Asleep on Watch

[Kenomac]

Originally Posted by StuM

I don't


I'm with Ann - Stugeron (available OTC here in PNG) is my preferred medication.

Sturgeron isn’t available in the US or Canada. Here we have Meclizine for motion sickness which doesn’t cause the drowsiness associated with Stugeron and dramamine. Zofran and compazine are antiemetics, not the same as antihistamines. Look ‘em up.

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by Kenomac

Sturgeron isn’t available in the US or Canada. Here we have Meclizine for motion sickness which doesn’t cause the drowsiness associated with Stugeron and dramamine. Zofran and compazine are antiemetics, not the same as antihistamines. Look ‘em up.

Well, Meclizine may not make you drowsy Ken, but it sure does make me drowsy. I once had to abandon a single hand ocean race (SF to Drakes Bay and back) because I stupidly took a second tab (recommended dose 1 or 2) because the potato patch got my mal de mer going, and I was falling asleep at the tiller in mid day. Couldn't even make it back to my marina... dropped a hook at Angel Island and crashed for 8 hours. Embarrassing! And Stugeron does NOT make either Ann or I sleepy at all, so your advice above is wrong, at least for the two of us, and it works far better than Meclizine.

Jim

[Kenomac]

Enough. Everyone please just take whatever your stomach desires. Good luck, I’m moving on from this previously dead thread.

[jtsailjt]

I’ve used scopolamine patches for the first couple of days while I become acclimated and it seems to work well without putting me to sleep but it destroys my near vision to the point where info on a chart or a radar scope or chartplotter is almost unreadable. Plus, it gives me the worst cotton mouth ever. So, even though the directions say to not do it in order to prevent accidentally getting the scopolamine in your eyes, I cut a patch in half, apply it behind my ear, and then put a piece of tape over it and that seems to give me its benefit without the bad side effects. Certainly not a perfect solution so that’s why I’m interested in the other medications being discussed.

[nhschneider]

In the last seven-and-a-half years of cruising, my wife and my watch schedule has evolved. We no longer set fixed times to be on or off watch. Sometimes I can go six hours and still feel alert while sometimes I can’t keep my eyes open after four hours. Neither of us want someone on watch who is exhausted, regardless of what a watch schedule dictates. Now, the person off watch can sleep as deeply as they can without being concerned about being late for their scheduled time: they will be woken when the other person needs to be relieved. It works for us.

Our rules about activities while on watch are pretty liberal. We don’t care what someone does as long as they do a complete 360° visual inspection at least once every eight minutes. If a person wants to close their eyes for seven minutes and fifty-nine seconds, fine, but you cannot do it for a second longer. If you doubt that you could wake yourself up in seven minutes and fifty-nine seconds, then don’t close your eyes at all.

Fair winds and calm seas.