Overcoming (or coping with) Seasickness

I just started graduate school in oceanography, with this trip to the Antarctic being my first extensive experience at sea. I knew before I came that I was prone to seasickness from a brief previous cruise, but hoped that wouldn’t be the case here, where I would be on a giant icebreaker in the “calm” waters found in the Ross Sea. Alas, my inner ear proved to be extra in-tune, and I turned out to be susceptible to seasickness in even the mildest of conditions.

On the first day at sea on the Palmer, I woke up with confidence, telling myself that I was going to beat this. To do this, I decided that the first thing I should do is go up to the bridge to pre-emptively watch the horizon before my seasickness could even begin. Bad idea. As I sat at the bridge, one of the highest—and thus least stable—points of the boat, and stared intently at the lurching horizon, my head began to get heavy and my stomach started to churn. I knew at that point that I was doomed.

Sarah showing signs of seasickness on the bridge. Photo credit: A. Lee, at the expense of losing her breakfast shortly after taking this photo.

The head (bathroom) closest to the galley, which Sarah has gotten to know quite well. Photo credit: A. Margolin.

I spent the next several days learning oceanography fieldwork while battling seasickness, which I think is best described as doing science while feeling simultaneously the worst kind of drunk, yet incredibly hung over. I grew accustomed to the feeling, all the while trying a series of normal and sometimes bizarre seasickness remedies that I’ve collected this past week. These include:

·  Chilean saltines

·  Pickles (surprisingly not bad)

·  Caffeine

·  Avoid caffeine

·  Raw ginger

·  Ginger candy

·  Rice and lentils

·  A natural herb oil placed behind my ear

·  Holding my thumb

·  Acupuncture bracelets

·  Exercise

·  Apple juice

·  Seltzer water

·  Saying “f*** it all” and taking a bite of a peanut butter fudge brownie. Worth it? Definitely.

The stash of the seasickness remedies that Sarah has stored next to her workstation in the hydro lab. Photo credit: A. Margolin.

From my time at sea so far and this eclectic mix of seasickness treatments, I’ve grown some less shaky sea legs (I hope). One other remedy I heard was from the captain himself, recited from an old sailor he knew: “Two ounces of whiskey, a beer, a raw egg, and tomato juice.” Didn’t try that one. Maybe I’ll save it for crossing the Drake Passage.

Sea spray, caused by rough seas and strong winds, creates a small rainbow in Terra Nova Bay. Photo credit: A. Lee.

–Sarah