Crew care and watchkeeping Seasickness


Seasickness is a truly debilitating infirmity which affects most people to some extent. Numerous proprietary remedies are available, most of which help somebody some of the time, but none is universally efficacious. Commenting on these lies beyond the scope of this manual, except to say that whatever is chosen, it is vital to read the instructions. The tablets preferred by the writer’s crew seem to work very well indeed, but only if the ‘course’ begins 24 hours before hitting the first rough water. The fact sheet supplied with the medication recommends this, yet many of those for whom it does not seem to be successful wait until they feel queasy before opening the pillbox.


Regardless of medicines, patches and the like, certain well-tried measures can be counted upon, if not to cure the malady, at least to help the patient to carry on living. Staying in the fresh air or going below In the face of things it would appear self-evident that going below to deal with some task is not a good idea if you are feeling ‘on the edge’. Many a skipper has managed well enough


until attending to the chart-table chores; volunteer cooks have fared even worse. Staying on deck or at least in the cockpit is therefore a sound plan, but only up to a point. The trouble is, exposure to the weather ultimately adds to the seasickness and creates a nasty combination. Listlessness follows and a point can be reached when victims seem hardly to care whether they are alive or dead. Sending sufferers to their bunks with a large bucket before this state is reached is a primary duty of any skipper. Once their head is down, most people recover to a limited extent and sleep is a great healer. There is no need to undress for we are not at home. Better a bunk made damp by wet oilskins than a sailor pushed over the brink by trying to get ready for bed. It’s ‘down the hatch and straight to the horizontal mode’ for seasick sailors off watch. Other contributory factors On a longer passage, most people recover from seasickness within three or four days, sometimes less. Knowing this can help one to muscle through the dismal period, but while you are seasick, it’s vital to pace yourself, avoid tasks you know will set you off, and spend as much time as possible in the bunk. You’ll feel better for a while after being sick, this is the time


Keep the crew well briefed. 124 | MANUAL OF SEAMANSHIP


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90  |  Page 91  |  Page 92  |  Page 93  |  Page 94  |  Page 95  |  Page 96  |  Page 97  |  Page 98  |  Page 99  |  Page 100  |  Page 101  |  Page 102  |  Page 103  |  Page 104  |  Page 105  |  Page 106  |  Page 107  |  Page 108  |  Page 109  |  Page 110  |  Page 111  |  Page 112  |  Page 113  |  Page 114  |  Page 115  |  Page 116  |  Page 117  |  Page 118  |  Page 119  |  Page 120  |  Page 121  |  Page 122  |  Page 123  |  Page 124  |  Page 125  |  Page 126  |  Page 127  |  Page 128  |  Page 129  |  Page 130  |  Page 131  |  Page 132  |  Page 133  |  Page 134  |  Page 135  |  Page 136  |  Page 137  |  Page 138  |  Page 139  |  Page 140  |  Page 141  |  Page 142  |  Page 143  |  Page 144  |  Page 145  |  Page 146  |  Page 147  |  Page 148  |  Page 149  |  Page 150  |  Page 151  |  Page 152  |  Page 153  |  Page 154  |  Page 155  |  Page 156  |  Page 157  |  Page 158  |  Page 159  |  Page 160  |  Page 161  |  Page 162  |  Page 163  |  Page 164  |  Page 165  |  Page 166  |  Page 167  |  Page 168  |  Page 169  |  Page 170  |  Page 171  |  Page 172