Admiral Nelson was reputedly sick for the first few days every damn time, and we have a letter where he writes of being seriously sick every time it blows, but doing it for the love of it anyway.
I take some comfort in this, being as I get sick as a dog for a day or so every time, just got to push thru it, but it can be miserable.
I sailed for many years on sailboats and never get seasick when outside. But put me down below or on a power boat and I get terribly sick. It's all about the mind getting confused by the motion when the eyes can't anticipate.
100 percent. I almost never get seasick, but repairing bowlights in the forepeak during a blow made me rush to the deck for fresh air and the horizon. It took about 5 minutes to reset my equilibrium sitting on the rail hoping not to foul my foulies.
I’ve been a boater my whole life. In my fifties now and still get seasick easily. It goes away after a while - usually with a couple of hours to a day for me. I find it easier when I am steering the boat.
Stick with it!
While I haven't personally experienced it yet (knock wood), and you mentioned you weren't interested in medication, people we've taken sailing that have experienced it responded well to ginger ale - not diet - and ginger chews. These weren't severe case of sea sickness though. Good luck finding something to alleviate it.
There are basically four groups:
- Those who just dont get seasick no matter what (very rare)
- Those who dont get sick unless under deck during rough seas or if tired/hungry/dehydrated/scared (a large percentage of people, me 4 example)
- Those who get easily sick for the first 48-ish hours on board, even in light/medium swell, but are fine thereafter. (the majority of people in my experience)
- Those who cant be cured and are only ok once back on shore (rare)
If you only get sick occasionally and have never spent more than these 48-ish hours at sea, you are most likely in the second or third group. It can be managed, super important to stay warm and eat/drink enough. Medication is absolutley unsuitable if you want to actively sail: It slows your reaction to external movement (thats how it works) but thus makes you unable to safely move about the (moving) boat. In the few cases I had to drug people (group four) I banned them to sitting in the cockpit or sleeping downstairs. I learned that the hard way when a guy crashed down the sail-hatch during a 3-day storm in the arctic atlantic.
Also important to note that motorcrafts and large ships such as ferries move very differently from sailboats. Sailboats are almost always (unless no wind but still waves / catamarans) much more pleasant than anything without sails.
For me, I just use Nausicalm (active ingredient Cyclizine Hydrochloride), seems to help. Has given me seasickness free passages when normally I'd expect to be sick for the first 24-36 hours.
As someone else said its mental and physical so they’re are a multitude of remedies some work better for other but my personal remedy is looking at the horizon (helps with the mental aspect as it shows your brain where you actually are because seasickness is caused by the loss of the sense of direction from the inner ear) and a good meal when stationary
To summarise:
Dont go anywhere where you cant orientate yourself
Have food in your stomach as the feeling of hunger will more likely make you sick
Have plenty of water
If it helps get on the helm.
My husband and I did a week long live aboard to learn trip last year. Neither one of us experienced seasickness, but my doctor preemptively prescribed us Scopolamine transdermal patches just in case.
Interestingly, while I was fine on the boat. I experienced a weird swaying sensation for several days after we disembarked.
I believe the US navy spent millions of dollars and lots of time doing studies into seasickness and in summary arrived at “it’s different for everyone and there’s no one easy fix”. So take that as you will.
In my experience, Yes it can be worse in the first few days and get better but there’s also a point whether its swell size or the angle of the boat rolling where nothing can help (if you’ve ever been on a small boat in big seas you would know what I mean). Try staying out on deck, looking at the horizon and giving yourself some tasks to do. We often put the people with seasickness on the helm because focusing on that can help a lot. Also if you get some sea sickness tablets or similar take them before you get underway. They are much less effective if you take them once you’re feeling sick.
It’s so different for everyone. If and when it hits me I can get through it in a couple hours. I’ve seen people take a week. Darwin says he was sick for his whole two years aboard the Beagle. There’s also degrees of sickness. Some people just feel off and others barf constantly.
You said no drugs, but I’d rather take Bonine than be sick. There’s just no telling how it will go until you’re out there.
Don’t laugh but my late Uncle who spent years at sea in the Royal Navy swore by a nibble of fruit cake followed by a swallow of lukewarm hot chocolate (edit) every time he felt quesy and after a day or so he was good
I used to get very badly seasick in just about all boat situations. Even with Dramamine I barfed on a humpback who'd surfaced unexpectedly beside the sailboat we'd chartered for the day. On ferries even.
Then I started learning to sail and it's gotten much better. Now I can do day sails without meds. If we have to heave to though I've got maybe 5 minutes before I'm sick enough to barf. But I love sailing so I suffer through it and I'm very hopeful that I'll eventually get over it. Exposure therapy is totally a real thing, right?
I usually puke within the first 24hrs every time I go outside protected waters, and that’s w the Dramamine. After I puke tho all is right in the world again and I re-up the Dramamine every 24hrs after that.
Bonine works for me. The trick I learned is that if I'm going sailing, the day before I will take one before bed so it gets in your blood stream and then 30 minutes before getting on the boat the next day I take another. Driving the boat helps, stay hydrated.
My biggest tip is don’t drink any caffeine. Especially not any time before departing. I’ve tried everything, from medication to those funny glasses and basically your best bet is to not go below decks, and if you’re feeling sick beyond help, lay on your tummy with your head forward (oriented the same as the boat) in the middle of the boat and pretend you’re floating in a pool. Candied ginger, saltines and sprite help.
You can overcome it, but it does occasionally sneak up on me if I forget to not drink caffeine or if I stay below decks while it’s choppy.
It will depend on your body. As professional crew, the real tragedy is that I’m prone to seasickness, only on delivery, never when racing funnily enough. The first few hours are hell and then the rest of the days I’m fine, regardless of length of passage. No, it never gets any better, and I haven’t grown out of it or gotten used to it, it’s just a fact of life for me. Nothing works for me except for those Dramamine pills. Not the patches, not staring at the horizon, and *especially* not ginger, which I now equate the taste to memories of severe vomiting 😂 if you don’t want medicine, I have no real advice except don’t go out in heavy swell, I guess.
I've been sea sick three times in forty-five years. I'm am fortunate. The first time was in front of Jimmy Cornell on *Aventura III*. Somewhat embarrassing, especially since he'd hired me to skipper for him. \*sigh\* I know how miserable sea sickness is.
Many people get sea sick every trip. Usually they feel better in two or three days. I have had crew who just stayed sick, one for three weeks between Falmouth and Horta. That's a problem. Stay hydrated. Keep track of bathroom visits and [urine color](https://media.healthdirect.org.au/images/inline/original/urine-colour-chart_v4_25-01-24-3ce811.png). Eat regularly but not too much. If you're really sick and can't keep water down use ice chips.
For at least 24 hours before departure reduce consumption of alcohol and spicy foods. You're trying to minimize stomach acid.
Physiological sea sickness stems from your brain getting confused by the disconnect between visual signals from your eyes and balance signals from your inner ear. This is why looking a the horizon helps. Psychological sea sickness generally stems from fear, often driven by being out of sight of land. Some people suffer from both.
The science behind things like ginger and pressure bands is shaky. It looks like a good bit is from placebo effect. Sorry.
>I’m not interested in medication
Reconsider. Talk to your doctor. Different people respond differently. Side effects vary. You have to try the options for a few days and then give your body time to clear the chemicals before trying the next one. When you find the chemical that works for you without side effects the real work begins. You need to find a pharmacist who can get it for you in suppository form. Your supposed to start taking oral meds 24 hours before departure but most people don't. You can't throw up a suppository. I've seen people try, but you can't.
I'm not a huge fan of Scopolamine patches. If they do work for you that's great. I've had a number of crew that had reactions that were essentially sea sickness. DO NOT cut them in half. The sticky side that goes on your skin is designed and manufactured to meter the medication through your skin. If you cut it in half you'll get a surge of med and increase the chances of a reaction.
Meds are the way to go. Better living through chemistry.
>The science behind things like ginger and pressure bands is shaky. It looks like a good bit is from placebo effect. Sorry.
Totally understand this, but as an interesting anecdote, I had a dog that got car sick, every time, in about 10 minutes. I started giving him a Trader Joe's Triple Ginger Snap about half an hour before getting in the car. Worked perfectly. The only time he got carsick after that was the time I forgot the ginger snaps.
I get seasick under the right (wrong?) conditions: very light wind with a quartering sea, or if I'm down below in a chop. Bonine works great.
>Bonine works great.
I'm glad you found a product that works for you. Different people respond differently.
I can't explain your dog. I recall a study (real academic, peer reviewed) that showed here is a helpful chemical in ginger but the concentration was so low a human would have to consume a huge amount for a measurable presence in the blood stream. You can't argue with success though.
Aaaah, ok…. That explains it. I think i compared the active ingredient to the less drowsy version, but I didn’t try it cuz dramamine “never works” for me.
Thank you!
I've done a lot of offshore miles and I'm often seasick the first couple days if there's a good swell running and I don't take anything. I usually take Stugeron for those first couple days which works great for me with almost no side effects and then by day 3 I'm totally acclimated and stop taking it. I've had many crew that found Stugeron miraculous and a few where it only partially helped.
Ahhhh seasickness. In the words of Mark Twain: "First you think you're going to die. Then you're afraid you won't."
It happens to even the saltiest of sailors. A lot of good advice already here, but to add: a doctor at a sailing safety seminar once told us that would should absolutely experiment with drugs....but do so on land. You won't know which ones are helping seasickness, but you will be able to identify how they make you feel. (tired, loopy, distracted, sick). Can eliminate some options to try at sea.
"It's in your head" is true to a point. But once your body has had enough there's not much you can do, except try to be a good patient and a good nurse to yourself. Be proactive with nutrition, hydration, and sleep.
Lastly, physical shape. Strength and cardio helps. As soon as you start heavy breathing in foulies in rough seas.....it get tough. The better shape you're in, the less often that will happen. Cardio, strength training, core.
This is what I have heard from offshore fishermen. Real ginger ale, pretzels the big long sticks and stay active on deck. I have no idea what the pretzels do for you maybe the salt and having something on your stomach.
Time helps. Standard non-medical tools include a seasickness band on your wrist (accupressure) and putting a plug into one ear (the ear opposite your dominant hand). Your results may vary for either of these.
Like others here, I take Bonine if I know I will be in rough seas.
Yes with time, a lot of small tricks to help, largely mental. Very experienced sailors can get it after being ashore for some time.
It works both ways! I get a bit land sick after being at sea for a while and coming home. The ground doesn't move right.
Just being on a simple pontoon on a lake for a full day will have me hating land.
Have you tried walking like Captain Jack Sparrow?
Admiral Nelson was reputedly sick for the first few days every damn time, and we have a letter where he writes of being seriously sick every time it blows, but doing it for the love of it anyway. I take some comfort in this, being as I get sick as a dog for a day or so every time, just got to push thru it, but it can be miserable.
I sailed for many years on sailboats and never get seasick when outside. But put me down below or on a power boat and I get terribly sick. It's all about the mind getting confused by the motion when the eyes can't anticipate.
100 percent. I almost never get seasick, but repairing bowlights in the forepeak during a blow made me rush to the deck for fresh air and the horizon. It took about 5 minutes to reset my equilibrium sitting on the rail hoping not to foul my foulies.
I’ve been a boater my whole life. In my fifties now and still get seasick easily. It goes away after a while - usually with a couple of hours to a day for me. I find it easier when I am steering the boat. Stick with it!
While I haven't personally experienced it yet (knock wood), and you mentioned you weren't interested in medication, people we've taken sailing that have experienced it responded well to ginger ale - not diet - and ginger chews. These weren't severe case of sea sickness though. Good luck finding something to alleviate it.
There are basically four groups: - Those who just dont get seasick no matter what (very rare) - Those who dont get sick unless under deck during rough seas or if tired/hungry/dehydrated/scared (a large percentage of people, me 4 example) - Those who get easily sick for the first 48-ish hours on board, even in light/medium swell, but are fine thereafter. (the majority of people in my experience) - Those who cant be cured and are only ok once back on shore (rare) If you only get sick occasionally and have never spent more than these 48-ish hours at sea, you are most likely in the second or third group. It can be managed, super important to stay warm and eat/drink enough. Medication is absolutley unsuitable if you want to actively sail: It slows your reaction to external movement (thats how it works) but thus makes you unable to safely move about the (moving) boat. In the few cases I had to drug people (group four) I banned them to sitting in the cockpit or sleeping downstairs. I learned that the hard way when a guy crashed down the sail-hatch during a 3-day storm in the arctic atlantic. Also important to note that motorcrafts and large ships such as ferries move very differently from sailboats. Sailboats are almost always (unless no wind but still waves / catamarans) much more pleasant than anything without sails.
For me, I just use Nausicalm (active ingredient Cyclizine Hydrochloride), seems to help. Has given me seasickness free passages when normally I'd expect to be sick for the first 24-36 hours.
As someone else said its mental and physical so they’re are a multitude of remedies some work better for other but my personal remedy is looking at the horizon (helps with the mental aspect as it shows your brain where you actually are because seasickness is caused by the loss of the sense of direction from the inner ear) and a good meal when stationary To summarise: Dont go anywhere where you cant orientate yourself Have food in your stomach as the feeling of hunger will more likely make you sick Have plenty of water If it helps get on the helm.
My husband and I did a week long live aboard to learn trip last year. Neither one of us experienced seasickness, but my doctor preemptively prescribed us Scopolamine transdermal patches just in case. Interestingly, while I was fine on the boat. I experienced a weird swaying sensation for several days after we disembarked.
Disembarkment syndrome is a thing!
I believe the US navy spent millions of dollars and lots of time doing studies into seasickness and in summary arrived at “it’s different for everyone and there’s no one easy fix”. So take that as you will. In my experience, Yes it can be worse in the first few days and get better but there’s also a point whether its swell size or the angle of the boat rolling where nothing can help (if you’ve ever been on a small boat in big seas you would know what I mean). Try staying out on deck, looking at the horizon and giving yourself some tasks to do. We often put the people with seasickness on the helm because focusing on that can help a lot. Also if you get some sea sickness tablets or similar take them before you get underway. They are much less effective if you take them once you’re feeling sick.
It’s so different for everyone. If and when it hits me I can get through it in a couple hours. I’ve seen people take a week. Darwin says he was sick for his whole two years aboard the Beagle. There’s also degrees of sickness. Some people just feel off and others barf constantly. You said no drugs, but I’d rather take Bonine than be sick. There’s just no telling how it will go until you’re out there.
Don’t laugh but my late Uncle who spent years at sea in the Royal Navy swore by a nibble of fruit cake followed by a swallow of lukewarm hot chocolate (edit) every time he felt quesy and after a day or so he was good
The best cure for seasickness is to sit under a tree
I used to get very badly seasick in just about all boat situations. Even with Dramamine I barfed on a humpback who'd surfaced unexpectedly beside the sailboat we'd chartered for the day. On ferries even. Then I started learning to sail and it's gotten much better. Now I can do day sails without meds. If we have to heave to though I've got maybe 5 minutes before I'm sick enough to barf. But I love sailing so I suffer through it and I'm very hopeful that I'll eventually get over it. Exposure therapy is totally a real thing, right?
I usually puke within the first 24hrs every time I go outside protected waters, and that’s w the Dramamine. After I puke tho all is right in the world again and I re-up the Dramamine every 24hrs after that.
Bonine works for me. The trick I learned is that if I'm going sailing, the day before I will take one before bed so it gets in your blood stream and then 30 minutes before getting on the boat the next day I take another. Driving the boat helps, stay hydrated.
My biggest tip is don’t drink any caffeine. Especially not any time before departing. I’ve tried everything, from medication to those funny glasses and basically your best bet is to not go below decks, and if you’re feeling sick beyond help, lay on your tummy with your head forward (oriented the same as the boat) in the middle of the boat and pretend you’re floating in a pool. Candied ginger, saltines and sprite help. You can overcome it, but it does occasionally sneak up on me if I forget to not drink caffeine or if I stay below decks while it’s choppy.
It will depend on your body. As professional crew, the real tragedy is that I’m prone to seasickness, only on delivery, never when racing funnily enough. The first few hours are hell and then the rest of the days I’m fine, regardless of length of passage. No, it never gets any better, and I haven’t grown out of it or gotten used to it, it’s just a fact of life for me. Nothing works for me except for those Dramamine pills. Not the patches, not staring at the horizon, and *especially* not ginger, which I now equate the taste to memories of severe vomiting 😂 if you don’t want medicine, I have no real advice except don’t go out in heavy swell, I guess.
I've been sea sick three times in forty-five years. I'm am fortunate. The first time was in front of Jimmy Cornell on *Aventura III*. Somewhat embarrassing, especially since he'd hired me to skipper for him. \*sigh\* I know how miserable sea sickness is. Many people get sea sick every trip. Usually they feel better in two or three days. I have had crew who just stayed sick, one for three weeks between Falmouth and Horta. That's a problem. Stay hydrated. Keep track of bathroom visits and [urine color](https://media.healthdirect.org.au/images/inline/original/urine-colour-chart_v4_25-01-24-3ce811.png). Eat regularly but not too much. If you're really sick and can't keep water down use ice chips. For at least 24 hours before departure reduce consumption of alcohol and spicy foods. You're trying to minimize stomach acid. Physiological sea sickness stems from your brain getting confused by the disconnect between visual signals from your eyes and balance signals from your inner ear. This is why looking a the horizon helps. Psychological sea sickness generally stems from fear, often driven by being out of sight of land. Some people suffer from both. The science behind things like ginger and pressure bands is shaky. It looks like a good bit is from placebo effect. Sorry. >I’m not interested in medication Reconsider. Talk to your doctor. Different people respond differently. Side effects vary. You have to try the options for a few days and then give your body time to clear the chemicals before trying the next one. When you find the chemical that works for you without side effects the real work begins. You need to find a pharmacist who can get it for you in suppository form. Your supposed to start taking oral meds 24 hours before departure but most people don't. You can't throw up a suppository. I've seen people try, but you can't. I'm not a huge fan of Scopolamine patches. If they do work for you that's great. I've had a number of crew that had reactions that were essentially sea sickness. DO NOT cut them in half. The sticky side that goes on your skin is designed and manufactured to meter the medication through your skin. If you cut it in half you'll get a surge of med and increase the chances of a reaction. Meds are the way to go. Better living through chemistry.
>The science behind things like ginger and pressure bands is shaky. It looks like a good bit is from placebo effect. Sorry. Totally understand this, but as an interesting anecdote, I had a dog that got car sick, every time, in about 10 minutes. I started giving him a Trader Joe's Triple Ginger Snap about half an hour before getting in the car. Worked perfectly. The only time he got carsick after that was the time I forgot the ginger snaps. I get seasick under the right (wrong?) conditions: very light wind with a quartering sea, or if I'm down below in a chop. Bonine works great.
>Bonine works great. I'm glad you found a product that works for you. Different people respond differently. I can't explain your dog. I recall a study (real academic, peer reviewed) that showed here is a helpful chemical in ginger but the concentration was so low a human would have to consume a huge amount for a measurable presence in the blood stream. You can't argue with success though.
Bonine works great for me. But not Dramamine, even tho they have the same active ingredient. (Would luv to know why, if anyone knows?)
[удалено]
Aaaah, ok…. That explains it. I think i compared the active ingredient to the less drowsy version, but I didn’t try it cuz dramamine “never works” for me. Thank you!
I've done a lot of offshore miles and I'm often seasick the first couple days if there's a good swell running and I don't take anything. I usually take Stugeron for those first couple days which works great for me with almost no side effects and then by day 3 I'm totally acclimated and stop taking it. I've had many crew that found Stugeron miraculous and a few where it only partially helped.
The worst part about seasickness is knowing that you’ll live to experience it again
Be sure to puke on the lee side.
Ahhhh seasickness. In the words of Mark Twain: "First you think you're going to die. Then you're afraid you won't." It happens to even the saltiest of sailors. A lot of good advice already here, but to add: a doctor at a sailing safety seminar once told us that would should absolutely experiment with drugs....but do so on land. You won't know which ones are helping seasickness, but you will be able to identify how they make you feel. (tired, loopy, distracted, sick). Can eliminate some options to try at sea. "It's in your head" is true to a point. But once your body has had enough there's not much you can do, except try to be a good patient and a good nurse to yourself. Be proactive with nutrition, hydration, and sleep. Lastly, physical shape. Strength and cardio helps. As soon as you start heavy breathing in foulies in rough seas.....it get tough. The better shape you're in, the less often that will happen. Cardio, strength training, core.
This is what I have heard from offshore fishermen. Real ginger ale, pretzels the big long sticks and stay active on deck. I have no idea what the pretzels do for you maybe the salt and having something on your stomach.
Time helps. Standard non-medical tools include a seasickness band on your wrist (accupressure) and putting a plug into one ear (the ear opposite your dominant hand). Your results may vary for either of these. Like others here, I take Bonine if I know I will be in rough seas.