Gettin Green (i.e sea sickness)

How often do passengers get sea sick on your boat? What is your policy regarding it?

It happens while anchored, drifting or trolling. Pretty much anytime except running at planing speed on a calm day.
For some reason, the prevalence is a lot higher this year. Normally, I only run a couple of trips a year where people get quite and reserve in the back of the boat with that "I have that feeling" pasted on their forehead. This year I'm batting almost 50%. No doubt the result of "non-salts" like my two daughter's friends and boyfriends tagging along for the first time. No second takers...yet:happy:

Re: Gettin Green (i.e sea sickness)

I always ask if anyone wants Dramamine before we leave the slip. If they "think" they will be OK then I make them take it anyway! And no one that is feeling "green" is allowed in the cabin - hang your head over the side!

Re: Gettin Green (i.e sea sickness)

Excellent tip to take daughter's boyfriend to sea. They'll either turn green and never come back, or you can make 'em walk the plank.

Re: Gettin Green (i.e sea sickness)

The most important thing to prevent motion sickness is to keep the Eyes and the Inner Ear in sync.
If they start arguing the Brain gets mad and the stomach always loses.

When you stop the boat, there is a natural tendency for people to start looking around the boat.
Tell them that at the first hint of motion sickness, DO NOT look inside of the boat.
Focus on the shore line or the horizon. and definitely do no go below, or lie down, or close your eyes.
Standing up and looking far away keeps the senses synchronized.

We are land animals and having the ground move under foot is not in our daily experience.
When looking at the floor of a boat, the eyes see no motion, but the inner ear detects the motion.
When the brain realizes the senses or not working correctly, from experience and instinct,
the brain's logical conclusion is that you are drunk, drugged, or have ingested some other neurological poison.
The body's first line of defense in eliminating the perceived poison is to vomit.

Keeping the senses in sync is your primary means of avoiding the heaves.

I had an incident that required me to effect a minor repair on the engine in rolling seas.
In 5 minute I was so green the admiral said I looked like death. Felt like it too!
Once the repair was completed, I sat in the stern and stared at the shore.
In 15 minutes I felt pretty good. Within the hour I was completely recovered like it never happened.

Keep you head Up and eyes Open. Sitting with your head in your hands is not going to end well.

Re: Gettin Green (i.e sea sickness)

UncleWillie said:

Keep you head Up and eyes Open. Sitting with your head in your hands is not going to end well.

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Agree...but it's sometimes hard to keep your eyes on the horizon and dance the Chesapeake and Atlantic waltz at the same time.

There has to be mental aspect to it as well. I've seen more than one person who as fine within sight of land. Head over the horizon, all beats are off.

Re: Gettin Green (i.e sea sickness)

It all depends on the situation of course as to whether this will work for you or not, but my better half is fairly susceptible to "Gettin' Green" and the one cure that works every time is to let her drive. She knows when to let me know she's getting green and within just a couple of minutes of her taking over the helm, she is feeling better. Doesn't seem to matter whether we're going fast, slow, pitching in waves or heaving in rollers -- as long as she's driving she's on the lookout, and alert and not feeling ill.

Re: Gettin Green (i.e sea sickness)

When we were out to sea and surfaced or stayed at PD for awhile, seems like the only thing that helped would be to hit the rack. The rack cured just about anything, lol.

Re: Gettin Green (i.e sea sickness)

UncleWillie is correct in his description of sea sickness.If you have ever been affected you will notice how much better you feel when you put your feet on land. The inner ear is telling the brain one thing and the eyes are telling it something else. The brain gets confused.

Re: Gettin Green (i.e sea sickness)

UncleWillie said:

The most important thing to prevent motion sickness is...

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Perfect description and advice! Not sure where, but this should be a stickie.

Re: Gettin Green (i.e sea sickness)

When I take new folks out on the boat, we make sure it is a somewhat shorter ride to sort of test things out. If all goes well then the next trip is longer, however if things do not go well then they do not go again until something is done (by them not me) to control the sickness.
Sometimes one does not know either, a fellow that I know fished for years and never had an issue then after age 55 he developed getting seasickness....who knows??

Re: Gettin Green (i.e sea sickness)

Heard it is the worst feeling-- had one guy on a charter "please God, take me NOW!". Never been motion sick, not even jumping out of planes in Viet Nam but get me on an extension ladder and it could be a possibility...