartering a boat in the next year or so to test the waters so to speak and see if it's possible for us.

thanks for your input.


----------



## jerryrlitton (Oct 14, 2002)

Lol. Btw I am not laughing at you, I am laughing with you. Flash back almost 30 years. I was a hot shot helicopter dude and I knew it all. (Now you are laughing) I was invited on a deep sea fishing trip. I was asked if I wanted motion sickness tablets. Were they kidding? I fly helos for a living. I said no way, let's go. Well let me tell you, I spent the entire trip hanging over the side. I was not feeling right until we docked. Since then I have gotten over it as you will. Some faster than others. However I have found that when a potential sick person is given a task they feel better. If this passenger is in the front seat of the helicopter I just get them to fly and they forget about being sick. It does not matter if they know how to fly. They figure it out. Worked for me, it will work for you too.


----------



## captflood (Jan 1, 2011)

GREETINGS EARTHINGS ; don't worry about the "malda mer" it can creep up anyone at any time. I have been sailing since I was two years old now 57, if I'm sailing and change boats I would be sea-sick for about 4-5 hours but I will not allow it to disablitate me or interfear with the job on. when sailing by myself does not bother me just to busy getting it done. The best thing is to chew your food well and have lots of lemonaide and tooth paste to hand to rinse your mouth out. (hope this helps ) AS ALWAYS GO SAFE


----------



## tdw (Oct 2, 2006)

Yep, it is not unusual nor is it the end of the world. When I was younger I would get the yawns for half an or so and that would be all but in the last few years it has become a lot worse. Doesn't matter whether it is first day on board or first day back at sea after having anchored out. 

First up .... don't have a heavy night before going out sailing and make sure you have a good breakfast. Maybe it is my poor old overworked Liver that is the problem but a reasonable level of sobriety the night before does seem to help. (btw, it's only a problem for me when we go coastal/offshore.) 

Secondly ... all things must pass. It only gets me for the first few hours. After that I'm fine. 

I have btw tried pills and they made me almost suicidally depressed. YMMV of course. 

Best of luck with it.


----------



## Sailormon6 (May 9, 2002)

I don't often have a problem, but occasionally get sick in very rough seas and especially on a rough passage. At different times, I have used the pills and scopalomine, and they both work well for me. If the conditions are such that there's any possibility that I might get it, I use one or the other. Neither of them causes me any noticeable adverse effect, so I see no harm in taking them, even if for purely prophylactic reasons. 

As I see it, the risk of any adverse effects by taking a pill is almost non-existent. The risk of spending a miserable day and of letting down my skipper and mates is great. The choice to take a pill is easy.


----------



## jhwelch (May 9, 2015)

It's not clear what weather conditions you are out in when you are getting sick. If you are racing then you don't have as much choice for pleasant conditions like you would when you are cruising.

When you get over to Maine you will often be up inside deep bays, which help to block out large swells, so you chances of getting seasick will be less under those nicer conditions. Same goes for Long Island Sound and to some degree the Chesapeake Bay. 

Even farther south you will be in the ICW unless you are doing an overnight passage, and can pick easy conditions to travel in down in that area.

-jonathan


----------



## chall03 (Oct 14, 2002)

To answer your question about coastal sailing specifically....Our experience was as follows. 

We spent several months doing day hops and overnighters/mutiple nights passages. My wife is prone to seasickness and while she has treated it with varying medications in the past she had limited options when we were cruising as she was breastfeeding. 

While she suffered on passage at the beginning of our cruise using what methods she could, by a couple of months in she was largely fine, happily spending hours down in the galley cooking while in significant seas with no problems. 

We found more than a few days sat in a marina would make her a touch prone, but I would take the first watch and I made lunches etc ahead of time so she didn't have to go below for a couple of hours. 

Also if you have the option of spending the night before a passage anchored or on a mooring rather than in a marina do it. That made all the difference for us. 

Find what works...... Keep your wife out of the galley on passage for a few hours. 

Don't climb up and down the companionway 20 times at the beginning of the passage stressing..... Bring everything you need up to the cockpit. Breathe and relax- we found stress is a major seasickness factor.


----------



## tlscott (Jun 26, 2006)

thanks all for the comments. Helped alleviate some of the concerns. 

Terry


----------



## CVAT (Apr 29, 2012)

I have found that being well fed, well hydrated, and having a drink with vitamin C in it combated any seasickness. Well rested helped too.

Also noticed that the degree of which I was seasick was directly related to the degree of hangover I had and not the sea state, not sure if it more to due with being dehydrated or not. Drink more responsibly now that I am older than I did when I was in my 20's so this has not been an issue of late.


----------



## killarney_sailor (May 4, 2006)

You might also try using half of a patch and see if that does the trick. If so work down to a 1/3rd. I think the body can learn not to be sick.


----------



## MarkofSeaLife (Nov 7, 2010)

Booze. Get drunk while heading out. Have someone esle be the skipper and you hit the bottle. 

It works. Its a middle ear thing like when you are drunk.
If that doesnt work just go to sea without patches till you get over it.
Patches will only help the chronic a nd the occasional sailor.

Please sort it out new before you head off.


----------



## Syd Poncho (Dec 3, 2015)

The only known sure-fire cure for seasickness is to stand under a tree.


----------



## MarkofSeaLife (Nov 7, 2010)

I don't think u get rid of it with pills. That just puts off today's episode.

I got over it once and for all drinking alcohol. Yes, really. When drunk and staggering but u think you are walking straight... that's a middle ear thing. So is sea sickness.


----------



## capta (Jun 27, 2011)

MarkofSeaLife said:


> Booze. Get drunk while heading out. Have someone esle be the skipper and you hit the bottle.
> 
> It works. Its a middle ear thing like when you are drunk.
> If that doesnt work just go to sea without patches till you get over it.
> ...


Interesting theory, Mark.
My first wife never got seasick. Out the Gate in the worst the left coast could throw at us on a 50' Rhodes cutter; no worries. The Potato Patch (a shoal off Point Bonita) is at 25'; no worries (at least seasick wise).
But our departure on our circumnavigation after a champagne party and the poor girl completely lost it and every succeeding voyage thereafter she suffered a day or two after departure.
I guess what works for some just doesn't work for others.
As for the rest, I've only had two people sail offshore with me who didn't get over it in a couple of days. One buddy got sick as soon as we set sail and stayed that way until the anchor dropped again. But he loved sailing and would not let it interfere with his fun. Just a "hold the wheel for a sec." and he'd quickly and unobtrusively do his thing over the side and then it was back to his 4 hour watch.
The other was a cutie from NZ, who remained in bed for the whole voyage, dehydrated and miserable. I wanted to put her on the helm, but everybody else said, "leave the poor girl alone", and I believe had the voyage been a few days longer, she might have been in jeopardy of serious medical complications.
I'm with those above; nothing cures seasickness quicker than being put on the helm and realizing that we are in control, not the ocean.
I do not agree however, that everybody will get seasick sooner or later. Some do, some don't, just like anything else.


----------



## RobGallagher (Aug 22, 2001)

I'm surprised no one has mentioned ginger. I keep 'real' candied ginger, the strong stuff (you will know it when you try it), onboard and so far it seems to work. My sister, who is prone to motion sickness, swears by ginger beer.

The show Myth Busters did a segment on motion sickness and they concluded that, of all the things they tried, only ginger or pharmaceutical drugs worked.


----------



## krisscross (Feb 22, 2013)

Getting blitzed with ginger liqueur would sound like a good remedy for sea sickness.


----------



## MarkSF (Feb 21, 2011)

I can only echo the conclusions of a recent study :

"The best cure for seasickness is regular exposure to the environment that makes you sick"


----------



## sharkbait (Jun 3, 2003)

Got to agree with Mark . I sail drunk all the time and Im never sea sick, occasionally hungover, but never sea sick. Cheap Bahamian rum works well


----------



## TomMaine (Dec 21, 2010)

tlscott said:


> Hi there
> 
> So my lifelong dream is to cruise along the Eastern seaboard when I retire. I have a catalina 30 and race in local club racing regularly and 50-70 mile point to point races in Eastern Canada. I've done several deliveries of a 36 foot sailboat and a large tall ship offshore and along the coast of Nova Scotia. I certainly admit that I'm prone to seasickness. I've started taking the Scopalamine Patches and this has fixed my seasickness symptoms.
> 
> ...


My wife and daughter are prone to seasickness. It's never stopped them, they love to sail and be on the water. They also have never taken anything. I have friends that do, and some don't. We're mostly coastal sailors with an occasional overnight.

I guess what I'm saying is, don't let it stop you. Learn what conditions make you and your wife most prone to it, and avoid those. Nothing wrong with making day hops instead of overnights, along a coast. And there's nothing wrong if your wife wants to opt out of an overnight. We make those adjustments all the time.

Try to make everybody onboard happy, you'll enjoy a good sailing life.


----------



## Mark1948 (Jun 19, 2007)

I read that to prevent sea sickness, old time sailors would put a plug of tobacco in one ear. Theory being that it basically shuts down the ear and stops competition for balance with the other ear. You might try an ear "plug" Does seem to make some sense.


----------



## XSrcing (Aug 22, 2015)

My wife always take Dramamine before any plane ride or road trip. I'm curious to see how she responds to being on the water next spring. I know we have mobbed all over CDA Lake in a motorboat and she had no issues, but sailboats move different. I'll just get her schnockered before we go out the first time. 

I, OTOH, have never had motion sickness. The rougher the conditions the more fun I have.


----------



## JimMcGee (Jun 23, 2005)

My wife gets seasick occasionally, I do now and then and am miserable on a fishing boat (different motion).

For her a breakfast that absorbs stomach acid seems to help (a bagel or toast). Sipping real ginger beer or coke and snacking on cheese and crackers while sailing helps her if conditions are choppy. Having the wheel definitely helps her. So does sitting up on the stern perch seats with the wind in her face.

If we're motoring with the wind behind us the smell of diesel exhaust gets her queasy pretty fast.

I never tried an ear plug in one ear but have heard it before and it sounds like an interesting idea. 

It's definitely an ear-eye thing. She had some serious eye problems this summer that effected how one eye focused and she would get queasy in anything more than a dead calm.


----------



## vinnie319 (Nov 17, 2015)

Hi all! Well, I am a licensed massage therapist, and am always looking for the natural way to help or heal. If you can incorporate ginger into your diet, that too helps alleviate motion sickness, and you are not introducing drugs into your system. Please feel free to "Google it". I am sure you will not be dis appointed. You can also try candied ginger, which is pretty good and can eat it like gum drops. Hope this helps. Clear sailing to y'all.


----------



## pdxskipper (Sep 9, 2014)

I'm susceptible to it, but it seems to be almost random. Growing up sailing on my dad's boats, I always felt worst down below verses sitting in the cockpit. But the opposite happened many years later while a crewmember on a cruise ship working down in the lower decks. Then I would start feeling bad when I went topside and saw the movement of the horizon.

I've heard about an electronic 'ReliefBand'. It's looks and is worn like a watch and they get great on-line reviews, but I'm skeptical. 

Has anyone has tried it or talked to someone who has?


----------

