Sea Sickness Stories
Sea Sick on the Atlantic
contributed by Hans and Inge from GermanyWhen we decided to do sailing trip on the Atlantic, we knew that we would be confronted with seasickness. So of course we got some sea sickness pills...
Our first couple of days on the 17 meter long boat were spent in the lagoon just off the city of Faro, Portugal. Passing tourist and fishing boats made the boat rock. No sea sickness problems, but we weren't yet on the Atlantic.
This was our first trip on a small boat on the Atlantic, so we listened when the skipper recommended that to prevent sea sickness we shouldn't eat. Later we learned many people are of the opposite opinion, and recommend that you should eat a lot, especially black bread.
On Day 3 the in the evening we sailed out onto the Atlantic Ocean. In the belief that we were immune to sea sickness we weren't worried and had even given up taking our tablets.
After just one hour, we started feeling sea sick. The boat was being rocked by waves coming from two directions because the wind was coming first from the north and then from the west. To counter our increasing nausea, we decided go to our bunks. But that didn't bring us any relief from the sickness and we suffered non-stop for 15 hours.
As we arrived at the next port the waves subsided, and our sea-sickness was gone within half an hour. We were left with just some very unpleasant memories!
See also:
- Read other Motion Sickness Stories
- Read about Sea Sickness Prevention, Remedies & Treatment
- Top 10 Tips for Preventing Motion Sickness when Traveling
Cruising Alaska, New England and Canada
I rarely suffer from motion sickness. When I do I usually have some underlying illness or I was having my period (which I don't have anymore). When I took a cruise to Alaska it was very rough and my roommate got very sick and collapsed and I had to get her to the infirmary. I did not get sick because I took some Meclizine. The nurse treating my roommate emphasized that I should continue to take my medicine. She was very busy treating people and did not want to add me to the list.A couple years later I cruised in New England and Canada. It was not as rough as the Alaska Cruise. I took Meclizine. I woke up the first night feeling a little queasy but I managed to get back to sleep. I continued the meds and was OK the next day and wondered what was going on. I was partying and dancing and everything and was just fine. Then that night I woke up feeling a little worse. The next day we took a tour of Halifax and I was getting sick on the bus in spite of the meds I was taking. This was really strange. I took Dramamine even though it made me drowsier as it is a bit stronger. Around midnight the waters calmed down and I didn't have any more motion sickness. The only problem was I started getting a sore throat and it was obvious I was getting a cold - something that was going around the ship. Ears, nose and throat are connected so I probably had the virus in my inner ear which hadn't made its appearance but was enough to make me more sensitive to motion.
(Comment by Motion Sickness Guru: Find out more about the various motion sickness medications mentioned.)