Well, I finally got the details ironed out. My dad and I are going on a halibut charter off Neah Bay in mid-May. Sure, I've been out on the big water during rough weather before, but those times have all been in ferries, which are a heck of a lot bigger boats than the charter. I don't think either of us will have a problem with seasickness, but I want to be prepared. Don't want to be the people who are puking and fishing at the same time. What's the best prevention to bring along?

Well, I think everyone has a different remedy. I was in Cabo last month and did fine out in the Pacific. I just poped a few Dramamine in the morning. If I ever start to feel ill, a nice cool breeze and drinking cold water helps me. This might sound crazy to alot of you but last year I got a little ill feeling and I leaned way back in my chair, closed my eyes and just went with the waves as the wind was blowing by. Motion sickness is caused by vestibular disorientation, where the semicircular canals of your inner ear sense motion and send that information to your brain and becomes confused by the information it is recieving from your eyes. Knowing that, I figured I could remove the visual signals my brain was recieving. Seemed to work, I didnt vomit!

Im sure fishinphysician can do a much better job of explaining this, and probably even correct me.

Anything carbonated...beer, pop, etc.

" ANYTHING CARBONATED !!! " I once blew a coca cola out my nose... I was chuming foam. I think if your the kinda person who gets sea sick.. you just gotta live in it. It kicks my ass. Not everytime, but a lot of the time. I can tell projectile puking storys that would have you chuming out of sympathy. If I take Dramamine... my puke tastes just like it. One time at Rivers Inlet, I puked so hard I thought I had ripped my guts open.. It was red. I was freaking out until my buddy reminded me that it was the red wine we had with the dinner they made us on arrival. They gave us some stuff called Bonine ?? I think anyway.. and it worked but puts you in a coma like trance that makes you want to sleep all day. Another time down in Mexico, went out on a day cruise boat with the wife. Took a little snooze and woke up puking. Some guy from Jersey is filming me blowing over the side of the boat with his cam corder. The boat got about a 100 yards from shore and I tell tell the caption... " I'm outa here "... jumped off, swam to shore.. swimming and puking at the same time.. got on the beach and walked 8 miles back to town.

Other times I am fine. I have been out on lots of boats fishing in Mexico and had no problems. However, everytime I get into the pacific ocean, no matter where, I start puking.

The last time was a couple of years ago out of Depot bay in Oregon. Went out Salmon fishing with the kids. I puked hard and long. I went up on the high deck and asked the guy running the boat whats best to keep away sea sickness. He says " next time, have the guy let you drive the boat for awhile, it takes your mind off puking "... So I said "cool, let me drive this boat"... he says " I told you next time... not my boat "... It was bad. Got back to the dock and felt somewhat better. Later back at the house we had rented on the beach, I was sitting in a lawn chair watching the surf break and it made me puke again.

I have puked on water so flat you could water ski on it... I have puked in rolling swells.. I have puked in big waves... In fact, I want to get sick just thinking about it so I better stop right now.

Geez... I think you asked how to prevent it, not what can happen. I hope someone gives you a good answer cause I'll try anything

Try some stuff called "Bonine", it's like Dramamine, but doesn't cause the drowsiness. Take along a 6 pack of Ginger Ale, that will also help fight the nausea. When fishing off of the West side if Vancouver Island many years ago with my wife, she was sick for 8 hours straight. A little Japanese woman came over to my wife and gave her a little piece of candied Ginger and told her to chew and suck on the candied Ginger. It worked great, calmed her stomach and made her feel better right away.

Kev

You guys may think I'm smoking crack or something but try putting a brown paper bag under your shirt. I work on a charter boat during the summer and a few people have done this and it has worked. The theory behind it is that the bag helps you keep your mind off track from feeling sick. There is also a little artice in Great Lakes Angler that I will try to dig up that talks about this method. First time I heard about it, I couldn't stop laughing. May sound crazy to you but its worth a shot.

*WARNING*
I am not trying to practice medicine!

I used to get terribly seasick as a teenager fishing with my dad out of Westport, so much so that I avoided saltwater for a number years. I tried scopolamine patches some years back with varying degrees of success. I didn't hurl, but if you wear a patch for a couple of days in a row, you might have a problem with double-vision and I promise you won't be able to work up enough saliva to spit! Scopolamine really dries you out. A seaman friend that crews for Foss is some of the worst conditions you can imagine passed along this tip and it works great for me. If I'm headed for big water, I start taking meclizine 2-3 days before my trip. One tablet in the morning is all there is to it. You probably know this by it's brand name Bonine or Bonamine. Ask you r pharmacist for the genaric (meclizine) and you'll get 5 times as many tablets for roughly the same price.
Another thought is talk to your doctor about compazine. I've read that they give it to the shuttle astronauts for nausea. Available by perscription only.
These techniques work not only for myself but for my wife. They have been put to the test In the Queen Charlottes, 50 miles out of Westport for albacore, 25 miles out of Tofino for kings and halibut.

Try giving your doctor a call, there are remedies available that don't involve bacon grease, anchovies and beer!

After several trips out in the Atlantic and Pacific with the same result - puking - I called the doctor for a scoklamine prescription last summer before a trip to Westport. (3 day patch behind ear)

Turned out to be a great trip. I avoided alcohol and put the patch on the night before. I did notice some dehydration and minor side effects in the moring, but overall, well worth it.

I am sure I mispelled the name above, but call your doctor, they'll set you up over the phone and call the prescription into the pharmacy.

Good Luck on your Halibut trip!

1) Stay away from alcohol
2) Stay away from greasy breakfast foods, eat cereal or fruit
3) Stay away from exhaust fumes (if possible)
4) Don't look down, watch the horizon or land
5) Bring Ginger Ale or 7-up and Saltine crackers (I've heard ginger, as mentioned above works too)
6) I don't recommend Bonine or Dramamine as I've seen both fail alot more then succeed, and they make you drowsy.
7) The new wrist watch band that sends out an electrical impulse worked well for alot of my guest last summer.
8) Their is a perscription drug (sorry, don't know the name) that I know 2 (seasicker) guides swear by.
9) If you feel it coming on get fresh air, if you need to puke, don't hold back, get it out.
10) If you do get sick, remember this, YOU WON"T DIE FROM IT.

Good luck!

I am just reading "How to Catch Trophy Halibut". In this book, the author discusses a prescription med (I forgetthe name right now) and ephedrine? Both in 25 mg doses.

Of course you will need to consult your doctor first and to get the perscription, but he swears it works!

I will post the name of the prescription later.

I'd say don't go out with B-run. I've only been sick once in my life as a kid I sat where the diesel blew in my face going over a particularly rough Westport bar. But I've been in 20 foot swells in a skiff and had a blast watching land, no land, land, no land....(feeling Ok B-run?).
I've also heard ginger works but you'd think it would taste awful. The worst is if one person on the boat gets sick then it seems to spread. Don't look at a sick person.
Speaking of B-run....my dad and I were on a neighbors Westport charter 30 years ago and there was an old man with a cheese sandwich in one hand and the other hand he'd use to pull his false teeth out to puke, put the dripping teeth back in and take a bite out of the cheese sandwich. Now watching this guy we both almost lost it. I felt like just throwing him overboard and ending his misery. And for me beer is the best on a real rough day.

Too funny !!! land, no land, land, no land... thats about enough right there.

Last time at Depot bay the fish boy was whacking Silvers over the head with a lead pipe to kill them... I asked him to please hit me with it just once to knock me out.. he said he got that same request at least once a day.

That was a funny story! You probably puke when you flush the toilet, or take a shower, huh? LOL!

I'm one of those SOB's that just has never experienced sea sickness yet. The times that I have known I'll be in big seas, I'll just take a couple dramamine, and I'm all set.

I had a blast out in the 6-8' seas of the Pacific in Cabo in December!

Although, I did managed to ride out the tail end of a typhoon in 20' "angry" seas and sunk our 22' dive skiff. Out of 16 people on the main boat, only 4 of us didn't get sick, and that was me, the captain, 2nd in command, and one dude from California.

Makes for a funny story - especially the photo of my wife, after 5 hours of hugging the toilet! Feel free to read the adventure!

http://staff.washington.edu/parker/scuba/reviews/porthardy.html

I was never seasick until the last couple of years, started taking medicine for acid reflux and my tummy aint what it used to be!
I do alot of the things mentioned above, avoid the greasy breakfast, watch the horizon, etc... I have found that go old peptobismol works pretty good as a preventative. I take the caplettes cause I really don't like the taste of the liquid or chewables. I also try to do as much as possible to keep busy. I will set all the downriggers, pull all the gear when there is a fish on, wash the deck, gut the fish, play with the gps or finder, anything to keep busy. I also make sure to stay up wind of anyone who is seasick, nothing like a little wiff to get you started.
Last of all, have a thick hide. Your buddies will raz ya, the other people on the boat you may not know will treat you like you have SARS, the bait boy will giggle and the captain will roll his eyes and shake his head, but WHO CARES! To HE double hockey sticks with all of 'em. Have fun, puke if ya need to and make sure you track every mess up your buddies make for a year so you have some ammo when the feathers fly!

Along with some of the other suggestions, I would add that you should stay out of the head if you possibly can. I've known a couple people who have gone out with me that were feeling a little queasy, but managing to maintain, but just lost it after going to the head. Something about being in that small, closed space with no moving air that just put them over the edge.

Then who will I make fun of???

I like to wait until its obvious they are gonna spew, then pick up a herring, and bite it in half! It works every time! Another great trick is to bleed your fish into the piss bucket, take a leak in it, and dump the contents overboard in front of someone who's going to lose it. Usually if you complain about the stinging while your pi$$ing adds to the effect.

I usually run about 80% sick in my boat at Neah bay, I cant figure out why they keep asking to go again!

I'm a puker--bad! In fact I wish I did as good as B-run on the water!

That being said, last fall I wore the electrical shock bracelet to Buoy 10. On the first day, the water was pretty wavey but not super bad. We fished right out at the buoy and I did fine!! First time I've been able to fish out at the buoy--most of the time we have to fish near the shore.

On the second day, the water was much worse. Huge swells. Up....Down....Up....Down....it was yucky. Again, we fished out at the buoy and I was a little queezy, but managing pretty good. Then the batteries died on my zapper thingy!! I had extras, but it took me 15 minutes to find them--looking through a couple boxes with my head down. Anyway, I got the thing up and running again, but I felt awful the rest of the day. I never puked though.

I am going back this year. I have a lot of confidence in that zapper. Many people have told me that it's just a mental thing, but I don't care! If it works, it works! Got mine at Camping World or something like that (near Sportco).

I've had to deal with motion sickness my entire life,boats,planes,cars makes no difference,if it moves it can make me sick.

Follow the advice of Akkings. I'll add coffee to his list of things to avoid,the acid in coffee will turn your stomach insideout real quick.

When using dramamine or bonine take one tablet the night before,one after waking up and one just after boarding. Neither works after sickness sets in.

Transderm Scop,scopolamine, patches have been the remedy for me. I've been able to function,most times,while other people have been sick. The past 20 patches have worked 18 times. Side effects are minimal outdoors but drowsiness is a problem once out of the fresh air. The patch must be put in place the night before. I've combined the patch with one bonine pill in the morning when conditions looked bad.

NASA has used a combination of scopolamine and dextramphetamine for astronauts prone to motion sickness. I asked a druggist at Fred Meyer about this and he has filled this prescription.

I'll try almost anything in order to have a day of ocean fishing.

Some of you guys 'crack me up'. Shall we say 'old wives tales' or medieval cures!

NASA and the Air Force have spent millions looking for motion sickness remedies ..

BRunsteely, you're an Idaho flatlander, that's why you don't have sea legs ..
(just kidding) I've been there too. When I shipped home from Korea I was barfing before the ship left the dock in Pusan, and never stopped for 15 days until we reached Seattle. I lost 20 lbs and survived on water and soda crackers...(that's a tough diet)
Boy did my abdominal muscles get firm -- for years after I could stick my finger down my throat and upchuck with no physical discomfort..

Disclaimer -- I'm no expert but have researched these seasick remedies.........use at yopur own risk

Batin/Rudnick 2 hrs before departure -- 25mg Promethazine (antihistamine perscription) + 25 mg Ephedrine over counter decongestant--- suposedly neg effects block one another.

Scopalamine patch (dont use for long periods of time or you may become addicted) don't ask how I know --- a smart Dr. weened me off -- I was getting motion sick on dry land without a patch !!

Scope patch + meclazine (from Ifish thread)

.5 mg dextroamphetamine + .04 mg scopalamine --need a Dr. perscription (Ifish thread)

Capt. Kujo on Ifish has NASA report......

Lots of luck -- I'll be trying one of these come Hali season------god but I hate those swells !!
(flat or otherwise)
My buddies, who can't walk straight and chew gum at the same time never get seasick -- So I guess the better your coordination is the more likely you are to be afflicted. :p

Getting some good advice and ideas I have not heard of. So how come it never happens to me on fresh water lakes ?? I have been out in some rough lakes.. Not huge waves but ones that would for sure have me thunder chumming in the salt. If its just the motion that does it, I would think I would have a hard time in the bath tub. I say its got something to do with the smell of the ocean ( mostly the pacific )... I get to the dock and see some kelp.. then take a good long wiff and I'm well on my way to an extended fluid drain fiesta. I was telling one of the fishing buds about this post. He says you could hide the secret of life from me on bouy 10 and I would have no chance of finding it.. I don't go with them when they head over to Westport etc because I know what will happen.

Is the secret of life out at bouy 10 ??? I think I am going to put on a patch, stuff my shirt with a paper bag, wear an electric shocker and go see this summer... or not