All those glorious visions of lazy summer days spent sailing the water never come with the reality that seasickness can strike at any point. As someone who has been on many boats and never been seasick in her life, I was blissfully unaware one Friday morning while boarding an Adventure Bay Charters boat in Port Lincoln that I would fall victim to the deadly seasickness.
It was unfortunate for me that particular day was very windy and choppy, and those conditions combined with the three-and-a-half hour ride to Neptune Island spelled disaster.
I wouldn’t wish this illness on anyone, however if you find yourself in a similar predicament this summer, I’ve put together a list of seven things to do help ease seasickness.
Stare at the horizon
Or at least, that’s what people kept telling me. Over and over again, like the constant churning of the boat (and my stomach). Staring at the horizon might help take your mind off the fact you’re on a boat that hates the fact you’re using it for a ride and as revenge is trying viciously to kill you via nausea.
Have good friends play you tunes
I was lucky enough to be sitting with some lads who always brought the party with them, and more specifically, brought a portable speaker. If you’re suffering from seasickness, do as I did and make friends with the party people early on so when you’re in trouble they’ll help ease your woes with the sweet, dulcet tones of The Weeknd or someone.
Eat a Zooper Dooper
No seriously, this is a golden piece of advice. The crew on board Adventure Bay Charters that day were extraordinarily kind and helpful to land whales like me and informed me that eating a Zooper Dooper genuinely helps ease seasickness. They were also good enough to provide me with Zooper Doopers, as delicious icy-poles are unfortunately not things I often carry around in my bag. I have absolutely no idea why this worked, but it helped calm my stormy stomach for a bit.
Sit on the highest deck you can
Hell, sit on top of the mast if you can get up there. The higher you are on the boat and the more fresh air you’re getting, the better you’ll feel. The whipping winds and salty sea-spray will feel like a blessing compared to the battering about of your stomach below deck.
Do not hide in the toilet
More often than not, the toilet is below deck. If you think you can hide in a tiny, cramped room in the depth of the ship and avoid admitting to people you’re seasick, think again. The crazed motions you were experiencing that made you seasick in the first place are guaranteed to be intensified ten-fold in that cubicle.
Loudly tell everyone you are seasick
This has a number of benefits. The more you complain, the less likely people are to hang around you and the more likely it is you might be blessed by the sweet, sweet relief of sleep. If you complain loads people are also less likely to try and convince you it’s all in your head and you should probably just come and join in on various activities with the rest of the crew. No Janet, I do not want to play ‘Go Fish’ with you, it’s not funny you’re playing ‘Go Fish’ on a boat, please take your cards and yourself and leave me to RIP.
Take seasickness tablets
Finally, we’ve come to the most obvious solution of all: just take some bloody seasickness tablets. Even if you’ve never been seasick in your life, if you’re even remotely nervous about getting seasick take some tablets half an hour before you board. Once you’re on the boat and getting seasick it’s too late for the tablets to work, so just admit you’re a measly landlubber, take some tablets and get on with enjoying the rest of your day.
To read about all the amazing activities Mel did on Friday while I was seasick and find out what we got up to on the rest of our trip with the incredible Adventure Bay Charters, head over to our other article here.
