Sea Sickness - Oh Joy And Glee!

[Vaughan]

The strangest motion I have been in was on the high speed catamaran ferry from Holyhead to Dublin. This service is known locally as the "vomit comet". On this occasion there was rough weather on a beam sea, and in fact the service was suspended after we arrived in Dublin. The problem is that the two hulls hit different waves at the same time and the twisting effect is more like riding a horse.

I was sitting in the bar on the top deck and was on my own, as everyone else was outside on the rail "calling for huooey". I found that I couldn't put my glass of wine down and had to hold it in my hand. When I wanted another one, I had to crawl across the carpet on my hands and knees and haul myself up to the bar.

When we finally arrived in port, the captain came on the Tannoy in a lovely Irish accent and said "Be Jaysus! That was a bloody awful crossing, wasn't it?"

[Springsong]

I have never actually been sea sick but once whilst below off the Deben bar in a Nantucket Clipper I did feel queasy when below.

The above mentioned boat for those who don't remember them this one and a fewb others were built by Jack Powles  in Wroxham an Alan Buchanan design I think.

[BroadAmbition]

Cure for seasickness?

I was told years ago and it makes sense to me  -   Seasickness basically is two of our senses disagreeing with each other, the brain then can't decide which one is correct, trips a fuse and the result is being ill.  Below decks or anywhere where one cannot clearly see the horizon in a rough sea, the inner ear responsible for balance is informing the main frame that we are in an unstable environment and all over the place.  The eyes are however telling said main frame that nowt is moving relative to anything else and all is stable and in place as it should be.  The main frame cannot decide which is correct, trips the fuse and it's off the the big white telephone shouting Huey and Ralph.  The obvious cure is to get out in fresh air and view the horizon and try to enjoy the ride.

Some folk can literally think themselves into being ill by concentrating too much on the motion they are experiencing, get your mind off it, get busy, get your attention on another task in hand.     There are some though of course than can be ill in a shallow bath - No hope for them poor souls who have my sympathy

Griff

[Wildfuzz]

As I have got older motion sickness has grown in severity in time with my years. I have always sea fished from boats all over the place, sometime queasy but never enough to spoil the trip, but as I got older it got worse. The final straw was when in Spain Mrs W. and I did a days sea fishing trip, it took a further two days of my holiday for me to recover, whilst Mrs W. went out again and landed a huge conger eel. I have loved boat fishing all my life, but now its only on the Broads as I cannot face what must be one of the most terrible feelings in the world ever again.

Oh and I cannot lay with my head lower than my body as that has the same effect, so working under the car is out to..... I put it down to lots of diving when I was a teenager and the effects of pressure on the ears!!!!!!!

 

As for cures, crystalized ginger or oranges, if they don't stop it they don't taste bad on the way out!

[Smoggy]

I've always gone with the ears and eyes disagreeing and it seems to make the difference, stay above deck and look around and all is fine especially if you keep busy.

[finny]

My cure for sea sickness is ...........just keep on Barton broad 

Finny

[scaniaman]

mr W

I had the same problem as yourself when layed or crouched.Went to the docs&onward to ENT specialist, he told me it was

Bppv. (something to do with crystals in the inner ear) sorted by a repositioning manoeuvre. Hope it helps

paul

[SwanR]

I was only seasick once back in 1983 on the Earl William car ferry overnight crossing from Weymouth to St Helier. My only other experience is managing to feel queasy on the Portsmouth to Fishbourne crossing!

[Regulo]

Felt a bit sick on the Woolwich Free Ferry once. But I was about 8 and had been to a birthday party across the river. Much jelly, ice cream and fizzy stuff might have had something to do with that!

[grifftiff]

Dont post much.

Sea sickness well joined Navy 1980 and joined the biggest ship we had 1/9/81 HMS hermes  2/9/81 sailed for USA and mayport florida. sick has a dog for three days just spent laying in the heads wanting to die. went topside and it was like a mill pond seen more waves on barton broad. thought oh my god whats it going to be like when it gets rough. well after that didn't really bother me. Even when we went to the Falklands bloody rough down there and getting shot at.

Then went on to be drafted to submarines which when on the surface corkscrew and is not nice especially when in the engine room and you see bilge water going from 1 side to the other. Beauty about being a submariner dive and evrything quietens down .

if its rocking down beneath the waves it must be  very lumpy up top.

Have been sea sick twice since then . once on a fishing boat out of brid round flamborough but to be fair everyone was except the skipper and Bro griff and once on HMS explorer out of whitby made the mistake of going down below to make a cuppa .Was it sea sickness the 2 times not really just 1 yak and carry on.

 

[Polly]

I'd definitely be more worried about claustrophobia than seasickness in a sub!

[unclemike]

nice to see you posting howard

[SteveO]

18 minutes ago, Polly said:

I'd definitely be more worried about claustrophobia than seasickness in a sub!

I think it would be the smell that would get me. 

[Polly]

Too much info Steve, and Howard doesn’t smell! 

[Siddy]

Not done the ferrys etc but the fishing cobbles out of Brid as above we went out one afternoon and the sea had done a Blackpool and left the area so had to be taken out in the row boat, they were washing the tyres down from the last trip and ours was as bad. I've not been sea sick but my mate thought he could balance the boat to stop it rocking I left him.

Even on the trip boat in Leeds we didn't spill a pint but number of people that was sick even before we'd set off. Later on it was the beer. Only help you got from me was take your glasses off and head over the side.

If were ever out on a boat together and you feel ill DO NOT come to me, I can't cope I'll end up joining you.

[BroadAmbition]

And welcome to the NBN 'Our Young Un' That's half of 'Team Indy' onboard now, plus Robin of course.  Do I tell em about that memorable but horrendous trip from Whitby to Newcastle onboard HMS Explorer?  Not the sea sickness thing,   I was more thinking of the voice pipe        and the binoculars dits.      

Griff

P.S - Hopefully Howard n his wife - Also a MrsG which is a bit weird  - Will be joining us at Salhouse in May

[Hockham Admiral]

A warm "Welcome Aboard" the good ship NBN, grifftiff.     

[deebee29]

 Warm  from me as well

[JamesLV]

Luckily I don’t suffer on Ferries (good job being mother lives in France, the 12 hr Portsmouth - St Malo crossing is fairly regular) but we did have one crossing last year where it was very rough, and the captain apparently made the decision to sail ‘across’ the storm for 4 hours so we could have it behind us for the remaining 8 hours, I was in the top bunk and spent the night holding on, and alternately being crumpled up at one or t’other end.

one of my ex’s dad had a motor sailer about 35-40’ out of Broadstairs or Margate and I was hanging like a rusty gate on that thing...

[ranworthbreeze]

Hello Howard, 

Thank you for your first post, I guess you have been a watcher for a few years.

Regards

Alan

[Polly]

Do tell Griff....

Yes the cat story reminds me of crossing from Dover on a Hovercraft, well bumpy!

[grendel]

4 hours ago, JamesLV said:

Luckily I don’t suffer on Ferries (good job being mother lives in France, the 12 hr Portsmouth - St Malo crossing is fairly regular) but we did have one crossing last year where it was very rough, and the captain apparently made the decision to sail ‘across’ the storm for 4 hours so we could have it behind us for the remaining 8 hours

We went as a family on a trip at easter from Harwich to the hook, on the overnight ferries (sleepers) had a day in amsterdam (where I managed to lock down a whole art gallery by pointing at a mouse in a picture - shutters, armed guards the lot.

onm the return trip it was a tad windy, force 10 or 12. as an added bonus the ships stabilisers had failed, my dad (ex navy) was fine, my mum and sister suffered - and I missed it all sleeping through it. my mum still describes how i was in the bunk, slid to one end, then thrown in the air to the other end, before sliding to the other end again. we arrived home to six foot snow drifts and rail chaos.

[JamesLV]

according to an old Navy boy we met getting off the boat he had said the captain had said this was around Force 10, which was plenty enough for me...

[FlyEagle]

Griff,  I had 3 ships joining HMS Diomede in 1979, then HMS Aurora, then lastly HMS Beagle.  I remember the hideous sea sickness I had out of Portland into a force 10 on the Dimweed!  Never shook it completely and was decidedly worse after a wknd on the pop somewhere!

Sam (Weller)

 

[BroadAmbition]

Ah yes that sea trip from Whitby to Newcastle onboard HMS Explorer (Home port - Hull Marina - she is still there too). That was a particular bad one.  Normally with that forecast we would not have sailed but we had orders to rendezvous with our sister ship in her home base at HMS Calliope and if were a day or so late it would have knock on effects.  This trip was for an annual yearly inspection of the Ships company / ship, operational readiness and all that entailed so not many trainee officers onboard for a change.

Whilst serving in the RN there was the little known and rarely used facility of requesting to serve with a sibling.  Bro Howard was serving onboard one of the Tridents that was alongside in Faslane for an AMP for about 3 x months.  I managed to get it swung for him to be loan drafted to us for a couple of months. 

Apart from our onboard loanee Chief Tiff submariner which was memorable enough, (Howard out-ranked our resident 1st Lt !) it was also memorable for Howard having a 'Yak'  and the 'Voice Pipe / 'Binoculars' thing.

P2000's have an old fashioned voice pipe between the flying bridge and the wheelhouse.  Pointless really as you could just stick your head round the door and talk direct into the wheelhouse.

I told our MEO to kneel on the helms chair in the wheelhouse, get his orrifice right next to the voice pipe and when he saw my hand appear round the door let out the loudest roar he could muster.       Me and Bro up on Flying Bridge.   I pointed out the voicepipe and told Bro' we never used it, however if you lifted the lid and put your ear next to it you could everything that was being said in the wheelhouse. Bro duly lifted the lid, cocked his napper so his port listen out was in the pipe, I waved, MEO roared, Howard levitated himself and nearly dissapeared over the side.   Oh how we larrrfed.

Then there was those binoculars . . . . . .

Griff