Motion sickness

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In the know

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I am sure we have all either delt with it ourselves, or have had crew that have had it, but this one was a first for me.

Had two friends out for a fishing trip, and they each brought a friend of theirs.

I untie the first line, and I look up and this guy is turning green. I ask him if he is okay to go. He says he is fine. I tell him that unless he is on deaths bed, once we leave we are not coming back until the trip is done.

He says he is fine.

I untie and offwe go. As I turn from the fairway to the alley,I hear that dreaded sound. I tell him last chance, I will drop you at the courtesy dock. He says no, he will fish through it.

This guy tossed his stomach from that point until we were back from the trip.

I have never seen someone get sick before we even left the marina!

This guy must have tossed 5 days worth of breakfast, lunch and dinner over the course of 7 hours.
 
Hmmm, makes me wonder what his liquid intake the night before consisted of. Perhaps the "Deamon Rum" sought and found its revenge. :)

It's a shame though. Can make the trip less than enjoyable for the rest of the crew/party.

Bob

quote:
Originally posted by In the know

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I had a similar experience a couple of weeks ago. I invited a couple of friends out and one asked if he could bring someone else that we all know. I said fine. One friend is up on the bridge with me and the other two including the aquaintance are in the cabin. The other friend comes up and says that the aquaintance isn't feeling well. So I stop. He comes out of the cabin and I could just see the look on his face. I asked him if he ever gets sea sick. He said that he did but it was 25 years ago. I asked him if he ever goes boating. He said no. 25 years ago was probably the last time. I gave him the same speech as ITK did. I told him that I would be happy to take him back now but if I didn;t we would be on open water for over and hour and there would be no place to let him off. After some back and forth and me strongly recommending that we go back, he agreed. I think once you start to feel sick, it doesn't improve. If we dodn't go back, it would have ruined the day for everyone. I think as the captain you have to make the decision.
 
Boy, talk about timing. We had a similar trip from hell on Saturday. 3 couples. One couple the husband and I have been boating together for close to 10 years. His wife is afraid of the open water and likes staying in the Merrimack (MA)River. The third couple, his wife had said she was prone to motion sickness but would take some pills and would be fine.

We get out to the Isle of Shoals off Portsmouth NH where we were planning to moor in the harbor and have lunch. It was 11 miles from the mouth of the river. Now couple #3's, wife is getting squeamish and turning green. We opt for a quick appetizer and decide to head back.

Now the wind is blowing like stink, 15-25 mph right off our port bow (the weather forecast lied). We're in 5-7' seas and heading right into it. My boating buddy lasted 10 minutes. Now I've got him and the woman down in the cabin puking their guts out. The other guy and me are at the helm. My wife and the one who doesn't like open water are sitting aft getting drenched because we were taking waves over the bow and it was coming in from the canvass top. She was so scared, she couldn't even scream. We were in some pretty nasty rollers.
Make sure you have an ample supply of "waterproof" trash bags too. These weren't the conditions to be hanging over the side.

It took almost an hour to get back because I couldn't go any more than 10-12 kts.

Well, we finally made it back safely and it will provide some good story telling for years to come.
 
Bad day. The cabin is probably the worst place to be. Better off being on deck in the fresh air and stare at something fixed on land. I understand that it was raining and you may not have been close enough to land to see anything. From a clean up and odor removal perspective, I'd want them on deck as opposed to in the cabin.
 
The only time I ever "chummed" was when the boat was anchored near shore in slow rollers. I couldn't stop, but at least I was over the stern. As soon as the anchor was weighed and we starting moving forward, I stopped chumming and shortly my stomach felt fine. I never get queasy in rough seas, but when the swells are slow and gentle, I have to stay up on the bow or on the bridge to keep my breakfast down.

Never go below when your stomach feels queasy!!!!
 
I just got an update on our trip from hell. Couple #3- hubby loved it, wife didn't recover fully until Sunday afternoon. And my boating 'buddy' also didn't recover until Sunday afternoon.

Michael- we had sun that day and you're right. I told her the best place to be is topside, not below. We were only a few miles off shore, so there was a good horizon to focus on. Some people just don't listen.

Flutterby- the last time I chummed was a few years ago at a marina inside the north end of the Cape Cod Canal. I had eaten a 3# lobster and drank 3/4 of a bottle of wine, preceded by a few beers the night before. Needless to say the next morning, what came from the sea, was returned to the sea.
 
quote:
Originally posted by MichaelNJ

I think as the captain you have to make the decision.

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I think as the person who has to clean up the mess that also goes into the decision making process. Over the side of the boat is OK. In the cabin is out of the question.
 
My only time at yacking was on a fishing trip on my boss' Hatteras. It wasn't the motion as much as it was the diesel fumes accumulating in the cockpit. You just couldnot escape them while trolling. Once I yacked I was fine for the rest of the trip.

Over the side please not in the sinks or the heads.
 
In my experience, once someone is actively sick they rarely get back to normal ( for several hours, at least ), and also it is "contagious". One "cookie tosser" will spoil the trip for just about everyone else. I don't usually ask, if a passenger gets sick the socond time, we turn around.
 
BTDT. i keep alot of ginger candy onboard. it seems to be the only thing that helps settle the stomach!
 
I hung out with Ralph twice, felt miserable but didn't RALPH".

Both times caused by paying too much attention with my nose into the chartplotter.

I learned NOT to offer someone who is queasy that snack tuna fish in the can. Bad suggestion.
RWS
 
I consider myself an expert at this topic. To ITK's point, the family and I just spent 10 days on our boat two weeks ago. On the second to last night while moored in a typically rockey Bristol Harbor, My son woke up at 1am and started puking in the v-birth. He slept the rest of the night in the cockpit. The next (last) night, as soon as the sun went down he started feeling queezzy and ended up puking out the hatch all over my foredeck. An easier clean up at least. All of this after no problem for 7 days.

My record is 16.5 hours of near constant vomiting during an off shore sailboat race. I have learned that I am not good with rolling seas. Chop is okay. The worst condition for me is rollers, fog, no breez. A couple hours of that and I'll be in trouble. But I never feel sick if I'm on plane. Once sea-sickness starts you generally don't get better although I have read accounts of people who were sick for days and then recovered and were never sick again. But I have not tested that theory personally.

In terms of remedys.. there are none. I do have some physician friends who say Zofran will knock down the nausea but I have not tested this yet. I have read that ginger can also help (according to Mythbusters) but have not tried this either. Sleep can also provide some relief provided you can get some. As for prevention, I have had good luck with dramamine for day-trips althouhg it can make you a little sleepy. For longer and/or overnight trips I go with a Scope patch. Some people have reported some bizzar side effects while on the patch but I've never had a problem and none of the side-effects is as bad as hours of vomiting....

I figure I must love boating more than most if I am willing so subject myself to this. I am hoping to do the Newport-Bermuda race next year. My major fear is the sea-sickness. It's not like you can just get off or turn around and 5 days is a long time to be sick. I have had good luck with the patch but that is a two patch trip and I have never tested my stomach against 8ft rollers.
 
Prospective:

My first sea sick experience also came in an offshore sailboat race (Marion to Bermuda) we were essnetially drifting in slow gradual 8' rollers. The rollers and no breeze did me in. Got sick for about a day, and then was fine for the trip.

I have also been sick on two different Newport - Bermuda races - same thing slow rollers. Same thing agian, recovered in about a day and was fine for the remaining trip.

Strange thing is that I spent some time in my youth working on commercial boats out of galilee and never once had a problem, and trust me, some of the smells on those ships are simply put - unique.

I swear by the ginger remedy. When doing offshore sailing I always load up on ginger snacks, ginger bread, and of course ginger ale.
 
You might suggest to any guests that they stop by the doctor's office and request a prescription of Scopace (http://www.motionsickness.net/prescrib.html). It is basically the same chemical as the patch but it a pill form so you can control the dosage. It has worked for everyone that has gone out with me and the only side effect seems to be a dry mouth. I carry a bottle on board for situations such as the OP experienced.
 
Scopalimine (sp?) patch works great for me when I'm shark fishing and working the cockpit with my head down making baits or readying equipment. Although I did see a mythbusters where they swear by the Ginger pill. I bought a 200 dose bottle, gave it to 2 kids and both got sick during the fishing trip.
 
My wife gets seasick on sailboats or achoring in our powerboat. She has tried most any remedy with little success but she bought a "reliefband", an electronic gizmo she puts on like a watch and it sends electrical impulses through her wrist. Expensive but it works for her.
 
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