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Seasickness Solutions
A fellow sailor asks,
I have been sailing our 30′ Catalina since 1995 (we raced a 23′ Ranger from 1993-1995), on Lake Mead in various wind conditions. My wife and I have chartered in SF Bay, San Juan Islands, Virgin Islands, and from Miami to Bimini and back on 40 footers for 7 to 10 days at a time. After many hundreds of hours behind the helm I was never sea sick.
However, a couple of years ago I signed on as crew (along with my wife), on a crossing of the Gulf of Mexico from St. Pete to Isla Mirada/Cancun, Mexico aboard a 53’ sloop. The first two days of the four day crossing I was very sea sick, but recuperated and the final two days was quite fine.
The only one other time got sea sick was out of San Diego on the way to Mexico. My wife turned the boat around and as soon as we entered the harbor at Point Loma I was fine. Apparently the tubes in my ears make me susceptible to this malady, does anyone have suggestions to avoid being succumbed in the future?
Dear Seasick,
I have sailed for 55 years, including many ocean crossings. I rarely get seasick but there are conditions, not always severe, in which I do get sick.
I notice that your list of venues, all of which I have sailed, save Lake Mead, are not subject to open ocean swell. The one exception is Miami to Bimini, which can be flat and comfy in a south wind, and miserable in anything from the north.
My guess is that the relentless NW Pacific swell in the light airs off San Diego got you. The Gulf a Mexico can also be uncomfortable due to the Yucatan current and many eddies that line up against easterlies and northerlies.
Another major factor is the boat you are sailing. Some boats, properly handled, will make it easy to obtain a comfortable motion. Many popular, high-volume bay cruisers have a tendency to hobby horse in a seaway.
You are probably familiar with most of the mal-de-mer medications and folklore — motion sickness pills, wrist bands, and the like. My family and I have mostly ignored these in favor of good seamanship.
1. Have the boat dialed before leaving the dock. If the first hour or two is spent problem solving, you are asking for trouble.
2. Don’t go below until your body and mind have sync’d with the boat and sea.
3. Focus on getting the boat to move comfortably. Don’t sail the rhumb-line if it produces an uncomfortable motion. Get the seas quartering bow or stern and trim the sails so that the boat settles down on the course you have chosen.
4. Spend the first few hours hand steering the boat or trimming the sails. Work the boat rather than letting the boat work you.
Even if you do all of these things, there will be times when you will get seasick. When that happens, you need to manage your discomfort.The principal means I have used is to empty my belly, drink some tea, and work, work, work the boat.