motion sickness in cars implying susceptibility to seasickness?

[warfquartz]

Hi,

I really want to go sailing on long voyages and am currently taking all the prep steps to learn and get to the right level.

One thing that worries me though is that I easily get motion sickness in cars; for example when reading on the phone while looking down it only takes a couple of minutes to fee woozy.

My worry is now that this also means I will easily get seasickness on a boat which would then eliminate my dream how to spend the later years of my life.


Does anyone have practical experience whether motion sickness in cars correlates with susceptibility to get seasickness?

thanks.

[boatman61]

I feel like that in cars if I try to read or sit in the rear seat..
Sea sickness is something I had to experience, suffer and come out the other side off.. seasickness is not a valid argument in the Royal Navy.. take a bucket with you on your sonar watch..
These days it does not trouble me bar the first couple of days after say a winter off a boat when I may be mildly queasy the first day or two after which I'm fine.

[GreenWave]

nearly 100% correlation but both can be overcome. Don't sit in back seat and/or don't read in a car. On boat, don't do those same things (going down below is "back seat"); watch the horizon not the waves.

[tkeithlu]

Greenwave's got it. Drivers don't get carsick because they have the visual information that corrolates with the bouncing around of the car. I always assigned my most susceptible student to be my helmsman. It didn't always work, but their having their eyes on the horizon as the boat bounced around definitely helped. Also, stay hydrated and away from fatty food.

[valhalla360]

It's a legitimate concern but there are exceptions where the motion is different or you can sometimes distract yourself as suggested.

Do some charters or classes to see how you hold up before committing to buying a boat. We have come across a couple of boats for sale because the owners were subject to sea sickness.

You can sometimes wait it out on long voyages (a miserable couple days and then you are OK) but keep in mind that much of cruising is coastal...so if every time, you leave port for a 3hr cruise, you are miserable is that what you really want to commit to?

[warfquartz]

Well, that's not good news. I knew about 'watch the horizon' and no fatty food, but as mentioned, I want to go on longer voyages. This means also fixing food and doing stuff in the boat while we're out there.

Hopefully I won't belong to the 25% of the population that never overcome it.

Does anyone know whether boats with hull windows make it easier to adjust?

Cheers.

[Joh.Ghurt]

I have the same and in my family most of the other sailors suffer too. I get carsick when reading and I get seasick from time to time.

I get it easily under control without drowsiness with pills containing 50 mg of dimenhydrinate and 50 mg of caffeine. They're available under various brands, I use the Neo Emedyl ones. Just ask your pharmacist for the local flavour.

And as Boatman wrote, if it hits you even when trying to avoid it, get a bucket. Most important, after barfing immediately start to nibble on some crackers and sip either tea or Coca Coala, the latter for the sugar the former so that you don't have to puke on an empty stomach when the next wave arrives. That really hurt.

[Joh.Ghurt]

Originally Posted by warfquartz

Hopefully I won't belong to the 25% of the population that never overcome it.

Admiral Nelson was part of those 25%. After a day or three at sea you're over it. Your wish for a quick death will have been denied.

Originally Posted by warfquartz

Does anyone know whether boats with hull windows make it easier to adjust?

Not really. When you start to feel queasy, stay in the cockpit, keep dry, warm and comfy (Hot tea helps, hard boiled eggs and crackers are also good), avoid the smell of gasoline (insta-puke) and avoid the smell of the skipper frying during a near gale chicken skewers with curry (Killing him is appropriate). If you're totally wasted, go to sleep. For some strange reason, you don't get seasick while sleeping.

[sail sfbay]

Originally Posted by warfquartz

..........Does anyone have practical experience whether motion sickness in cars correlates with susceptibility to get seasickness?.....

No correlation in my experience. However, everyone is different and the motion in a car is different than on a boat. Suggest taking a boat ride in different conditions to find out.

[Hudson Force]

I tend toward motion sickness on carnival rides, especially those that spin; however, I have never been prone to sea sickness or motion sickness in a car. I agree with sail sfbay's advice. Many are different and you'll need to test yourself.

[waterman46]

I'd venture than at least 90% of people experience sea-sickness when first they go on the ocean in a small boat.

I have never been car sick - the motion is transverse rather than vertical as on the ocean. I got deathly sea sick my first ocean sail (thirty knot winds will do that!)


The good news is that almost everyone will "get their sea legs" and be fine after enough exposure. Takes longer for some than others.

Since sea-sickness is so miserable, it takes a big mental commitment to put in the sea-time required to reach a level where you will be comfortable.

If I have not been to sea in some months, I use Dramamine at the start of the first trip. Take one pill 3 hours before I get to the ocean, and one more when I get there. I keep taking it on 6 hour intervals for as long as I need it, usually after 1 or 2 days I don't need it anymore.

Most of my early exposure was just on weekends, but after a couple seasons of of ocean sailing I found I didn't need the drug anymore, or maybe just for the first few hours.

Probably little condolence, but as we get older our senses are less sensitive and motion sickness is less of a problem.

[Gary Matthesen]

As a retired Occupational Therapist I worked with children with sensitivity to movement along with eye control difficulty. The bottom line is...A discrepancy between visual sensory input, and inner ear vestibular input. When they contradict each other you become sick as a defense mechanism to lay in your bunk or on the cabin sole, until the discrepancy passes.
Bottom line, in a car, look out the window so you see you are in motion to correlate with your inner ear sensors. You read your phone, eyes say no movement, ears say there is ...contradiction. In the boat cabin, bulkhead door tells you things are vertical, inner ear says your tipping, contradiction.
I used to hang out in the v birth when it was raining and rough on the way to a race course. eyes closed. I would hear the engine slow down, time to get up and do foredeck. If I got up early and looked around, would get nauseous.
Some people are very sensitive to movement (vestibular) input, others are hypo sensitive, can hang in a swing, upside down and spin them with no reaction.

[Shrew]

Well.....There's really only one way to find out, isn't there?

Get yourself on a boat an see how you do.

[dickfred]

Originally Posted by warfquartz

Well, that's not good news. I knew about 'watch the horizon' and no fatty food, but as mentioned, I want to go on longer voyages. This means also fixing food and doing stuff in the boat while we're out there.

Hopefully I won't belong to the 25% of the population that never overcome it.

Does anyone know whether boats with hull windows make it easier to adjust?

Cheers.

Yes, in my experience one can maintain the horizon line orientation if one frequently looks out a window while down below.

[Boatyarddog]

Originally Posted by GreenWave

nearly 100% correlation but both can be overcome. Don't sit in back seat and/or don't read in a car. On boat, don't do those same things (going down below is "back seat"); watch the horizon not the waves.

Cannot agree, I'm never sea sick on the boat in many conditions.
But, cannot read in a car while moving.
Never sick underway below or above.

Has to do with Not seeing anything that my brain can reference a level to.
I don't try to read underway either, though never felt sick while try to look at a chart or read short paragraphs.
Some folks just have difficulty with balance.
I think someone could get used to it.
Now, coming off the boat after an extended trip or really rough conditions, if I'm in a shower or in a closed room, bathroom.
I then get a feeling of movement. Pretty pronounced, could last for 1/2 day or so.
I have heard that's the most common situation.
SV Cloud Duster