Lesson 11

Sea Sickness

There comes a time in every sailor's life, when no matter how experienced and excellent you are - you'll get sick - sea sick, to be precise. There is no shame in going through this... "phase", which certainly doesn't mean that it makes things any easier!

I want to give you some pointers here, which will help you alleviate the symptoms, or avoid completely this awful state of matters.

Why do we get sea sick?

Our brains get messages from all five senses - usually all at once. When you're on a boat sailing on large waves, your brain gets a mixed message: your eyes tell it that you're relatively stable (because you're moving with your "floor" - together with the boat), but your vestibular system in your inner ear (the one responsible for balance) tells it that you're moving back and forth, and up and down. At this point your brain gets confused, and it results in you being sick...

Simple, but miserable.

What to do not to get sea sick?

Eat lightly in the morning (try to avoid fatty or rich foods, coffee and alcohol). Toast, fresh or dry fruit, and milk or juice might do the trick.
Dress approprietly for the weather (remember that the weather on water is slightly different - may feel colder or warmer, depending on the amount and direction of the wind).
Bring extra clothing with you - the ones you can easily put on or take off in case they become wet, or simply inappropriate.
Educate yourself - if you know more, you won't get scared easily. Fear exacerbates sea sickness!
Get enough rest if at all possible. Being tired also contributes to the queasiness of the sea sickness.
While on the boat try to stay in the cockpit or on the deck - going belowdeck will certainly cause at least slight nausea.
Try not to bend - keep your eyes on the horizon!
Limit talking.
Limit loud noises if possible.
Keep yourself busy with sailing, i.e. steer the boat if you can, trim the sails, take pictures, and so on.
You might want to take medication, although this will make you drowsy - it's your call!

What to do when you become sea sick?

Again, keep yourself busy with sailing - for me, steering works like magic!
Try to eat juicy fruits: apples usually work very well.
If you can't eat, try to drink very little amounts of fluid (water is best) every now and then. This is especially important if you already are really sick, and hanging out over the railing - you don't want to become dehydrated, it'll only slow your recovery.
Keep yourself warm, but not too warm. If it's cold, take your sleeping bag outside (or ask somebody to give it to you!) and go right in. If it's hot - wear your sun hat, and a lot of sunscreen. Also, cover your shoulders.
For some people, little wrist bands with buttons pressing on their pulse help. I've never tried one myself, but a few people told me it works.
And once again, you might want to take medication - you might as well, since you're sick already. It might however make you drowsy, and you're not going to feel well anyway. It's best to talk to your doctor about this.

If all that fails - don't loose your good spirits! It WILL pass away. In only extreme cases this lasts longer than two days, and even two days is very uncommon. Usually only the first day in rough seas may be truly bad, but then your body adapts to the conditions, and you feel well for the remainder of the trip. And to give you even more reason not to feel embarrassed about this, below is a news report from the Around Alone web page describing how even the best of the best get sea sick...

"Seasickness is for sissies, right? Wrong. Even veterans of long ocean passages can suddenly be struck by this malady. It might be embarrassing for seasoned old salts to be seen heaving over the rail during a regatta, but at least in solo sailing only the patient need know the ugly truth.

When the patient is motivational speaker Neal Petersen, however, seasickness becomes just another lesson in life. "Right now I am very seasick and can't write," is how Petersen abruptly signed off in his first dispatch for Leg 3.

Despite 14,000 miles under his belt, Petersen (No Barriers) just couldn't chuck (pun intended) that queasy feeling. It was not surprising, as even the most seasoned sailors get green around the gills every once in a while.

"There are times when no matter what, the motion is so disorienting, that even guys who have never gotten seasick can get it," explained Dr. Fred Frye, a San Diego, Calif. physician and sailor.

The vestibular system of the inner ear is responsible for keeping us oriented, or, "right side up," according to Frye. Seasickness occurs when visual and auditory input just don't jive.

"The way you hold your head when you're rolling and pitching at sea is a factor. Receptors in your feet, the pressure and position as you stand, are a factor. Your eyes are trying to equalize movement and fix on the horizon," Frye said. "But the little hairs in your ears are telling you another thing."

He added, "Suddenly these messages go to the brain and say, 'Oops, all is not well.'"

In the choppy seas Around Alone sailors faced the first day out, mal de mer would come as no surprise.

"I'm giving it my best but pounding into head seas down the east coast of NZ is not a very kind way to start a leg!" Mike Garside, aboard Magellan Alpha, alluded.

"Unfortunately it has been a long beat ever since and I am slogging along in a nasty chop with 20 knots of wind," added J.P. Mouligne on Cray Valley. A day later he lamented, "After 4 weeks of rest I felt rusty and seasick."

Medications such as Scopolamine stifle the natural outpouring of acid into the stomach and dull the messages sent to receptors in the brain. Anti-nausea pills change the sensation of the fluids that stimulate the inner ear. But medicines come with side effects -- Scopolamine can dilate the eyes and cause blurry vision; over-the-counter drugs often cause drowsiness.

Around Alone sailors don't need to encourage sleepiness. They get little enough rest as it is.

Isabelle Autissier (PRB) pointed out there was no downtime after the start of Leg 3. "There's a bit of wind, 20 knots," she reported. "We've been tacking in the night. No sleep, because we're close to the coast."

"As we have had to tack through the Colville Channel and all its little islands all night there hasn't been a lot of sleep," Garside concurred.

"Lack of sleep exacerbates seasickness: our homeostatic systems are supposed to have time to rest and repair," said Frye, who is an avid fan of Around Alone and follows the sailors with admiration.

Dr. Frye -- who won the 1997 Transpacific Yacht Race in Cruising Class, aboard his 52-foot Salsipuedes -- is no stranger to the causes of seasickness. "You're very excited, because you're off and running. It's the culmination of all that work and preparation. And no matter how hard you've tried, you just haven't had enough sleep in the last few days. Anxiety adds to it -- and fear is part of the equation too!"

Prolonged seasickness has its own consequences. "Dehydration is the biggest threat," Frye said. "If you can't take anything in, you'll work on your fat stores for a while. But you'll be in trouble in three days."

Symptoms include intense nausea, headache, lethargy, dizziness, dryness, and hot and cold flashes. Some sailors describe it as a fate worse than death: first you're afraid you're going to die -- and then you're afraid you won't.

The rule for seasick sailors is to try and take small amounts of liquid, "one ounce and hour," to stave off dehydration until the nausea passes. In addition to medications, some find a cure in acupressure bands, or ginger drinks. "We don't know why, but if it works, go for it," Frye said.

Others get seasick just standing on the dock. For the most acutely affected, the only sure cure is the shade of an old oak tree."

By Betsy Crowfoot, Quokka Sports Staff, February 7, 1999.

Lesson 12: "Evolution of the hull - part I"