For All of Us "Northernerns"

[vshearer]

Gingersnaps are supposed to be good for nausea. I did a delivery on a boat from Newport to Charleston and the owner brought about 30 boxes of them. Ran out of anything else to eat. Now I will not eat them to this day. (But I have never had a problem with seasickness.)

 

[John_B]

First, pay attention to what the bottom of your boat looks like on the way down. We were the only boat there when we went down, but there were others when we came up. Thankfully, I came up on the right boat, but it could have been really embarrassing had I surfaced at the wrong one.

I've actually done this! :shocked2:

My instabuddy one morning in the Keys was vastly more experienced than I, really good guy, we were switching off who was navigating (both buddies should navigate independently; ask me how I know!) and I thought he was navigating and he thought I was. The plan was to skim around the reef looking for sharks, rays, turtles, etc. and when I hit about 1200 psi we'd head back under the boat and hang out until I was at 500 psi and then ascend together. So I'm at 1200 psi and lo and behold, there's an island hopper, so we scour the reef under the boat looking for good picture opportunities and as we are doing the safety stop I suddenly notice that the stern ladder has moved, it's no longer over on the starboard side, it's now in the center.

At that moment, I realized I didn't know the handsign for "Its the wrong boat!". When we arrived ours was the only boat on the site, but obviously another dive op showed up after we splashed in. As I surfaced I could see our boat was moored about 300 yds away, it was even worse for my buddy at first because he couldn't see our boat since the other boat blocked his view! And with 500 psi, that meant a 300 yd surface swim back to our boat...

So, navigate for yourself and realize that one island hopper looks remarkably like the next from underneath!

 

[SkipperJohn]

Bananas... hahaha... The superstition actually comes form the fact that the old schooners coming from South America bringing bananas to the rest of the world would also bring tons of spiders and scorpions hiding within them. Sailors grabbing a banana for a quick snack would get bit and often succumb to the venom or at least get infected so it has always been considered unlucky to have bananas on board. (some captains will not even allow banana boat sun tan lotion and one guy I know swears he wont allow anyone with fruit of the loom underwear on board-although I dont want to know how he controls that!)

As for the question, if you can speak with the captain ahead of time, do so. Ask him what he thinks.
Also, if you have never been on a boat before... consider you may get seasick. So...
1- watch what you eat the night before. Beer and clam chowder should not be the fare of the evening. Keep it simple and something that agrees with your stomach.
2- watch your breakfast even more! I would not consider day old pizza nor even fried eggs the morning of a trip. Cereals with not too much milk (liquids slosh in your stomach).
3- bring crackers and or pretzels. They tend to be a bit of a base (neutralizes acids) and soaks up liquids. Also, coke or (real) ginger ale (with real ginger) can settle a questionable stomach. Ginger pills can work wonders. Not to mention the normal remedies but they will make you tired.
The ride out and back will probably involve a lot of sun and not too many places to find shelter. Bring a hat (that will not get blown off at 20 knots), shirt and a good suntan lotion with a high SPF.

 

[The Kraken]

Get a good buddy who has a pickup truck to take you and your gear out on some lonely stretch of bumpy, winding road.

Put all your gear in back, of course.

When ya get out there, have him pull over and let you get in the bed of the pickup.

Now, as he starts to drive down that winding road, frequently tapping on his brakes at no set interval, attempt to don your gear using only 1/2 of the bed of the pickup.

Have fun . . . ! ! !

the K

 

[Doc]

Get a good buddy who has a pickup truck to take you and your gear out on some lonely stretch of bumpy, winding road.

Put all your gear in back, of course.

When ya get out there, have him pull over and let you get in the bed of the pickup.

Now, as he starts to drive down that winding road, frequently tapping on his brakes at no set interval, attempt to don your gear using only 1/2 of the bed of the pickup.

Now, fully geared, stand at the tailgate. Have him floor it. This simulates what happens if you violate the three point rule by not hanging on at all times with at least one hand.

Now, with the tailgate dropped, in the straight down position, have the driver activate the bouncy hydraulic air lifts, causing the truck to bounce up and down like it's in a Cinco de Mayo car show parade. My brother in law can make his go 18" up and down. Approach the truck from underneath and think of the tailgate as a ladder or a pile driving crane.

Trucks can be useful for simulating boating, but nothing beats the feel of salt water spray in a fresh wound.

As others have inferred above- you have entered into an industrial environment while barefooted. Pay attention, move slowly, watch others, listen to the boatsmen, and ask questions. Place nothing anywhere any higher than you would like it to fall.

You really can't beat it for a good time. (Especially if you're not the one who's feeding the fish!)

 

[The Kraken]

But don't forget to take a sloppy-drunk buddy with ya so that he can throw up from time to time just to get the right smell in . . .

But it's AAAAAALLLL GOOD, BABY !!!!

the K

 

[Doc]

But don't forget to take a sloppy-drunk buddy with ya so that he can throw up from time to time just to get the right smell in . . .

The Cream of Mushroom Soup scene from Robert Duvall's Great Santini... just make sure everyone has a spoon handy.:shocked2:

see minute #07:00 on YouTube - The Great Santini for further instructional video on this method.

 

[TMHeimer]

Make sure you ALWAYS know where the anchor line is. Clip your bag of collected shells to your BCD when ascending/exiting. And don't hand it to the deck hand and risk all the criticism when they see that something's alive.

 

[ron_cooper]

Expect the taste of salt water not fresh water. Getting too much of it in your mouth can speed the onsret of sea sickness

On one of the first few dives I did, after swallowing a fair bit of saltwater I lost my lunch after finishing the dive and returning to the surface. I did find it caused a sworm of fish to feed, which everyone else enjoyed.