Seasickness

It would often take Franda II's crew 3 days of sailing to get their sealegs. Dad always had the worst 3 days, Mike and Kap had it the easiest. The other three family members were somewhere in between. If the weather was nice to Franda II's crew, we could ease ourselves back into finding our sealegs. The weather often had other ideas, and we would suffer some degree of seasickness.

On Dad's initial crewing position to Fiji, he learnt that tinned peaches in syrup were great for seasickness. They went down quickly, were full of energy, and, more importantly, came back up effortlessly. Moreover, they didn't need to stay down long for the stomach to get some energy from them. So, Franda II carried quite a few tins of peaches.

There was a real art in throwing up. However, once learned, it made it more comfortable for the person throwing up, the rest of the crew and Franda II herself.

First and foremost, never ever sneak below to be sick in the head. The other members of the crew would soon know anyway. Second, the bathrooms on yachts are tiny and claustrophobic. This exacerbates the sick feeling. Even if successful in making it there, closing the door, lifting the toilet lid and puking in it, "that" smell will make you feel like throwing up again.

Never spew in the sink. This will only annoy the other crew members. The chunky bits don't go down the drain. Even worse, if Franda II was on a port tack and the sink was on the low side, nothing would go down as the drain hole would be level with the ocean. So you would be left staring at it.

The chance of you being able to stay in that small, enclosed, smelly room and clean it up would be slim. So, a very unlucky crew member would be made unhappy and may spew cleaning up your mess. Franda II may even need to tack to enable the sink to drain. So yes, the crew will know you broke all the rules and snuck below.

Did I mention the smell? Well, that hangs around for a long while in an enclosed space, so everyone else wanting to use the bathroom has to contend with it. This makes for an unhappy crew. The porthole would not be opened to let in the fresh air as the sea could come in, and the spray would come in on the other tack. If it was opened and forgotten and Franda II tacked, putting the open porthole on the leeward "down" side, the boat would start filling with water. Not a good outcome. So the portholes stayed closed unless very, very calm and then the whole crew were notified.

So what to do? First, tell someone. This is important for your safety. They, in turn, would inform another crew and then accompany you out onto the Lee deck. Not to revel in your misery but to make sure you were safe. Seated on the deck with the guard rail grasped desperately in one hand and the other arm wrapped around a stanchion,, you wait. Your helper will grip your shirt tightly even though seated; you are less likely to fall overboard. The idea is to crouch low or kneel with your head resting on the top wire of the guard rail. Franda II's crew never hung their feet overboard as they would get wet from the waves and possibly be covered in vomit.

Crouched there on the lee side, the wind would be at your back so the vomit would not blow back in your face. Franda II would be heeling and the seawater close to you. Hopefully, as you watch the white water pass, feet in front of your face, you will be mesmerised and forget you feel sick. Wishful thinking!!!

So much to remember! When your mouth salivates, you put your head between the guard rails to "feed the fish". Don't lower your head too far; it tends to come out of your nose. Once your stomach empties itself, another empathetic crew member will have a glass of water ready for you to rinse and spit. Once your mouth is clean again, swallow a mouthful or two of water, even though it is the last thing you want at this point.

The only thing worse than being seasick is your stomach trying to empty itself when there is nothing in it. This can be an arduous and lengthy process as your stomach keeps contracting, trying to eliminate the contents that are not there. Sometimes, all it brings up is stomach acid, which can leave you with a sore throat. So yes, having something to bring up is much quicker and less painful.

Usually, you will feel much better when it is all over, at least for a while. However, some people don't get any relief and just feel like they are dying. This is where the peaches are fantastic. Easy down and easy up. No sore throat and a little food value. None of Franda II's crew reached that state, and the peaches were not used. Typically, one chuck over the side, and they were right. Well, until the next passage.