Do you experience mal de mer when you’re at sea, fighting the rolling waves?
How about when you’re sitting on a boat that’s tied up to the dock? Or when you’re ashore, watching boats in the distance bob in the water?
Seasickness is a wicked, nasty thing that steals pleasure from sailor wannabes.
If you want to stand firm on the deck, no matter the seas, or even sit on a sailboat at anchor, we have some tips for you to help you enjoy your time on the water.
- Find the horizon and keep your eyes fixed on it. You want what your inner ear is feeling and what your eyes are seeing to be in alignment. By noting the steadiness of the horizon and the waves, the bobbing feeling makes sense to your brain.
- Put on your ReliefBand about 20 minutes prior to boarding, and keep it on. The pressure it applies sends signals that disrupt the nausea you typically feel when on a boat.
- Stay near the middle of the boat – the rocking is less severe there.
- Believe it or not, going below to lie down helps. But you need to keep your eyes closed so that your body isn’t feeling the rocking while your eyes are looking at stationary walls. You want what you feel and what you see to be the same, or to at least make sense.
- Eat a little something now and then, and drink a bit of water as well. It helps to keep a bit of bland food in the tummy.
Start out with baby steps. If you feel queasy just looking at boats from the shore, then follow the tips and see if they help. If they do, then next time try sitting on a boat at anchor, and if you’re OK there, then the next time go on a short sail or cruise.
You can conquer this!
Image courtesy of flickr/alwaysshooting
