Seasickness & sailing schools/instructors

[Simondjuk]

The one time I took Stugeron, prior to departure on a Biscay crossing when there was a big swell running, I was at the helm and had to step away briefly to throw up over the side before we even left the shelter of the harbour. For the rest of the passage I was the only person on board able to function below decks indefinitely. First and last time I gave those a try.

 

[Seajet]

I count myself very lucky that I don't get seasick;

On one occasion when an experienced crew took Stugeron as a precaution, he was pretty much knocked out for a few hours - I'm sure that was just an unlucky personal side effect but maybe trying any 'cure' first in non - stressful conditions may be an idea.

 

[MissFitz]

Stugeron do work for me, although I know not for everyone - they do make you drowsy tho, so my handy tip is to take half a one every four hours instead of a whole one every eight - seems to even out the effects. Also find that with a nasty forecast taking one 24 hours before departure helps a whole heap.

 

[Babylon]

Stugeron do work for me, although I know not for everyone - they do make you drowsy tho, so my handy tip is to take half a one every four hours instead of a whole one every eight - seems to even out the effects. Also find that with a nasty forecast taking one 24 hours before departure helps a whole heap.

I always understood that in order to work Stugeron needs to be first taken eight hours before setting off. This is because, by messing about with inner-ear balance, it acclimitises you in advance to the motion later experienced underway, however the instructions do recommend that you keep taking it every eight hours. So MissFitz's handy tip sounds like a good idea.

It certainly makes me a bit drowsy, so I prefer not to take it. If I am crewing and feel dicky, I try not to let anyone know. If I'm skippering, I'll carry on as normal, including going below to do chart-table work or going to the loo etc, until I feel so rubbish that I throw up. That normally does the trick and afterwards I feel right as rain again.

 

[VO5]

I am very surprised no one on this thread has mentioned hydration.
Hydration is the single most important factor in preventing seasickness (apart from greasy food and fizzy drinks), yet it is seldom mentioned. It is not even mentioned in the Glenans sailing Manual.
It works like this:~
3 days minimum berfore setting sail, drink one litre of water (without any additives at all) every day. Drink it whether you are thirsty or not. If you cannot drink it in one go drink it in three goes but consume one litre a day no matter what.
You will find when you sail you will not get seasick.
Don't take my word for it, try it.
Tea, coffee, soft drinks, alcoholic drinks (beer, wine, spirits) do not hydrate.
Additionally have an airtight box and fill it with dried bread or lightly toasted but crispy to nibble at the slightest indication of oncoming queasiness.
This is apart from the caveats listed in the Glenans Sailin Manual: Keeping warm, being rested and avoiding greasy food.
Finally, it is not a good idea at sea to crouch around fiddling in bilges and engine spaces because the balance sensors in the inner ear become confused. This leads to horremndous seasickness. Furthermore the brand of illness I have just mentioned recurs on every sailing trip.
The absolute best policy is to remain upright or horizontal, everything else is a menace.

 

[Salty.savage]

Pick a school which have instructors interest in your development

I think you may be unlucky, in having a instructor who has not listen and understood your expectations,
I have been a sailing instructor since 1991, and I use to get sea sickness, I know of some a fine seaman who sail all over, who will not go below on a passage,but still produce a good passage plan and interesting log, and cater for the crew during the passage.
Its a good example of how passages can be made, to enjoy the passage you must be made to feel safe,and warm. There are some very good comments on eating, drinking, and late nights etc. I am sorry to hear of your experience,my advice is talk to the instructor who will be taking the sailing course,make sure he will try and meet your expectations and deal with your worries,Try the south west for some lovely sailing

how students can

[/LEFT]

This is a bit of a hobby-horse of mine, but in light of a certain incident this week I would like to ask why so many sailing schools & instructors seem to have such a lousy understanding of both the causes & treatment of seasickness.

I am invariably sick in any sort of bouncy sea but it took me years to work out how to deal with it because all the instructors I encountered in the early days told me that a) it was psychosomatic and b) if it wasn't, it could be cured by sitting on deck staring at the horizon. What's more, at least one sailing school (which shall be nameless) would put on a dinner of takeaway pizza & copious red wine before taking relative novices cross-Channel - & another instructor took a crew out for trip round the island in a F7 with apparently no plans to feed them until they got back.

It wasn't until I got to a Yachtmaster course that anyone told me about keeping warm, eating plenty of plain carbs, avoiding fatty foods & alcohol, not getting too tired & lying down flat in the centre of the boat (thank you Hamble School instructors!). In France they're all over it - the Glenans manual has an excellent chapter on seasickness & its causes, including the three Fs (faim, froid, fatigue) - but I don't think there's anything much in the RYA books on the subject.

I don't want to prejudge the result of any enquiry on the Hot Liquid case, but I note that the crew member posting on this forum mentioned that five of them hadn't eaten for 18 hours. If the skipper had, as the guys at Hamble School did, made sure the crew were well fed before they set out & when conditions deteriorated made each crew member in turn go below for a couple of hours in a warm sleeping bag & shovelled some suitable food into them as soon as they were flat out (so they wouldn't bring it straight back up again), they might not have avoided a rescue but they certainly would have been a lot more comfortable & capable than they were.

Seasickness is a very unpleasant condition & it's very real, but there are a lot of things you can do to mitigate it - so why do so many sailing instructors still seem to be so ignorant on the subject? And why doesn't the RYA make sure that they're not?