Best seasickness prevention?

[sailingdog]

Charlie-

The guys in your neck of the woods must be pretty wimpy... on small craft warning days, we have almost no powerboats but a fair number of sailboats usually.

[Livia]

Mahina has had some success with prevention on their trips:

http://www.mahina.com/seasick.html

I haven't had a chance to try this on rough waters.

[NauticalFishwife]

Ginger is great in any form. Also Pediatricians suggest sucking on pepermint for kids who are nauseated. If you want to try dramamine then start off with half a tablet and take that every 4 hours. You might be surprised that a small dose makes a huge difference. There is a presecription drug, promethazine, that works great. Make sure you have no side effects before you need it. So give it a try before you sail. Tiny tablets and difficult to break, but again, try half a tablet first. Keep something in your stomach-even if it's a lowfat energy bar. Keep hydrated, ginger ale is a good thing. Try not to leave at night...but you'll also find that if you can close your eyes and get some sleep, when you wake up you might have your sea legs. I've been very fortunate in the barfing department...but last month I experience sea sickness for the first time. Leaving at night, hitting the Gulf Stream quickly, 30 knots on the nose. After my watch and then some sleep I was fine. But I now have a very healthy respect for those that suffer from it...BLESS YOUR HEARTS!

[Slipkiller2]

My first encounter with seasickness was on a trip from West Palm Beach to West End. It was my first trip on the big pond. We left at 8:00PM that evening and half way across the wind picked up and we were in 8 ft seas. I was over the rail calling Ralph for about 6 hrs until we docked at West End.

I am very susceptible to seasickness and have tried everything. Beer works well but I don’t like to drink while operating a boat. The best thing that works for me is the scopolamine patch. Although some friends have told me that they have had adverse effects, I’ve never experienced any. No sleepiness, no dry mouth.

The admiral never gets seasick and thinks it’s all in my head. We were sailing in the BVI several years ago and I was using the patch without any problems. One day I started felling bad and as the day went on I started feeling worse. Finally, I told her that we needed to go in, because I wasn’t feeling well. I thought, too much sun, too much rum. That’s when she told me that my patch had fallen off and she wanted to see if it really worked! I asked her if she had ever heard of keelhauling. I put on another patch and started feeling better.

[Valiente]

Originally Posted by Giulietta

Dramamine, and the litle wrist bands.

Stay outside as much as possible.

Even old salts get sea sick every now and then.

The only problem with dramamine is it make you sleepy.

And don't mash your skull on a bulkhead...I swear, the only two times I've been seasick have been less than an hour after giving the top of my head a good whack.

I remember being on the deck of a cross-channel ferry in the early '80s during what I recall was about Force 8...nothing. The deck was better than the lounge, which was slick with duty-free vomit and the groans of the afflicted.

This last August, some heavy weather kicked up while we were visiting another harbour and we had to beat back home under staysail against a rainy NE half gale. We had two to three metre waves with an odd cross swell from right down the lake, and I had the uncomfortable sound of the water tanks flexing to tell me the boat was pitching more than usual. The effect was like riding a corkscrew until we got into the lee of some land.

Me? No puking. I was too busy keeping a course. My wife? No puking. She was too busy handling lines for the many tacks we made. My son? BLAAAARRGGGHH!

Lesson? Don't play with your toys way down in the saloon. Better to be on deck, where scuppers can deal with unfortunate moments.

[sailingdog]

That's not seasickness...that's a concussion.

Originally Posted by Valiente

And don't mash your skull on a bulkhead...I swear, the only two times I've been seasick have been less than an hour after giving the top of my head a good whack.

I remember being on the deck of a cross-channel ferry in the early '80s during what I recall was about Force 8...nothing. The deck was better than the lounge, which was slick with duty-free vomit and the groans of the afflicted.

This last August, some heavy weather kicked up while we were visiting another harbour and we had to beat back home under staysail against a rainy NE half gale. We had two to three metre waves with an odd cross swell from right down the lake, and I had the uncomfortable sound of the water tanks flexing to tell me the boat was pitching more than usual. The effect was like riding a corkscrew until we got into the lee of some land.

Me? No puking. I was too busy keeping a course. My wife? No puking. She was too busy handling lines for the many tacks we made. My son? BLAAAARRGGGHH!

Lesson? Don't play with your toys way down in the saloon. Better to be on deck, where scuppers can deal with unfortunate moments.

[Valiente]

Yeah, I know that now, just like I know not to pull up my pants when the boat's falling off a wave...ow.

[dfreer]

Usually not prone to sea sickness, but this is the best stuff I've found. Even works after you become SS. Dispensed as a prescription. Works in about 20-30 minutes and lasts for 12 hours. Have had no side effects. They give this to ER patients who are wretching so bad that they can't diagnos other problems. Have your doctor write a script. COMPRO (prochlorperazine suppositories 25 mg) As indicated it is a rectal suppository. I carry a supply on board.

[lbdavis]

Once stricken with a mild case of seasickness; I've had luck with seltzer water. Seltzer really makes one burp, a lot, and has brought many people out of their malaise (including me) on several occasions on my boat. It works really quickly, too.

Cheap, refreshing, and tasty (Pomegranate is my favorite.)

Though I must admit, I am waiting for the day that one of those burps is the explosive force behind some projectile cookie tossing!

[Ruskin]

For moderate conditions, I'm a big fan of MotionEaze. Seems to keep me well and no side effects. Although there is a lot be be said for dramamine and a beer, as along as someone else is steering and you find a good shadey spot to sleep.