Crossing the Indian Ocean - Mauritius to Durban Days 1-2

durban mileage 1605

Day 1 Beginning mileage:  1605 nm

No matter how ready we are to leave, we're never really ready till we're casting off the lines. There always seems to be a hectic rush doing all those last minute things that need to get done.

We were up at dawn making Skype calls to family, letting them know we were heading out and wouldn't be calling for a couple of weeks. David washed down the decks as they were filthy with Port Louis dust and grime; then he filled the water tanks. We plugged in everything to charge while we still had shore power...iPads, camera batteries, toothbrush, Davids razor.

I was busy in the galley. Chicken and rice passage soup, a coffee cake, extra rice for a rice salad in a day or two. I sent last minute emails and blog posts and posted on Facebook. Last minute cleaning and trash disposal. We took showers...our last good, hot showers for a couple of weeks.

We walked down to the market to spend our last Mauritian rupees on bread and fruit. We did an excellent job ... not a rupee left. Last, but not least, we headed to the Customs and Immigration office to check out of the country and get our clearance papers for Durban, South Africa. We had one hour to return to the marina and get out of Dodge. We were ready.

We sprung off the dock. David torque-turned Cups in the narrow channel while I coiled lines and stowed fenders.Ten minutes out into the harbor, an alarm went off. The starboard battery was overcharging. We pulled off to the side of the channel, dropped the anchor quickly and killed the engine. David sussed out the problem and corrected it immediately. He'd just equalized the batteries and a switch had been left in the wrong position. We were on our way again within the hour.

The S-SE winds we were expecting ended up being light noserlies ... from the WSW and right on the nose ... just like the swell. We motored for a few hours, frustrated with Neptune's pranks, but there wasn't much we could do about it. By1800, we had cleared the end of the island and the wind was a bit more southerly allowing us a tight point of sail. We were close-hauled,  but at least we were sailing.

We dined on passage soup and Saltines and settled in to our watch schedule.

Day2 Miles to go:  1491 nm (at 10am - 19 hour day)

Not much writing was done after we began our night watches. The wind picked up, the waves grew. We were still close-hauled, hard on the wind. We were heeled over, the starboard rails swallowed up by the sea. First came the slight headache, then the nausea, then seasickness like we'd not experienced in quite awhile. The puking onto the side deck, can't catch your breath, it would be okay to die now kind of seasickness. Nothing stayed down...not water or meds.  We heaved till our stomachs ached and our throats were raw. It was an endless night of long, cold watches accentuated by retching and nausea and dizziness. And then, the night faded into day, the seas calmed, the winds backed to the SE and we regained our sea legs. Another of Neptune's little tests.

As I write, we're both feeling much better, thank you very much. It's always worse when it's happening, and not as bad in retrospect although we'd prefer not to relive it any time soon.

Making slow but forward progress. Hoping to arrive in Durban in time to celebrate Thanksgiving.

Continue on our Indian Ocean crossing.

It's Not Easy Being Green - Mal de Mer

Here's an older post from 2013 which is most appropriate for our Indian Ocean Passage. We've made a few minor modifications, but in general, all the info still holds.  

Call it what you will … mal de mer, mareado, seasickness, it's very real and it's a problem for many sailors. We've heard from many folks who say “I'd love to do what you're doing, but I get seasick.” Well, join the club … after 14 years aboard, so do we... still! Our recent passage from Geraldton to Cocos Keeling Islands confirmed that we haven't “outgrown” it. It certainly doesn't prevent us from sailing, but we do what we can to minimize the problem.

We've read that there are three states of seasickness:

1. You're afraid you'll get sick

2. You're afraid you're going to die

3. You're afraid you won't die

I get a kick out of people who don't ever get seasick and who assume that people who do have a choice in the matter. If you will it to go away, it will. Trust me, it doesn't. I'd certainly prefer not to deal with it, but as determined as I am about not getting sick, it still happens sometime.

Early on, we thought we'd just grin and bear it. After one particularly bad trip, however, when we not only thought we'd die, but we were hoping we'd die, we decided that perhaps we should investigate and come up with some relief. We started with crystallized ginger. I loved it, but it really didn't do anything to calm my queasy stomach and subsequent heaving. David hated it and now associates all ginger products with seasickness.

We've tried wrist bands and patches which don't seem to have much of an effect at all on us. We've tried over-the-counter pharmaceuticals, but they leave us very drowsy (even the non-drowsy formulae) and still sick. So far, the best we've come up with is Stugeron (generic: cinnarizine) which is a prescription drug. Last we checked, it was not available in the USA or Canada. It's an anti-histamine, anti-vertigo drug which is used regularly in the treatment of nausea. We were able to purchase it in the Caribbean and in South America and South Africa without a prescription and a friend in Uruguay has supplied us ever since. We take a small dosage (15-20mg) the night before we leave on a passage and then twice a day after that until we feel the seasickness has passed. It works. There is some drowsiness, but definitely not enough to impair our ability to stand watch or do whatever is necessary to handle the boat. The best thing about it is that we can take it even after we're seasick (assuming we can hold it down) and it starts taking effect rather quickly.

In our particular cases, we usually recover from the symptoms in 1-2 days and once we have our sea legs, we're fine. With the experience of knowing that we'll get better eventually, it's easier to handle the seasickness at the time. I'd hate to think of what I would have missed in our years aboard Nine of Cups, if I'd let seasickness get the better of me.

All this said, different drugs work differently for different people. We are not taking any other meds at all. There may be contraindications taking Stugeron with other medications or in certain medical conditions, e.g. pregnancy. We sail dry, ie we do not drink any alcohol while on passage. Definitely read up and consult a physician if you have any questions.

What are your experiences with seasickness? What works for you? Share!

FAQ - Do you get seasick? If so, what do you do about it?

 

Call it what you will … mal de mer, mareado, seasickness, it's very real and it's a problem for many sailors. We've heard from many folks who say “I'd love to do what you're doing, but I get seasick.” Well, join the club … after 13 years aboard, so do we... still! A recent passage from Portland to Adelaide confirmed that we haven't “outgrown” it. It certainly doesn't prevent us from sailing, but we do what we can to minimize the problem.

We've read that there are three states of seasickness:

1. You're afraid you'll get sick

2. You're afraid you're going to die

3. You're afraid you won't die

I get a kick out of people who don't ever get seasick and who assume that people who do have a choice in the matter. If you will it to go away, it will. Trust me, it doesn't. I'd certainly prefer not to deal with it, but as determined as I am about not getting sick, it still happens sometimes.

Early on, we thought we'd just grin and bear it. After one particularly bad trip, however, when we not only thought we'd die, but we were hoping we'd die, we decided that perhaps we should investigate and come up with some relief. We started with crystallized ginger. I loved it, but it really didn't do anything to calm my queasy stomach and subsequent heaving. David hated it and now associates all ginger products with seasickness.

We've tried wrist bands and patches which don't seem to have much of an effect at all on us. We've tried over-the-counter pharmaceuticals, but they leave us very drowsy (even the non-drowsy formula) and still sick. So far, the best we've come up with is Stugeron (generic: cinnarizine) which is a prescription drug. Last we checked, it was not available in the USA or Canada. It's an anti-histamine, anti-vertigo drug which is used regularly in the treatment of nausea. We were able to purchase it in the Caribbean and in South America and South Africa without a prescription and a friend has supplied us ever since. We take a small dosage (15-20mg) the night before we leave on a passage and then twice a day after that until we feel the seasickness has passed. It works. There is some drowsiness, but definitely not enough to impair our ability to stand watch or do whatever is necessary to handle the boat. The best thing about it is that we can take it even after we're seasick (assuming we can hold it down) and it starts taking effect rather quickly.

In our particular cases, we usually recover from the symptoms in 1-2 days and once we have our sea legs, we're fine. With the experience of knowing that we'll get better eventually, it's easier to handle the seasickness at the time. I'd hate to think of what I would have missed in our years aboard Nine of Cups, if I'd let seasickness get the better of me.

All this said, different drugs work differently on different people. We are not taking any other meds at all. There may be contraindications taking Stugeron with other medications or in certain medical conditions, e.g. pregnancy. Definitely read up and consult a physician if you have any questions.

What are your experiences with seasickness? What works for you? Share!

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