Firstly, I open this topic with a disclaimer Very important to note: the following is in no way a recommendation or specialised treatment and, if you need any, please contact your doctor. They are the result of personal observation and experience over the years - and guess what? sailing is my passionnot the medical profession.
Not that often, but every time we are faced with the question "Am I going to be sick on the water?"; whether we are on holiday with Sail Armada or that we're a week into training CapetanInevitably, the issue of motion sickness is a topic in its own right in the Crew Briefing.
The subject is split in two:
- Will I get sick on the water?
- I got sick, what do I do?
1. Will I get sick while sailing?
A saying that applies every time is "Getting your sea-legs" - that is, in short, to give your body time to adjust to the new environment (constant wallowing, bandaging, arrhythmic movements). We say that motion sickness is natural, can exist in various forms (drowsiness, hunger, vomiting) and can be treated, trained.
Personally, in my stubbornness not to put anyone directly in contact with "Formula AS" remedies, I try as much as possible to rely on methods that don't involve pills, patches, bracelets, incantations or who knows what. What can we do? Sailing as much as possible 😛 , we can stay out of the marina if the weather is unfavourable and, if somehow the conditions require going out, prepare people in such a way that the risks are as low as possible: we tell them clearly the day before, according to the forecast, not to stay out late, to be very well hydrated (WATER), and in the morning to give up a copious and heavy breakfast and avoid coffee, which also helps dehydration to some extent. In short, as with many other sailingPrevention is the best solution.
Now, if we have people who have no patience with their own body and are more afraid of the unknown (the salt dropper and "if I'm going to be sick"), there are prevention options that I'll divide into:
- Classics - containing antihistamines or anticholinergics. I will avoid listing them here for obvious reasons: ask your doctor!
- Dietary supplements - Emetix, Cocculine, Emetostop, Metroclopramid
- Naturist - raw ginger shaved and put in a bottle of water and kept on hand, candied ginger, mint tea, raw mint, plasters soaked in natural oils
- acupressure - commercially available wrist bracelets
- Gadgets - special glasses to fight motion sickness - funny, but they do exist
- Providence - a kind word to heaven 🙂
2. I got sick, what do I do?
First and foremost: Don't show off! Why do I say that? Vomiting is like yawning: contagious. If there are other people "on edge" and they see you acting noisy, there's a real risk that you'll unleash a Barf Fest!
Your skipper can help give you ideas to minimise your feeling sick, such as: watching the horizon, sitting in a well-ventilated area of the boat, taking the helm, starting to sing - anything you can do to disconnect your mind from feeling sick. If somehow it's late, you can call Bebe (BEEEEEEBEEEEEEE), but controlled, downwind and without putting yourself in danger of ending up MOB!!! The best thing is to make your skipper attentive: he will not judge you, he will definitely help and guide you.
All joking aside, prevention is best: have comfortable clothes handy, hydrate constantly, avoid getting in the boat, keep a positive attitude and do a lot sailing! Nothing balances the boat better than sails, whatever the conditions.
As I write this, I'm trying to remember the last time I had the last person on board who got sick from giving it to the newbies and I can't seem to remember - and that's not because I'm forgetful, but because I was being pre-emptive and did sailing 🙂
