![]() Seventy percent of the astronauts on Space Shuttle missions experience motion sickness. Charles Darwin sailed The Beagle for five years from England to South America and New Zealand in search of new species and was seasick almost the entire time he was at sea. Seasickness is actually common aboard ocean racing sailboats, occurring within the first few days at sea. On a recent Volvo Ocean Race (where five 70-foot sailboats were racing around the world), the sail trimmer aboard Team Russia became seasick as the boat braved 50-knot winds and high seas on the approach to Cape Town, South Africa. Seasickness (also called motion sickness or mal de mer) happens to lots of people on a boat, even professionals. All of a sudden, he began to feel nauseous and within a few minutes, the owner of the boat was leaning over the side while his wife and children were fine. His wife went along to assist and for the first hour, it was the perfect afternoon the sun was warm, the winds were nil and the boat performed beautifully. He thought it would be a good experience for the two youngsters who hadn't spent a lot of time on the boat. Travelling alone and left to my own devices, I had no choice but to comfort myself, ride the waves and wait it out.Last year a trailer boat owner decided to take his children out for a few hours on Lake Michigan. I prayed I wouldn’t show up in the backdrop of their photos puking my guts out. Resentfully, I stared down anyone who came out onto the outer deck and stood next to me to take some scenic photographs while I had my face buried in a paper bag. Aside from the horrible nausea, the worst part of the ordeal was handing my full bag to a staff member in exchange for a fresh one. All I could think about was keeping my queasiness at bay and getting off that damn boat. At some point, the embarrassment of throwing up in a bag in front of others faded. In shame, we avoided making direct eye contact with one another. I couldn’t help but wonder if that’s how I looked. I took a look at the others around me – a mother consoling her sick crying daughter, a dutiful husband comforting his green faced wife. To add to my feeling of defeat, I was hit by a spray of seawater every now and then as water crashed against the side of the boat. I was handed a container of ice to suck on and a bag to throw up in as we rode the waves. This time I fessed up to a staff member and was escorted to an outside deck where all the other infirm people were segregated from the rest. Turned out not even the power of drugs could save me. Great! Right then and there I decided to take the damn motion sickness drugs. On our way back we were forewarned that the swells would be even worse. Thankfully all of the nausea subsided as we reached calmer water near the reef and I was able to enjoy a few dives. It looked like I had been burned by a hot deep frying basket. ![]() I looked down and saw the large grill marks across my shins from kneeling on a checkered mat in front of the porcelain throne. I thought I had gotten away with the perfect crime, and no one would be the wiser…until I noticed some questioning stares. After what felt like forever, I re-emerged from the tiny lavatory. I will spare you the details of what happened while I was in the washroom. I wasn’t about to become sick in front of a boat load of strangers. Do not go into the washroom!” I smile and nod, then make a beeline for the bathroom. “If you’re going to be sick, go outside, the fresh air will help. Once again I was stopped by a staff member. This was not an easy feat with the boat lurching, rocking back and forth, I could hardly steady myself on my feet. As soon as they turned their back on me, I tried to stealthily make my exit, trying to fool them by nonchalantly making my way to the washrooms. “Yes, thank you”, I responded with a weak smile. “Ma’am, are you feeling okay?” ( Shit, they were on to me!). I closed my eyes, tightened my grip on the arms of my chair and took deep breathes – I will not be sick!Ī staff member approached me. I could feel the blood draining from my face. Further warning signs began surfacing I became light headed, nauseous and got the sweats. Deep down I knew what was happening, but I refused to listen, convincing myself some inner pep talk would take care of it. Pushing through it, I reassured myself I would be just fine and that I had nothing to worry about. I felt a flutter of uneasiness in my stomach. Slowly, it began dipping down deeply then rolling back up and over the waves with what seemed like no end. After all, I have been on plenty of vessels of all types and sizes in my lifetime, never once had I been seasick before. ![]() Pfft, I won’t need one of those, I thought to myself. Motion sickness tablets were being offered to all passengers. I settled into a seat down below and watched Finding Nemo for the umpteenth time (I can’t tell you how many tourism offices played this movie in Australia!).
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