Sea sickness is mostly bad, but not only!

Sea sickness is one of the most terrible feelings I have ever experienced in my entire life. People who get sick when they are in cars might be familiar with this feeling, which feels like someone is stirring in your stomach, but the special case of sea sickness feels a thousand times worse.

The process of it is comparable with a long rainy night. After a short period of time under the influence of the sea a slight feeling of tiredness and headache comes just like the darkness which starts the night after the sun has gone down. You don’t notice the sickness until it is very strong, just like the darkness which you don’t notice until you can’t see anything.

Then, when you think that you know how bad sea sickness is, it gets worse, just like the night which gets darker and darker. The middle of sea sickness is, just like the middle of a long rainy night, the worst part of the whole process. It feels like you stayed on a roller coaster too long that was spinning too fast. You can’t concentrate and think clearly. You can just focus on this terrible feeling and the frustration that it just doesn’t end.

Most people threw up three or four times but there were also people who had to vomit over ten times within a few hours. The record was seventeen times. Just like a light in the darkness pretzel sticks and rusk can help you to get through the phase of sea sickness. It can also help to focus on the horizon and drink a lot. Sea sickness can last for a few hours, but some people on board had to fight against it for over four days. Of course, there were also a few people who weren’t seasick at all, however these people couldn’t really enjoy this time either because they had to replace everyone who was too sick to do their part on bord.

Luckily, long dark nights don’t last forever and when they are over you are often rewarded with a beautiful sunrise. Sea sickness doesn’t last forever either. After some time, it is over and when it is you can finally enjoy the time on bord.

Thinking back, I connect the time on the North Sea, when we all were seasick, not only with the terrible feeling that comes with it. I connect sea sickness also with a strong feeling of community. It was a very bonding experience that everybody felt bad together and every time when someone had to throw up someone else was there to help. It was a very good feeling to know that you aren’t alone and that there are people around who care about you and who have the same problem as you. So, looking back, I guess you could see these first days of sea sickness as the beginning of becoming a family.