ronsurf
Well-Known Member
It was built on an embankment of very iffy soil and required reinforced concrete piles about 5 - 8m deep.
Seasick in the marina!!
- Thread starter roblpm
- Start date
Searush
Well-Known Member
I have posted something similar in the past, to the effect that the main contributory factors are:
1/ Anxiety
2/ Hunger
3/ Cold
4/ Boredom
5/ Dehydration
all of which figure in Birdseye's list
Cures -
eat & drink little & often, ginger biscuits & sips of water or cups of tea are good.
give the sufferer a task to do like steering that they have to focus on & look at the horizon, buoy spotting is another good one, or tracking a converging ship's track. (also reduces anxiety by giving them something to do)
Keep warm & dry, lots of layers help here.
oh & avoid tasks below decks if you can
For your course, practice navigation on your knee in the cockpit. You don't need pinpoint accuracy in a sailboat & will never get it anyway, even on a classroom desk. Provided you allow a suitable "circle of uncertainty" you will meet the necessary safety requirements.
roblpm
Well-Known Member
My son asked me how deep the mud was the other day. I had to tell him I had no idea!!
mcanderson
Well-Known Member
Can you move to a North/south berth on D or E pontoon to be bow on to the swell?
roblpm
Well-Known Member
Ill come out soon and do the rest of the jobs on the hard! Was just changing the oil while still in as easier to run the engine. So no big problem really. Just no sitting on the boat relaxing down below!
brokethebox
Well-Known Member
Good luck Rob, don't give up. We've just come back from a 9 month 25k nm trip and one of our crew was sick 8 months in. Sometimes a whiff of something just catches you off guard, you'll be fine, plus there's no shame in understanding what your crew is going on about when they go green! James
William_H
Well-Known Member
Firstly at 45 you should start to realise that you are what you are. You don't need to become a sailing legend or any other kind of legend. Just sail cos you enjoy it. If you don't enjoy it don't do it. regarding seasickness yes I would be concerned about the upcoming course. I hate the idea of being on someone else's boat so being stuck unable to go home when I want. I would suggest as said you try sea sickness pills. If only to get your confidence for the course.
Regarding your own boat not so much concern here. Firstly the sail boat will always be better behaved when sailing ie much steadier. Secondly in helming the boat you will always be more imune to sea sickness. I have always reckoned a chart table s the least valuable thing on a boat. A chart should be on a board held down by bungees so that you can work on it in the cockpit. So much more imune from seas sickness. Plus you can look around at coast features other traffic etc. So you might be brave enough to take a board for your chart and do the chart work in the cokpit on the course although likely the instructor will object.
So yes plan your sailing so you never go below and no you probably will never become a sailing god.
Funny as a young man I was inspired by round the world sailors and their stories. I did a bit of inshore sailing but life intervened and I ended up with a small trailer sailer. I came to realise that really I am a "Brown Water" sailor for short trips on sheltered water. I got into racing the little boat but the real pleasure came in teaching others to sail and enjoy the little boat. No real claim to fame but now coming near the end of my sailing life I am satisfied. Perhaps if I had a bigger boat I would have ventured further and enjoyed it but I don't think I missed too much. Travel is certainly easier by jet. Just relax and take it all as she comes and enjoy olewill
Amulet
Well-Known Member
I agree with prv on this one. Actually the blog for some reason says Hyoscine is the most effective. Cyclizine, which all 100% of 7 users say "helps a lot" or "cures" doesn't get a mention. Probably shouldn't, given the tiny sample. Hard to draw any conclusions from these data apart from perhaps which ones are used most. Popularity may be an indication of efficacy of course (or better marketing). There are good reasons why drug testing is a much more carefully controlled process than this.
This is backed by a survey (http://www.yachtingworld.com/blogs/elaine-bunting/533100/how-to-treat-seasickness) stating that cinnarizine, the active pharmaceutical ingredient in Stugeron, is most effective.
From personal experience also noted that somewhere around age 35, the tendency to get seasick reduced from "pretty often" to "very rarely" without any obvious reasoneaceful:
Stemar
Well-Known Member
That sounds familiar! A few years ago, I decided I wanted to do some longer trips, so went to a Cruising Association's crew meet. As a result, I crewed Cornwall to Cork and La Rochelle to Ramsgate. Those trips taught me that I'm actually happier pottering around the Solent in my little Snapdragon. I still harbour an ambition to take her round Britain when I retire, but that's nearly all day sails. I do, however have enough of the Sailing God ambition to have a nagging feeling that the Caledonian Canal would be wimping out compared to the Pentland Firth (or is it stupidity when you sail a 24ft bilgekeeler?)
ianj99
Well-Known Member
Dunstaffnage was bad on tuesday - I was queasy by the time I got to the boat due to the pontoons writhing about! The main pontoon which was broadside on to the wind and waves was tilting badly and I had to stop and hang onto a fire and water point a couple of time or risk a dip in the drink.
My heavy steel ketch wasn't too badly affected compared to lighter yachts which were almost bouncing onto the pontoon fingers but as the wind wasn't storm force, I'm thinking I should have her hauled out for the winter. I can't imagine how bad it will be in Dunstaffnage bay in a west / north west storm.
At least the marina staff are keeping a good eye on the vessels and adding extra lines where they think they are needed.
A few old barges as breakwaters would be a good idea...
Ian
My heavy steel ketch wasn't too badly affected compared to lighter yachts which were almost bouncing onto the pontoon fingers but as the wind wasn't storm force, I'm thinking I should have her hauled out for the winter. I can't imagine how bad it will be in Dunstaffnage bay in a west / north west storm.
At least the marina staff are keeping a good eye on the vessels and adding extra lines where they think they are needed.
A few old barges as breakwaters would be a good idea...
Ian
AntarcticPilot
Well-Known Member
Yes, I spotted the flaw in that diagram, too! Why didn't they normalize it for the number of respondents? Certainly the evidence of the data presented is as you say; cyclizine works best. Can't be bothered to re-analyze the data (why did they use a graph background with 16 divisions in each major division?), but my estimate is that the league table is about Cyclizine (100% effective), Domperidone (75% effective), and the rest about equal (with a 50/50 chance of working). I'd just note one thing though, and that is that domperidone is widely used to relieve nausea from chemotherapy, and the (limited, second-hand) experience I have is that it is very effective. However, it may well be used at a higher dose level for chemo-therapy patients than would be advisable for unsupervised use for motion sickness.
AntarcticPilot
Well-Known Member
I too get queasy below decks. It wears off after a couple of days sailing; it's usually worst at the beginning of a holiday. It is also related to tiredness; the worst I've felt recently was when I went straight to sea after driving for 8 hours.
Nautical anecdote says that Nelson was sick when starting a voyage!
Nautical anecdote says that Nelson was sick when starting a voyage!
prv
Well-Known Member
One they've missed off the graph is Prochlorperazine. Not used it myself (touch wood I'm mostly free of seasickness these days) but I've seen some impressive results in others and I do carry it on board (along with Stugeron and whatever it is the MCA specify for Cat C packs). Apparently it's also the anti-nausea ingredient in Migraleve, which is worth knowing should someone suffer that way on board.
Pete
Amulet
Well-Known Member
Yes, I considered adding my anecdotal evidence on domperidone having watched my wife take it while on chemotherapy. I found it almost miraculous. It seemed to cure severe nausea completely in less than five minutes. They used to give it in whacking great doses to people in chemotherapy, but after an alert this year linking it to serious ventricular arrhythmia and sudden cardiac death, the current guidance is to reduce dosage even for chemotherapy patients - I think 10mg three times a day. I believe it is now only available on prescription, or at least the European guidance is that it should be - and you can see why if you look at its side effects and drug interactions.
AntarcticPilot
Well-Known Member
I should have remembered Prochlorperazine; that's the other one I have seen used. If my memory is correct, it was used when my late wife's nausea could no longer be controlled by Domperidone. But I may be wrong and it is the other way round.
I suspect the problem is that drugs that are definitely effective have bad side-effects, from drowsiness to the nasty things mentioned by Amulet! And when used in doses that can be allowed without clinical supervision, they are less effective.
alan_d
Well-Known Member
Photo from Dunstaffnage, May 2011.
(Not my photo, so apologies if I'm infringing anyone's copyright.)
roblpm
Well-Known Member
Well port edgar didn't quite look like that though the pontoons were bouncing up and down on Tuesday. I made myself go on the boat inside for a bit. All this talk of drugs has made me determined to be able to beat the pontoon sickness by mind power alone!!
Storyline
Well-Known Member
Having never suffered from seasickness recently I have sometimes woken up feeling queasy when there has been a very gentle swell overnight. Do not suffer at all when sailing not matter how rough and can cook down below without problem. The bomb proof remedy (for me) is Motillium (anti nausea) but annoyingly these have recently been made prescription only as they can mask other underlying problems grrr.
garvellachs
Well-Known Member
Unless you have some known medical problem with taking anti-seasick pills, my advice would be to try taking any of the Hyoscine-based products available over the counter. They work quickly - no need to start the night before etc - and can be effective even if taken after one has started to feel ill (as long as you can keep it down for a bit). The side effects are not dramatic for most people and you need not expect to be diminished in any significant way - on a sailing course for instance. Expect a dry mouth perhaps. In fact I would suggest that if you are not used to night sailing (when sea sickness can be a bigger problem) then taking a pill can be a sensible safety precaution.
