Ok.. Long story short...my wife and I are avid divers. She has sea legs. I don't. I have to ware a patch when diving land based. However, I'm itching to get on a livaboard. So my questions are for the experienced with similar conditions. Looking to start in Truks and Caicos. What's the best time of year for the best chance at calm seas? In your experience, do the patches suffice on a week long trip? Help a brother out........
Need advice on livaboard trips....
- Thread starter Thook
- Start date
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Patches work great for me. I am a liveaboard captain. T&C in nice because you are never far from land, so if you just can't get over being sea sick, they can arrange for a boat to come take you to someplace where the boat doesn't rock. There is nothing more miserable than being seasick.
I am very prone to serious seasickness and I cannot wear a patch; I tried it once and had some severe side effects, but I have taken more than a dozen liveaboard trips and I loved them.
In my experience I am most likely to get seasick if the trip involves a deep-water crossing (like Florida to the Bahamas). I have done 2 liveaboard trips in the Turks and Caicos and I didn't get sick on either of them because we just traveled from Provo to West Cay and French Caicos. We did both T&C trips in the fall when the water is warmest.
But I have been very sick on some liveaboard trips that required a deep water crossing (St. Martin to Saba was a rough one) but my experiences have been that I am only sick for one night and then I start to acclimate, and after a day I will be just fine. I have even been through some storms at sea and didn't get sick after I became acclimated. When you are diving land-based dives, you are on/off the boats and you never really get acclimated, but when you are on a liveaboard your body has time to adjust to the new reality. It just takes some of us a little longer than others!
Here are my techniques for reducing the risk of seasickness on a liveaboard. I don't eat/drink much on the day of departure. I take the seasickness medication before I board the boat. When we get on board my husband and I split up to try and get ourselves situated before we leave port. He heads to the dive deck to set up and stow our equipment. I head to the cabin to unpack our belongings and then to the salon to complete any paperwork.
After we depart, I stay up on deck with the cool air blowing on my face and I watch the horizon to help my eyes and brain adjust to the motion. If I can tolerate it, I try to sip water to stay hydrated. I have been known to spend the first night sleeping in a lounge chair on the upper deck and I am usually not alone.
Sometimes the precautions work and I just feel queasy and headachy, but I have also had some miserable first nights with violent vomiting, even when there is nothing left to throw up! But again by noon the next day I feel fine and I stay that way throughout the trip.
Everyone is different but the only way to find out is to try, and I think the T&C liveaboards are a good way to test your sealegs. Just a precaution, be careful not to overdue the seasickness meds, or mix them with anti-histamines because you may increase your risk of side-effects. If you are wearing the patch check the paperwork that comes with it to see if there are any precautions about taking other products. Good luck!
In my experience I am most likely to get seasick if the trip involves a deep-water crossing (like Florida to the Bahamas). I have done 2 liveaboard trips in the Turks and Caicos and I didn't get sick on either of them because we just traveled from Provo to West Cay and French Caicos. We did both T&C trips in the fall when the water is warmest.
But I have been very sick on some liveaboard trips that required a deep water crossing (St. Martin to Saba was a rough one) but my experiences have been that I am only sick for one night and then I start to acclimate, and after a day I will be just fine. I have even been through some storms at sea and didn't get sick after I became acclimated. When you are diving land-based dives, you are on/off the boats and you never really get acclimated, but when you are on a liveaboard your body has time to adjust to the new reality. It just takes some of us a little longer than others!
Here are my techniques for reducing the risk of seasickness on a liveaboard. I don't eat/drink much on the day of departure. I take the seasickness medication before I board the boat. When we get on board my husband and I split up to try and get ourselves situated before we leave port. He heads to the dive deck to set up and stow our equipment. I head to the cabin to unpack our belongings and then to the salon to complete any paperwork.
After we depart, I stay up on deck with the cool air blowing on my face and I watch the horizon to help my eyes and brain adjust to the motion. If I can tolerate it, I try to sip water to stay hydrated. I have been known to spend the first night sleeping in a lounge chair on the upper deck and I am usually not alone.
Sometimes the precautions work and I just feel queasy and headachy, but I have also had some miserable first nights with violent vomiting, even when there is nothing left to throw up! But again by noon the next day I feel fine and I stay that way throughout the trip.
Everyone is different but the only way to find out is to try, and I think the T&C liveaboards are a good way to test your sealegs. Just a precaution, be careful not to overdue the seasickness meds, or mix them with anti-histamines because you may increase your risk of side-effects. If you are wearing the patch check the paperwork that comes with it to see if there are any precautions about taking other products. Good luck!
Last edited:
LiquidDivingAdventure
Contributor
Thook,
This is a challenging question because folks experience a different degree of mal de mer. I have no problem but my wife does not do well on boats. I have done a lot of searching and researching and side effects differ for all divers using the patch. Rather than list them it's easiest to just do a google. The meds I finally got for my wife seemed to offer few complications and are OK for diving. I have, besides the usual over the counter stuff, two other I bought online. One is called Meclizine I got via Amazon.com and the second is called Kwells I had to order from the UK. I have not yet tried the Kwells but a number of folks on scubaboard use Meclizine. The big trick is to not wait until you get sick to take any of the meds. Start before you hit the boat. If you wait until you are sick, chances are none of the meds will work. Remember for some folks the simple wrist bands work. Staying away from diesel exhaust is also a good thing… ; > )
On the commercial side, if you are looking at T&C, give me a shout off SB or via PM and I'll get you a discounted trip.
This is a challenging question because folks experience a different degree of mal de mer. I have no problem but my wife does not do well on boats. I have done a lot of searching and researching and side effects differ for all divers using the patch. Rather than list them it's easiest to just do a google. The meds I finally got for my wife seemed to offer few complications and are OK for diving. I have, besides the usual over the counter stuff, two other I bought online. One is called Meclizine I got via Amazon.com and the second is called Kwells I had to order from the UK. I have not yet tried the Kwells but a number of folks on scubaboard use Meclizine. The big trick is to not wait until you get sick to take any of the meds. Start before you hit the boat. If you wait until you are sick, chances are none of the meds will work. Remember for some folks the simple wrist bands work. Staying away from diesel exhaust is also a good thing… ; > )
On the commercial side, if you are looking at T&C, give me a shout off SB or via PM and I'll get you a discounted trip.
Good tip! Stay away from tobacco fumes too!
There are some boats that offer shorter trips (Spree for instance) which might be an option to give it a try without having to go a whole week... just in case it doesn't work out too well for you.
That said, Truk Lagoon is flat as can be... and the boats don't move far during the week. Might be a long way to go, but it's an option.
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