Sea Sickness and Live a Boards

[dvleemin]

Hi,
I was wondering if anyone who gets sea sick has done a liveaboard trip. I get sea sick fairly easy, and I was wondering if I could handle being on a liveabourd. With a boat that size, I might not have a problem, but I really don't know.

What are your experiences.

DArryl

 

[scubabear]

Greetings from scubabarf,
For over 30 years when seas are 4ft. plus I do a lot of rail hanging. However, that doesn't preclude the liveaboard experiance. Try to book sailings during calm time of year. My personal fav. Is the Cayman Aggressor from June- Sept.
Due to health reasons all I usally take is ginger tablets.On two trips with rough crossings I was introduced to Phennegam, and slept like a dead man. So don't let the mal-de-mer keep you from some of the easiest and best diving out there.


Good Luck

 

[seaangel]

I don't know yet, but will let you know after my liveaboard trip next week. I have gotten quite seasick on smaller boats and have had success using the Transderm patch. I don't know what will happen on this liveaboard in the Bahamas. I will post.

 

[Capi]

Hey there,

I get seasick very easily as well. The last two times I used dramamine which is a very good drug against seasickness and this helped great. No worries at all. You can use them together with diving no problem at all. The funny thing was after a few days I forgot taking them and I didnt get sick.....

Enjoy your dives

 

[seaangel]

The patch works great. I had no seasickness on my liveaboard. As a matter of fact no one on the boat got sick. We had a great time. Seas were moderate 5-8ft. and we had some strong currents. But all in all a great trip.

 

[DocVikingo]

Hi Capi & Darryl,

Capi: If you mean original formula Dramamine, then please be advised that this is no longer recommend for use while on scuba as research has demonstrated that it impairs underwater alertness & performance. The newer Non-Drowsy formula (which still may cause some drowsiness) has not been so researched, but may be a better alternative.

Darryl: In rough water, a live-aboard, even a very large one, will still pitch, yaw & roll, bringing on the signs & symptoms of seasickness in those who are prone to it. I'd suggest that you read a few of the many threads on sickness from the board archives, such as this one----> http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=2924&highlight=scopolamine
Hope this get you started.

DocVikingo

 

[DocVikingo]

Hi Darryl,

What live-aboards are you considering?

Best regards.

DocVikingo

 

[dvleemin]

Nothing at all specific Doc,
Just looking around. I think the best one for seasickness is the Nektons. Seem the most stable.

Darryl

 

[raviepoo]

Two words:

Ginger pills.

Start taking them 6 - 12 hours before you board the boat, and keep taking them every 4 hours. They work. They've gotten me across the gulfstream 4 times now.

 

[donacheson]

Originally posted by dvleemin
Hi,
I was wondering if anyone who gets sea sick has done a liveaboard trip. I get sea sick fairly easy, and I was wondering if I could handle being on a liveabourd. With a boat that size, I might not have a problem, but I really don't know.

What are your experiences.

DArryl

A lot depends upon where the liveaboard operates. For example, seas in Truk Lagoon have been very flat in my 3 trips there and probably rarely aren't. On the other hand, on a trip into the Coral Sea, we experienced 4 to 6 foot seas every day and my daughter, very prone to seasickness on boats (but not ships), spent most of her non-diving time lying on her bunk. I'd expect that's pretty normal on the Coral Sea. One would also expect seasonal differences in many places.

In any case, boat operators don't like to have seasick passengers aboard, so they'll make every effort to minimize the rockin' and rollin'.