Sea sickness and liveaboards

[lowlysubaruguy]

As my wife and I hash out plans for our next dive trip the subject of liveaboards has crossed my minds a little but theres glitch.

my wife gets Sea Sickness. Its not necc Sea Sickness she gets sick on windy roads some flights and just because. Shes a trooper here, she has mastered puking through her regulator and getting back on the boat. Me i hang out in the engine area in 10 foot waves with fish guts and never even think about being sea sick so I havent a clue what its like.

Its to bad because she married me the water lover of any and all sorts even if Im partial to warmer waters these days, but ive been boating some of the roughest waters for a very long time.

Some of the things that get her to the point she will be sea sick are usually found at the dock. Waiting in a Running diesel powered boat with the exhaust fumes hanging in the area divers are usually supposed to stay put while the boat loads and head and gear counts are managed. Smokers on these trips are also a trigger.

Shes come to terms with my addiction to the ocean and diving enought that a brand new 26 foot Dive boat has landed itself in my driveway even though im a few years from really being able to take full advantage of it. I can control the bulk of the things that make her sea sick this way as well.

Ok I get off topic pretty east. The question in my mind is would a liveaboard be me more or less likely to help her with some of these adventurous type dive trips over doing a trip that required getting on commercial dive boats and dealing with the dock side and launch issues she faces. Or Do those of you who experience sea sickness battle this as bad or even worse being on a live aboard. Id love to swing a trip in Thailand or The South Pacific if a liveaboard is possibly better than doing the daily dive boat trip.

Thanks in advance

 

[Russjstewart]

In my misspent youth I was able to say that I had vomited on a large part of the. East coast of Australia. I got to the stage where I would hang on the mermaid line until everyone else was back on board, stationary boats were my undoing. The gentlest rocking would send me to the leeward rail.

Your wife must must be a saint to keep going to sea.

In those days I was also having trouble equalising and an Ear Nose and Throat surgeon diagnosed a deviated septum that was causing inflammation and congestion and blocking my eustachion tubes. He operated, no more congestion, I was able to drop like a rock, and no more vomiting. I still can feel off colour, especially on larger boats, but it has been a long time sine I vomited.

In answer to your post after I have rambled on can I make the following suggestions, based on my experiences

1. Consult an good doctor/ENT specialist to see if there is any thing at a physical level that can be done
2. Check with a diving doc to see if they can recommend medication for motion sickness that will not affect her diving, a lot cause drowsiness and have other side effects
3. No matter how bad the trip on the day boat was it will be just a day and you are back on dry land. You can drink water and eat dry biscuits for a day, but not for two of three days on a liveaboard.
4. Cabins down low, towards the stern of the boat and near the centre line usually have the least movement.
5. When you think you have solved the problem start off with short trips.

I was on a 4 night trip out of Cairns to the Great Barrier Reef, sharing with a German diver whose wife did not dive, she was off seeing Kakadu. After listening to the non diving wife of the English couple in the next cabin vomiting for the 4 th night and day in a row, my room mate said " that is why my wife is sightseeing in Kakadu National Park, that Englishman will never be allowed on a boat again"

Once you think you have a solution build up the length of the trips gradually

Hope you can find a solution to your wife's motion sickness.

 

[outofofficebrb]

There are a few ways to look at this...

Liveaboards are generally more stable because they are much larger than dayboats. I’m also sensitive to smells which usually causes my nausea and I don’t find this or smell it on liveaboards so much.

Here’s the tricky part as mentioned above. If you’re sick on a dayboat, you have a rough day and are back on land in a few hours. You can decide to not go out again. For a liveaboard, you will be stuck out there for 4, 7, 10, 12, or 14 days. Yikes!

If you decide to try it with her, I suggest a Dramamine or Bonine 1-1.5 hours before boarding and using it every night after diving. I’m not a doctor and you do this at your own risk but this worked well for me on my first liveaboard when I wasn’t sure what would happen. Since then, I’ve discovered I don’t need it in general but I do take it before I board just in case while I get my sea legs.

Good luck!

 

[Diver0001]

I'm not overly sensitive to sea sickness but I've been on a few bumpy rides on the North Sea that were less than pleasant. What I find works really well is

a) avoid alcohol like it is poison (which it is) and fatty food like it will kill you (which it will). Eat lots of small bits. Some fruit here, some salad there and keep the portions on main meals smaller than you normally would.
b) drink plenty of water
c) stay on deck and watch the horizon

That third thing helps a lot because what I think causes it in my case is when the boat is moving but my eyes can't get a reference point to pin that movement to. Staying on deck as much as I can helps a lot.

I've also heard from people who sail that the sea sickness goes away after a couple of days once your brain gets dialed in to the movement. I don't know if this is true or not but I've been told as much so if anyone can verify or refute that it would be nice.

R..

 

[EricTheDood]

I take a non-drowsy Dramamine the night before a boat dive trip if I haven't boat dived in awhile. It's almost always the first day that gets me. As the week progresses I find myself not needing it.

If I were going on a LOB trip, I'd probably make an effort to go out on a boat dive or two on the weekends 2-3 weeks prior, as to get the "shock" out of my system.

 

[Aviyes]

Quite a few people on my last liveaboard trip were wearing the scopolamine patches, that are worn behind the ear, and they were not having issues.

 

[Akimbo]

There might be something useful in here: Diving and Seamanship, Post #79

 

[Kevrumbo]

Most people don't get motion sickness while driving a car or piloting a boat/plane; the reason being because you're directly effecting the action of the vessel, you see what actions you have to take to steer a clear passage, you anticipate and react to the dynamic forces that result from such actions. Your mind/body kinesthetics are synchronized, your vestibular senses unconfounded, you don't get motion sickness. . .

Now short of going up to the wheelhouse and actually taking control of the boat, try having your wife sit with the Captain at the Wheel, let him talk to her about how he's steering the boat and actually see/anticipate the resultant boat motion in response to his actions.

In other words . . .don't anticipate being seasick --anticipate being in control, knowing & feeling what the boat's motion is going to be. With practice of this simple visualization, you can even "quell the queasiness" in the roughest sea conditions --all without any medication of any kind.

Do this as an anti-motion sickness exercise before you leave for your trip:
drive your wife around to the supermarket, shopping mall, the bank etc. --places and routes she's very familiar with-- and have her close her eyes (or blindfold them). Have her "see" in her mind's eye and from memory tell where you actually are in the route, based only on her feeling the car's motion. Repeat the exercise, with her sitting and perhaps lying down in the back seat for another trial. . .

When you get to the Liveaboard and you're at sea:
Have her look not only at the Horizon, but also at the railing of the boat in the foreground --and see how it all moves relative to each other as the vessel makes way through the swells. Memorize that movement and have her close her eyes, tell her to feel the boat's rhythm moving through the swells, and "see" that railing/horizon movement in her mind's eye. Teach her to anticipate where that railing/horizon orientation will be when she opens her eyes . . .and finally open her eyes to see it and confirm it. The idea is to convince her mind and inner ear that she is in dynamic motion based on her sense of balance, tactile/kinesthetic feedback, and coordinating-synchronizing it all with the movement pattern of the railing/horizon which she just memorized. . . Now when you go down belowdecks, just have her play it all back in her "mind's eye" as you both begin to feel & anticipate the boat's apparent motion --or even imagine the boat belowdecks is transparent and you can actually see the horizon & swells in sync with the boat's apparent motion!

Once you get good at this visualization, you can handle the roughest seas even without any medication --but it takes a lot of focus and concentration . . .

 

[KathyV]

Before you head to the Far East, you might want to try a destination that might be closer and cheaper for the first liveaboard trip. I have gotten terribly seasick on liveaboards, but usually on boats that include a deep water crossing on the first night (Florida to Bahamas, Grand Cayman to Little Cayman, St. Martin to Saba, etc.) I have been fine on boats that don't immediately do a deep water crossing (Kona, St. Croix, Red Sea, Turks & Caicos, etc.). I see that your location is listed as "The Gorge" is that in Oregon? I was fine during our liveaboard trip in the Sea of Cortez out of Cabo. But that was drift diving from inflatables so that may not be a great choice for the first LOB trip.

When I have gotten sick I have been really, really sick and wishing that I could beam out of there - but I am happy to say that it only lasts one day. After my body has a chance to acclimate I am fine. And I have been on LOBs during bad storms and I have still been fine, once my body has had a chance to adjust to the rolling motion of the sea.

This is my routine for embarking on a liveaboard. I eat light and avoid liquor on the day of departure and I take the seasick pill at least an hour before boarding. After we board we split up and my husband goes up to the dive deck to set up and stow our gear, while I head to the cabin to unpack our clothes. I go up topside as soon as possible to get out into the fresh air. After we get underway I stay topside, with the fresh air in my face and I watch the horizon. I try to drink water if I can tolerate it. Again, this routine doesn't always work but happily the misery doesn't last too long - it just feels long.

I have tried the scopalamine patch to prevent seasickness, but I had bad side effects from it, so I usually take Dramamine, Bonine, or something like that. Happily, I don't need to keep taking it after I am acclimated. I also bring Orange Ginger Mint tea bags with me because sometimes they help to settle my stomach.

Even with the seasickness I have loved our LOB trips!

 

[WrmBluH2O]

OP, you have a great wife! Peeps tell me I’m tenacious, but I don’t know if I would have stuck with it if I were her.

. . .don't anticipate being seasick --anticipate being in control, knowing & feeling what the boat's motion is going to be. With practice of this simple visualization, you can even "quell the queasiness" in the roughest sea conditions --all without any medication of any kind...

What works for everyone is different, but I practiced what you suggested this past week. The eve of Sat., 12/6 we had 5 foot waves over the beam (110 ft. boat) as we went from Georgetown toward a relatively sheltered spot in the southern portion of Grand Cayman. I was fine. No queasiness whatsoever! Thanks!!