Seasickness & sailing schools/instructors

[onesea]

all ways eat something that tastes good coming up

+1 Mars Milk

close focus on something down below will do it for me every time, as will certain types of motion - people I've sailed with for a long time have more likely than not seen me chunder - although once I've chucked-up I'm usually OK.

Golden rules for me which work most of the time:

1. Take stugeron the night before and keep topped up
2. Never get hungry; never get full. Don't eat greasy stuff
3. A trick on the helm always helps
4. Get your head properly down if you're going to - ie horizontal and eyes shut
5. Sail with sympathetic people. There's nothing worse than a smug git. If you encounter one - throw up on him.

+1 Also NEVER mention it, people forget about it if they are enjoying there day... sense of humour is always good in a sympathetic (ish) manner...

I found it also helps if you dont get pissed the night befor.. If you do, you must stay pissed. What ever you do. Dont sober up!
Also has any one tried the Gu

+1 (see Mars Milk above!)

I have on occasion used a camera, although my friend was very vain and KNEW I would take a photo if she was sick again...

Quickly she forgot about being sea sick and started enjoying her sailing... It was worse on the way back and the camera was used so she could show of her sailing...

 

[LittleSister]

On my coastal skipper course years ago we noticed the instructor had gone a bit quiet and removed himself away from us. We thought 'Poor sod, out everyday with yet another bunch of only semi-cometent strangers demanding constant attention. Probably needs a bit of peace and time to himself'.

Not long after he came back and told us he had been feigning feeling ill, and that any good skipper would have checked a crew member acting like that was OK - they might have been sea sick or sinking into hypothermia.

It was a good point well made. A skipper needs to be attending the crew, as well as the boat and the passage. He told us the most common weakness of those coming to do coastal skipper and yachtmaster was they were too focused on navigation and boat handling techniques, and the immediate task, and neglected managing the crew and the overall situation.

It surprises and disappoints me to hear that there are RYA accredited instructors out there who apparently suffer the same shortcomings.

 

[Davy_S]

Originally Posted by rib
all ways eat something that tastes good coming up

If you tie little pieces of string to your bacon and swallow the bacon, you can always pull the bacon out before you are sick, you can then eat it again, it is criminal to waste good bacon heaving it over the side.
I have often passed this little jem onto seasick friends, but it never seems to be apreciated.

 

[peterb]

2 more handy things; those water bottles with a nozzle to suck are very handy indeed when a boat is being thrown around - dehydration being one of the big problems when someone is being sick, or just beginning to feel grot.

Also once they look vaguely like recovering enough to keep a drink of water down for a while, a tumbler of water with a sachet of 'dioralyte' ( I always spell it wrong, anyway ask for it at a chemist, about £4.00 for 4 sachets ) - pleasant blackcurrant taste - helps replace the lost salts & electrolytes if someone's been thoroughly ill.

No decent skipper will underestimate seasickness and its' effects, both out of crew capablities and sheer compassion !

One of the worst effects of sea-sickness is the ache and soreness resulting from constant retching. As soon as I've been sick (and even though I've been an instructor for 30 years I still get sick occasionally) I drink a mug of water. Next time I'm sick I bring up a mug of water. No retching, no horrible taste of bile. As soon as that bout finishes, drink another mug of water. As an instructor you can't just give up; you have to work through it. Seems to work for most people.

But if you really want to test yourself, try the Vomit Comet. Before I retired I was given a research project to study the effects of fire in spacecraft. Fire is very gravity dependent. Flames go up, but in a spacecraft there is no 'up', so how do fires burn? Apart from studying it in a spacecraft (very expensive and not very convenient) the only way to study is during free-fall in a parabolic flight.

540 knots at 24000 ft; pull up at 2g for 15 secs into a 60 deg climb; follow free-fall (while you light your fire and extinguish it) for 30 secs while the aircraft climbs to 35000 ft, goes over the top and then dives until it's in a 60 deg dive; pull out at 2g for 15 secs to be back in level flight. Wait for 3 minutes to allow time for resetting equipment, then repeat. Ten times. Then turn the aircraft round to retrace its path, and repeat again. And again. Taken together with an initial three training parabolas, each flight gets 33 parabolas. Imagine your boat in an 11000 ft wave height.

Although I could continue working through it, it took me three flights before I could make a flight without being sick. Interestingly, I was never sick during the zero g or 2g sections of the flight; it was always during the periods of level flight. Doesn't seem to work on a small boat, though; maybe that's because we never seem to get periods of level flight!

Oh, and we didn't get anything as elementary as Stugeron. We were given a mix of scopolamine (to prevent sickness) and amphetamine (to counter the sleep-inducing effects of the scopolomine). Worked reasonably well during the flight, but the scopolomine seemed to wear off before the amphetamine. But we did have some good parties in the evenings!

 

[bobgarrett]

3. A trick on the helm always helps

I find this helps crew too. I am never sure whether it's because they are distracted and stop thinking about being sea-sick or they just have to keep a look-out so dont look within the boat. Equally, and maybe for the same reasons, a request to look out for a buoy, headland, etc.

 

[paul.norton]

Although it sounds strange, a hot chocolate drink always seemed to settle my queasy stomach

 

[Resolution]

If you tie little pieces of string to your bacon and swallow the bacon, you can always pull the bacon out before you are sick, you can then eat it again, it is criminal to waste good bacon heaving it over the side.
I have often passed this little jem onto seasick friends, but it never seems to be apreciated.

One can only quote Marmalade:

"5. Sail with sympathetic people. There's nothing worse than a smug git. If you encounter one - throw up on him."

 

[Babylon]

... In practice I am much more alert to sea-sickness in the crew and how its going to affect the balance of the programme we are running in any specific course or cruise. Its quite a difficult balance as if a person is badly ill, they have to be managed and supported but at the same time, we have a programme to run for the rest of the clients. ...

... To sum this all up; be aware of how the crew is handling conditions, communicate well and be flexible.

Thanks for this post: there's a lot one can learn as an ordinary skipper about handling crew who get seasick.

Mind you, this thread also reminds me of my YM Coastal prep week, where there was a complete irritant of a middle-aged man doing Comp Crew who reckoned he knew everything about everything (including sailing which he'd done precious little of beforehand). During my blind nav at night in boisterous conditions he just wouldn't stop holding forth in his penetratingly loud voice. So it gave me enormous pleasure when the next day, doing MOB under sail with two reefs in, he threw up quite spectacularly - mid sentence! - all over the cockpit, after which he was tucked up nice and quiet down below.

 

[Sandy]

Also once they look vaguely like recovering enough to keep a drink of water down for a while, a tumbler of water with a sachet of 'dioralyte' ( I always spell it wrong, anyway ask for it at a chemist, about £4.00 for 4 sachets ) - pleasant blackcurrant taste - helps replace the lost salts & electrolytes if someone's been thoroughly ill.

If you don't have any of the 'lovely', I hate the stuff, dioralyte then warm water with sugar and a small pinch of salt is the home made version. As advised by a wonderful GP.

 

[Hipchick]

Can anyone tell me the ettiquette in this situation? On a recent channel crossing, skippered, a crew member (who'd paid for the trip) threw up in the galley sink on top of the coffee mugs. He left it for the skipper to clear up. I don't think he was so bad that he couldn't have turned on the tap. The skipper was fantastic in the circumstances but I'm not sure I would have been so willing to swill away someone else's sick.

 

[Seajet]

It's all very well talking about putting people on the helm; that will only work if someone who doesn't suffer too much is caught early enough.

If someone suffers seriously, they are beyond caring,( ' at first you're afraid you're going to die; as it goes on, you're afraid you might not ' ) the only place for them is in their sleeping bag below with a handy bucket, hopefully secured by leecloth or wedged in with sailbags etc and a water bottle to sip.

It is by no means unheard of for people to have to put out a Mayday when they as skipper are debilitated themselves; if anyone on board is suffering like this, the boat should be diverted on the quickest ( not necessarily closest ) option possible to a safe port - it's meant to be fun, not an endurance test with people wishing they could die !

 

[billskip]

all ways eat something that tastes good coming up

Yoghurt tastes the same going both ways, and no carrots

I'm lucky I don't suffer sea sickness, but have always found Ginger (as said)
is the best and always keep a few packets of biscuits aboard

Problem is I find its contagious once one starts ....

A good skipper/instructor should always be alert to his crews condition
and give advice about seasickness before sailing.

Also the problem with the heads,many newbies (especially female in my experience) are embarrass using the heads and some suffer in silence.

I always make a point of allowing time for them to be alone on the boat
If necessary/posible

 

[RobbieW]

Can anyone tell me the ettiquette in this situation? On a recent channel crossing, skippered, a crew member (who'd paid for the trip) threw up in the galley sink on top of the coffee mugs. He left it for the skipper to clear up. I don't think he was so bad that he couldn't have turned on the tap. The skipper was fantastic in the circumstances but I'm not sure I would have been so willing to swill away someone else's sick.

Not sure there is an etiquette for this, you dont usually have many choices as by the time you realise you want to be sick its pretty much on its way. I have thrown up in the sink and been told fairly clearly that the cockpit would have been a much easier place to clean up - generally all you need do is turn around and stick your head over the companion way.

One aspect is embarrasment, not want to chuck in front of others. As a skipper I guess you have to include in the brief the possibilty of seasickness, that the indiviual usually hasnt much control and to treat it as normal behaviour (the other skippers who have commented have covered this in much more detail).

In your example, it just needs clearing up as soon as - so whoever is nearest that can cope gets on with it. We are nearly all seasick at some point or another so its a bit of treat others as you'd like to be treated.

As an aside, one of the things that can make me seasick are boiled potatoes. I find an off flavour in there that can turn my stomach. Never met anyone else that experiences this but you wont find spuds on any yacht I provision, SMASH yes but not whole potatoes.

 

[Seajet]

I think diesel fuel or exhaust smell will finish off anyone feeling queasy.

As to etiquette of being sick, top tip is give someone a bucket even if they're still in the cockpit ( and I do believe in getting people suffering to lie horizontal in a warm bunk asap ) - the last thing a skipper needs is someone possibly helplessly weak hanging over the side...

 

[Cmh]

Intresting thread!

Personally, being a young but experienced crew member I got seasick alot as a child. For 12 years I was not seasick once. Then during the classic malts in 2008 It hit me like a sledgehammer. Force 6/7 off Ardnamurchan point!

I remember feeling awful and very disorientated - I didn't know where to put myself. I position needed plotting but I couldn't face going below decks. I sat on the coamings and got my head in the airstream and the fresh air helped alot - but blooming heck after 12 years of feeling no sea sickness it was horrible.

It's so different from other sickness as you can rarely take yourself out of the situation, which is why it should be seriously considered in RYA qualifications.

Advice from others - ginger biscuits work and keeping a bottle of water/pop on deck is a great move.

 

[maxi77]

I think diesel fuel or exhaust smell will finish off anyone feeling queasy.

As to etiquette of being sick, top tip is give someone a bucket even if they're still in the cockpit ( and I do believe in getting people suffering to lie horizontal in a warm bunk asap ) - the last thing a skipper needs is someone possibly helplessly weak hanging over the side...

+1 for the diesel. As a young junior stoker in a minesweeper crossing the bay I had to check the temperature of one of the shaft tubes in the after fuel space. 16 times in each 4 hour watch, munched through a ships biscuit between each reading, and copious cups of coffee.

 

[Submariner!]

Can anyone tell me the ettiquette in this situation? On a recent channel crossing, skippered, a crew member (who'd paid for the trip) threw up in the galley sink on top of the coffee mugs. He left it for the skipper to clear up. I don't think he was so bad that he couldn't have turned on the tap. The skipper was fantastic in the circumstances but I'm not sure I would have been so willing to swill away someone else's sick.

I was sailing with my daughter and her friend last summer - like most teenagers, they stayed below listening to music and chatting about "one direction". My daughters friend produced a "Technicolor Burp" which has covered the cabin deck. As soon as we were berthed, out came the deck boards and a major clean up started.

On school boats I have been faced with the sick in the sink, and on each occasion I am relieved that they made it that far! The next task is to crack on and clear the mess without too much fuss so that other crew are not affected. It also brings the galley back into service as there will be a continuous need for warm drinks

 

[reginaldon]

I think diesel fuel or exhaust smell will finish off anyone feeling queasy.

As to etiquette of being sick, top tip is give someone a bucket even if they're still in the cockpit ( and I do believe in getting people suffering to lie horizontal in a warm bunk asap ) - the last thing a skipper needs is someone possibly helplessly weak hanging over the side...

Calor Gas did for me! - only once

 

[peterb]

On school boats I have been faced with the sick in the sink, and on each occasion I am relieved that they made it that far! The next task is to crack on and clear the mess without too much fuss so that other crew are not affected. It also brings the galley back into service as there will be a continuous need for warm drinks

One advantage of having two sinks.

 

[Submariner!]

One advantage of having two sinks.

We did - one in the heads and one in the Galley!

If it were on the sigma 38, with a small and large sink side by side, sods law states that both would have been hit :-(