Seasickness

Seasickness is the bane of all scuba divers. Here are a number of preventatives:

Chinese Medicine - pressure points in the wrist that are supposed to relieve the effects of seasickness. I don't believe it.

Dramamine - to be effective, this must be taken the night before, as well as again in the morning. It is not effective on all people, and some actually get worse. There is no harm in doubling the dose if you are very worried.

Eat Right - avoid greasy rich foods and excessive amounts of coffee and sugary/acidy fruit drinks. Do eat something though, an empty stomach can be even worse. Cereals, toast, bagels, etc are good things to eat before a dive trip. Bring some extra along -saltines and pretzels are excellent for settling a stomach ( see below. ) Water is the best drink - don't get dehydrated! Get enough rest before the trip, and needless to say, avoid alcohol.

Sea Legs - just get used to it. The more time you spend out at sea on boats, the less prone you will be to seasickness. On the first trip of the season I am often a little queasy, and after that, I'm fine in all but the worst seas. Don't give up after one bad experience, it may take several trips, but most people eventually get used to being at sea.

So none of these things worked - some ways to make yourself feel better:

Throw up - yes that's right, go back to the transom of the boat and let it go. Throwing up is a release for your body, and you will feel much better afterward. No one will make fun of you ( because we've all done it, ) unless you throw up on the deck, in which case the crew may be upset. Drink water afterward to rehydrate. Dry heaves are worse than anything, so if you have to, eat something just so you can throw it up.

Get some air - go outside and breathe. Get away from closed spaces, the boat's head ( toilet ), food smells, cigarette smoke, and engine fumes. Lying in a bunk below is much more miserable than being outside; the air is usually the best on the bow. Try to stand on your feet and watch the clouds and the horizon - they move least. The closer you are to the water, the less apparent the rocking motion of the boat will be.

Dive - if you are not feeling too bad and can fight your way into your suit and gear and fall overboard, you will feel worlds better by the time you get down to 20 ft ( you may hurl in your regulator, but that's ok, they're built for it - just swish it around to rinse it out. ) If you still feel bad once you have been in the water for a few minutes, then abort the dive, but it is much better to be enjoying yourself on a dive than nauseous topside waiting for the trip to end.

Some boats are better for seasickness than others. Different hulls move differently in the water and may affect you differently. Most people do better on bigger boats, but not all. Wide heavy wooden boats with full keels are generally the most stable, while lighter fiberglass and metal boats tend to move more. Round-bottom boats are very rolly, especially when the wind blows them broadside to the waves. Fast planing hulls can give a much rougher ride than slower displacement hulls, but they also get you out and back faster. If you have a problem with seasickness, try a number of different boats, and find the ones that agree with you and the ones that don't.

Of course, if you really can't cope, you can always take up cave diving.


Sandy Hook / Rockaway Inlet Chart

  1. Barge #10
  2. 120 Wreck
  3. 3 Sisters
  4. Ambrose Buoy
  5. A Street - Shark River
  6. Acara
  7. Across
  8. Adele
  9. Ajace
  10. Alex Mac
  11. Allenhurst Jetty
  12. Antioch
  13. Arnoff
  14. Arundo
  15. Asfalto
  16. Aurora
  17. Ayuruoca
  18. BA Wreck
  19. Shark River - Back Bay
  20. Balaena
  21. Bald Eagle
  22. BD1738
  23. USS Benson
  24. Beth Dee Bob
  25. Blue Boy
  26. Bronx Queen
  27. Bug Light
  28. Charles Dunlap
  29. Cecilia M Dunlap
  30. Catherine Jackson
  31. Chauncy Jerome
  32. Cornelia Soule
  33. Choapa
  34. coal (Lido)
  35. Continent
  36. crane barge
  37. Daghestan
  38. Dragger
  39. drydock
  40. Dryland
  41. Edwin Duke / Stone Barge
  42. dump
  43. Dutch Springs
  44. Edmund Phinney
  45. East Rockaway Inlet
  46. Ed's Schooner
  47. Elberon Rocks
  48. Eureka
  49. Finance
  50. Fort Victoria
  51. German
  52. GL78
  53. Glen II
  54. I.P. Goulandris
  55. Gypsy
  56. Horseshoe Cove
  57. Alexander Hamilton
  58. Howard
  59. Iberia
  60. Immaculata
  61. Inshore Schooner
  62. Jack I
  63. Joan La Rie III
  64. Jones Inlet
  65. Jones Tug
  66. Klondike Rocks
  67. Larsen
  68. Lizzie D
  69. Long Branch locomotives
  70. Logwood
  71. H.W. Long
  72. Macedonia
  73. Mahogany
  74. Malta
  75. Manasquan Inlet
  76. Margaret
  77. Marion
  78. Mistletoe
  79. R.C. Mohawk
  80. Manasquan Wreck
  81. Nautilus
  82. Navesink River
  83. Northeast Sailor
  84. New Reef
  85. New Deal
  86. New Era
  87. HMS Pentland Firth
  88. Long Branch Pier Rubble
  89. Pinta
  90. Pipe Barge
  91. Pliny
  92. Plymouth
  93. Pocopson
  94. Princess Anne
  95. Ruth Shaw
  96. Robert A Snow
  97. Ramos
  98. Ranger
  99. Relief Lightship
  100. Rickseckers
  101. Rjukan
  102. Rockaway Inlet
  103. Rockaway Belle
  104. Round Valley
  105. Roy's barge
  106. Rudder Wreck - Pocono
  107. Rusland / Adonis
  108. Scotland Buoy
  109. Sandy Hook Pilot Boat
  110. SC-60
  111. Sea Girt Inlet
  112. Sea Girt Wreck
  113. Shark River Inlet
  114. Shrewsbury Rocks
  115. Spring Lake Sailor
  116. Steel Wreck
  117. Stolt Dagali
  118. Sylvanus
  119. Tampa III
  120. USS Turner
  121. AWOIS 8087
  122. AWOIS 8097
  123. u11
  124. AWOIS 7509
  125. AWOIS 7932
  126. AWOIS 9768
  127. AWOIS 12966/11422
  128. AWOIS 1609
  129. AWOIS 8084
  130. AWOIS 7940
  131. AWOIS 7938
  132. AWOIS 8076
  133. AWOIS 4600
  134. AWOIS 8075
  135. Valerie E
  136. Vega
  137. Warrior
  138. Delaware River Water Gap
  139. Western World
  140. Edward W Winslow
  141. Edward W Winslow