Although your pleasure boat can provide you with a smooth ride, you might encounter choppy conditions if you venture out to sea in pursuit of sport fishing. In extreme chop, even the most seasoned of sailors can suffer from seasickness. Here are some tips on how to keep your tummy settled, even in the liveliest of waters.
What Causes Seasickness?
Before attempting to cure or prevent seasickness, it’s helpful to understand what causes it. The human ear contains tiny balance organs that are affected by the pitch and roll of the boat as it rides the waves.
This unpredictable and random movement causes the ear to send alarm signals to your brain, which in turn cause feelings of dizziness, nausea, and headaches. This unpleasant condition can be exacerbated by enforced confinement in an enclosed space and a lack of fresh air.
All this can add up to a very unpleasant voyage and a ruined family day out or sport fishing trip.
How to Tackle Seasickness
Thankfully, your body can adjust over time to a life on the ocean wave, and feelings of seasickness sometimes disappear by themselves. However, in the meantime, there are some effective remedies that you can try.
There are a number of seasickness pills that can be obtained over the counter in your local chemist’s shop. These remedies work by mildly sedating the ear’s balancing organs, but they can make you drowsy, so don’t take these if you are the one who will be piloting your craft.
If seasickness is a real problem for you, it may be worth asking your doctor about special wristbands or patches. These work by slowly releasing a drug into your system through your skin that combats the effects of the motion sickness that you may encounter while at sea. Even though you might not feel like eating or drinking, it is very important that you keep yourself adequately hydrated, as dehydration can make the symptoms of seasickness much worse. Just try to keep sipping cool, fresh water, rather than downing a whole glassful that could overload your already upset system.
If all else fails, try lying down for a while with your eyes closed, close to a supply of sea sickness bags just in case! This is usually pretty effective, especially if you can find a safe, shady spot above decks in the fresh air. To stock up on sea sickness bags and other marine supplies, contact the helpful team at Offshore Supply.