Where does seasickness come from?
It comes from a mismatch between what your inner ear feels and what your eyes see. To remove the cause, you need to bring the two back into line. Helming — concentrating on your sensations and on anticipating how the boat will go through the waves — is precisely what restores that agreement between sight and balance.
What makes it worse
The French speak of the “5 Fs”: hunger, cold, tiredness, fear and thirst (faim, froid, fatigue, frousse, soif). So be well prepared: eat, stay warm, rest, drink. Fear is a very important factor — the first rule is therefore to go sailing with a skipper you trust!
What helps on board
- Move to the middle of the boat: that is where the motion is smallest.
- Watch the sea and anticipate the boat’s movements.
- Take the helm, to bring sight and balance back into line.
- Ginger, which helps against nausea: chew ginger, as Chinese sailors do.
- Acupressure wristbands, which press on a point on the wrist (three fingers’ width from the hand), or anti-seasickness glasses, whose frames contain a liquid that shows the horizon.
- Earplugs: shutting off one sense may help.
- Our own contribution, tested successfully over a whole season: listen to music! We have no very scientific explanation, but it works, with no negative side effects noted so far. Bring the music you like and earphones.
And then there is getting used to it: day by day, you find your sea legs.
What about medicines?
There are medicines for travel sickness, some available on prescription only. They can have side effects, drowsiness in particular. Ask your doctor or pharmacist for advice before the course.
