<span title="Seasickness!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!??">Seasickness!!!!!!!!!!!!!!...</span>

Question

Okay so I used to live in FL and i went on small motor power boats and other boats too like cruise ships and stuff and I was okay I didnt have any motion sickness. My friend invited me to go sailing with her today so I was wondering because its a sailboat (were going on the long island sound btw) is it easier to get sick?? If so what can i do to prevent it?

Answer 1

Sailboats tend to be more stable than powerboats, once they&#039;re under sail.  There are any number of seasickness remedies you can take before going boating; anything from different kinds of pills to ginger snap cookies (really).  You can also buy motion sickness wrist bands that you wear while boating.  They don&#039;t work for everybody but I have used them on people with success.

If you do start to feel queezy, don&#039;t go below decks.  Stay out in the fresh air, keep your eyes on the horizon and try to get to the center of the boat where there is the least amount of motion.  Ideally, if you can take the helm and steer the boat, you&#039;ll find it&#039;s one of the best ways to overcome motion sickness.

Answer 2

Yes, most sailboats ride better than similarly sized power boats, on most points of sail. But if you&#039;re concerned about seasickness, you probably have good reason to be; most people who worry about it do so because they&#039;re prone to it. And take heart, people who &quot;never get seasick&quot; generally do so because there is something wrong with their inner ears, and tend to not have a very good sense of balance; so at least you can feel smug in your physical superiority when you&#039;re queasy.

All that said, Dramamine is great so long as you&#039;re not actually working on the boat (it tends to put people to sleep). Anything with ginger is also good. Ginger Altoids are something I always try to keep on hand for folk when I&#039;m sailing.

Answer 3

When your visual input and inner ear get out of sync is when sickness arises.  Keep your eyes on the horizon so you can anticipate the boats movement.  My practice was to put a seasick prone person on the tiller, forcing them to watch the waves around the boat.

Another observation is that people who worry about getting sick, get sick.

Enjoy the day, the sail and relax.

Answer 4

No really much different, of course depends on the water conditions. Pop a dramimine just in cas, do it at least an hour before you sail. Happy sailing lucky dog!!

Answer 5

You&#039;re typically going to be better off on a sailboat.  The size and displacement of the sailboat will make a big difference in the amount of motion you will feel.  Obviously, waves and weather will be important as well.  

Go to the head (bathroom) while the boat is at the dock.  Staying in the cabin seems to increase the feeling of sea sickness.  Stay in the cockpit of the sailboat where there is less motion.  If the sailboat has stern rail seats (seats up high on the back of the boat) snag one right away.  It gives you an elevated view of the water and has minimal motion.  Stay away from the bow (front of the boat).  The bow experiences the greatest amount of movement.

I&#039;ve got thirty years on a sailboat and a CG master&#039;s license.  Neverthless, going up to the bow in even moderately choppy seas to set a spinnaker can make me a little green, particularly if I&#039;m sitting down on the deck to fiddle with a line.